Texas Football: Summer Enrollees Who Could Make Immediate Impact

Beyond any sort of doubt, Texas football's true freshmen will figure heavily into the 2015 rotation. There's too much talent in this group to justify keeping the youth on the sideline.

We've already seen evidence of this fact. Early enrollee Malik Jefferson tore up the spring game from the linebacker position, and classmate Connor Williams ran as the first-team right tackle.

Those two are locks for the two-deep rotation when Texas opens its season at Notre Dame, but the story on this top-10 class doesn't stop there.

The Horns have 22 more players arriving this summer, 12 of whom are consensus 4-star prospects, per 247Sports.

As many as 13 of these guys have a foreseeable path to playing time in their first year on campus, but most of them will take time to get up to speed. And Texas needs guys to step up immediately—as in on the field in South Bend, if possible.

Cornerback Holton Hill will be out there, and four of his classmates will be right behind him.

CB Holton Hill

Hill is a no-doubter to crack the paper-thin two-deep at cornerback, where Texas will really appreciate his length and athleticism.

With Sheroid Evans presumably lost for the season and Jermaine Roberts on the shelf, the Horns are short on options behind senior Duke Thomas. Bryson Echols played well in the spring game, but the 5'10" cover man is going to struggle against bigger receivers.

Hill doesn't have that problem at 6'2", which had head coach Charlie Strong excited about him on signing day:

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If you look at Holton, he's a young man that has great size and in that range of 6-foot to 6-1. You like those big corners because they can body up the wide receiver, so when jump balls come, you hope they can go up and defend. He can cover and he's long. You are looking for those long guys instead of those shorter ones. I like big defensive backs because I know he can be physical.

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Also blessed with 4.5-second speed in the 40-yard dash, Hill will be the most physically gifted corner on the roster the moment he steps on campus. He'll be covering the opponent's best receiver by the time he's a sophomore.

WR Ryan Newsome

A unique offensive talent, Ryan Newsome will take some time to nail down a defined role within the offense. That won't stop the coaches from scheming the ball into his hands.

Whatever superlative you can come up with for Newsome's ability, this ESPN scout's take pretty much covers why he was such a great get for this 2015 class:

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If Newsome was taller, he might be perceived to be one of the best skilled athletes in this class regardless of position on a national level. His size is really his only detriment physically. His skill set however is outstanding. Could be an immediate impact player in the kicking game as a return specialist. Needs to be employed in a variety of roles on offense to maximize his playmaking ability which is why the spread offense is such a good fit.

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At 5'8", size is definitely a concern for any aspirations Newsome has beyond the college game, but he's going to be a fine player for Texas. He can score from anywhere on the field and has an incredible ability to make people miss in space.

Newsome will eventually man the slot for Texas while also getting the ball on handoffs and jet sweeps. Until then, he should be the focal point of a return game that ranked in the bottom half of the Big 12 on both kick and punt returns (per cfbstats.com).

ATH DeAndre McNeal

DeAndre McNeal isn't quite a tight end, nor does he fit the model of a classic receiver. He's a truly unique player, and his role should be molded to fit his variety of skills.

247Sports' Jeff Howe believes McNeal will serve in multiple roles, and it's easy to see why. He's well-built at 6'2" and 228 pounds but also has the suddenness to elude defenders in the open field. In a move role where he can work out of the backfield and the slot, he could be a deadly weapon in the Longhorns offense.

Texas showed some willingness to flex fullback Alex De La Torre between those two spots in the spring game. McNeal has that same ability but with the explosiveness to burn a defense that doesn't respect him.

If the Horns really want to go tempo, McNeal gives them a lot of flexibility, and they need to get him involved early in the season.

CB Kris Boyd

Like Hill, incoming freshman Kris Boyd has the talent to be a shutdown corner in Strong's defense. He'll provide immediate depth thanks to his 4.45 speed in the 40 and quickness.

Boyd isn't quite as long as Hill, but he makes up for it with elite track speed, quickness and a willingness to bring the wood. Those traits make him an ideal candidate for work as the nickel corner, where he'll most likely spend 2015 backing up redshirt freshman John Bonney.

Look for Boyd to push Bonney in fall camp and provide some depth to a corner spot that's been devastated by graduation and spring injuries. He's too talented to stay on the sideline for long.

S DeShon Elliott

Texas doesn't have a reliable backup at safety, especially now that versatile defensive back Mykkele Thompson has moved on to the NFL. It won't take DeShon Elliott long to assume that role on his way to becoming one of the Big 12's premier enforcers.

Say a quick prayer for the first poor soul that Elliott sets his sights on. The Kraken is a killer on the back end—a pure hitter (per SB Nation's Wescott Eberts).

While a player of Elliott's 6-foot-1, 200-pound frame might be stuck with that dreaded tweener label, he covers like a true safety. As you can see below, his explosiveness translates to making plays on the ball. He'll still spend a lot of time in the box, but there won't be much need to pull him off the field on passing downs.

With Jason Hall already in the fold, the Longhorns will spend the next few years sporting one of the ferocious safety duos in the country. As a freshman, Elliott will serve as the primary backup to Hall as he adjusts to the college game.

Unless otherwise noted, all stats and information courtesy of TexasSports.com, with recruiting data courtesy of 247Sports.