Texas Football: Recapping the Longhorns' Biggest 2015 Offseason News so Far

A lot has happened since our last Longhorns offseason recap. They've played their annual spring game, seen their brief NFL draft drought come to an end and had their highest-profile recruits from the last two seasons finally see the field.

At the same time, much remains unchanged for this team, which is ominous at this point. The quarterback battle is as unclear as ever, some of the best talent is still the youngest on the team, and out of nowhere, recruiting has hit the skids.

Perhaps the summer enrollees can fill the voids and get people excited about this team again. Along with the quarterback battle, they'll be the most intriguing storyline of the summer.

Heard Makes Up Ground on Swoopes

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

By all accounts, Tyrone Swoopes began the spring way ahead of Jerrod Heard in the battle for the quarterback job. But once Heard turned it on, it didn't take long for the redshirt freshman to close the gap. Take a look at what Rivals.com's Anwar Richardson tweeted back in March:

With two years of college under his belt, Swoopes was well ahead of Heard in terms of how he reads the defense and makes decisions throwing the ball, as Scout.com's Chip Brown noted before spring practice.

"If you put [Heard] on the white board right now and told him to diagram a pass play and why that play is set up the way it is and what to look for from the defense in the way it could/should defend the QB's first and second read, Heard is confused, and is still far behind Tyrone Swoopes," Brown said.

But as expected, Heard's athleticism and competitive nature began to shine through. The former top recruit started to really put on a show at the end of spring practice, prompting Charlie Strong to tell the media he had "really closed the gap."

Heard backed up his coach's statement with a solid spring game, eclipsing Swoopes in terms of passing yardage and completion percentage despite playing with the second team. 

The battle that was Swoopes' to lose seems to be tilting in the redshirt freshman's favor.

Jefferson Lights It Up in the Spring Game

Everyone expected Malik Jefferson, the nation's top linebacker recruit, to be good. The fact that he's this good, this early, is absolutely unfair.

Playing middle linebacker out of necessity, Jefferson recorded six tackles, broke up a pass and forced a fumble that was returned for a touchdown. Yes, the freshman dominated while playing out of position against the first team.

Jefferson's metrics are already the stuff of legend, but his mental readiness is just as impressive. In just a month of practice, he learned to play both inside and outside linebacker, as well as the hybrid "Fox" position.

The freshman has all of the tools to start every game this season, and the coaches should have a lot of fun turning him loose for the next three years.

Brown and Nine Other Longhorn Alumni Get Their NFL Shots

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

By the time the free-agent signings were done, Texas had 10 alumni set to pursue their NFL dreams this summer. Not bad for a team that didn't even have a player selected in 2014.

It took a little longer than most expected, but tackle Malcom Brown got things started by going to the New England Patriots at the 32nd pick. Most every surprise from this point on was a positive one, with Mykkele Thompson and Geoff Swaim getting unexpected selections before the process was done.

Jordan Hicks and Quandre Diggs rounded out the official selections, but it was long snapper Nate Boyer who stole the headlines. A former Green Beret, the 34-year-old got a surprise call from the Seahawks inviting him to camp, where he will undoubtedly command the respect of the former world champions.

Boyer tweeted his appreciation to Pete Carroll and the organization:

In all, Texas' five selections led the Big 12, per SB Nation's Jason Kirk, and bolstered Strong's already-impressive resume.

Recruiting Hits the Skids

Credit: 247Sports

Texas' recruiting streak could not have been any hotter at the end of February. Fresh off of hauling in the nation's No. 10 class, the Horns stole elite 4-star quarterback Shane Buechele from their rival Sooners.

Then nothing—for three long months. 

Offensive guard Tope Imade broke the streak, but a lot of damage has been done in the meantime. With Du'Vonta Lampkin trying to flake out at the last minute, elite defensive tackles Ed Oliver, Kendell Jones and Jordan Elliott have all committed elsewhere.

Alex Dunlap of Rivals.com noted Lampkin's odd status:

Overall, you have to go a long way down the target list before you come across a recruit Texas should feel really good about. Even current commit Reggie Hemphill-Mapps is looking around.

Texas has two great talents in Buechele and monster wideout Collin Johnson, but the coaches have got to get this turned around over the summer.

The Summer Enrollees Have Arrived

Credit: 247Sports

Speaking of that 2015 class, Malik Jefferson and starting right tackle-to-be Connor Williams have been so good we've forgotten how much talent we've yet to lay eyes on, even with four players still up in the air.

For example, take Anthony Wheeler, who would be the top recruit of the class if not for Jefferson. The state's second-best linebacker brings college-ready size and 4.55 speed, but he has flown under the radar due to Jefferson's notoriety.

Wheeler's one of the nine other Top247 prospects in this class, and they're far from the only ones who are ready to play immediately. Safety P.J. Locke is the second-lowest-rated recruit in the class, and even he can't be counted out as a freshman. Locke himself sent a message back in late April:

"

SC: pjlocke4 pic.twitter.com/S3B3ijmcy7

— James PJ Locke III#4 (@PjLocke4) April 22, 2015"

Next to the quarterback, the development of this group is the most important storyline going forward. These guys are supposed to be the future and, as Strong's first full class as Texas' head coach, the barometer for the program's direction.

Texas can struggle as a young team this season as long as this group proves it has a high ceiling.

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