Texas Football: Bold Predictions for the Longhorns' 2015 Fall Camp

When the Texas Longhorns begin fall camp Friday, the quarterback battle between Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard will dominate the discussion.

But this season's fall camp is about so much more than that. This is our first look at what a full-blown head coach Charlie Strong recruiting class looks like and what sort of attitude it brings to the program. It's also a chance to see what sort of magic offensive coordinator Joe Wickline can work after a full offseason with mostly the same group of guys.

Sure, the quarterback deserves our attention. It's the game's most important position, and the Horns have figured out how to underwhelm the entire country there for five years in a row.

So follow what happens between Swoopes and Heard, but don't overlook what's happening elsewhere.

Jerrod Heard Will Win the Quarterback Battle

Michael Thomas/Associated Press

Heard's dual-threat ability will ultimately set him apart from Swoopes.

Heard's going to be the starter this season. He's the better, more explosive playmaker, and that's what Texas needs.

The question, though, has been whether he could take command before the start of the season. And it sounds like the coaching staff is willing to give him a shot.

It's been a seesaw battle between Heard and returning starter Swoopes. The latter entered the spring with a clear lead—then Heard made up ground through the Orange-White Scrimmage. From there, Swoopes regained some control in summer workouts and looked like he would hang on to the job for at least the opener.

But Heard has made yet another comeback to even things up entering fall camp, per 247Sports' Jeff Howe:

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The coaches haven't been able to be on the field with the players since the spring, but a team source told me recently quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson has been on Heard every day. As recently as last week, I was told Heard as “really picked it up” since the end of spring ball.

What I've also heard is the coaches continue to be willing to shift the offense to a style of attack similar to what Auburn used with Nick Marshall at the controls in 2013, if Heard wins the job. A few different sources we've talked to feel that is the style of offense Heard needs to succeed.

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Reading between the lines, it's obvious the coaches want Heard running the show. Even when the redshirt freshman was struggling to make his presence felt, Strong stated he would play Heard in conjunction with Swoopes, per Chris O'Connell of TexasExes.org.

Throwing Heard into his first action in South Bend isn't ideal, but he's going to start if he has the better camp. Based on the direction of the offense and his track record as a competitor, that's almost a foregone conclusion.

Freshmen Will Take Over the Back 7

Don't be surprised if Duke Thomas and Dylan Haines are the only upperclassmen you see playing every-down roles in the defensive backfield against Notre Dame.

The youth movement is on along Texas' back seven. We already saw what Jason Hall is capable of entering his sophomore year, and redshirts John Bonney and Edwin Freeman tore up the spring. Hall and Bonney are starters as of now, and Freeman's good enough to crack the two-deep.

Then there's the stacked group of freshmen who have come in. And that doesn't end with spring-game star Malik Jefferson.

At linebacker, Anthony Wheeler and Cecil Cherry have made early impressions. Cherry's made his presence felt from the beginning of summer workouts, and Wheeler, simply put, is built to destroy, as described by Horns Digest's William Wilkerson. You're going to hear about Jefferson and these two more than the inconsistent likes of Tim Cole, Peter Jinkens and Dalton Santos.

In the secondary, all three of Texas' highly touted corners have made an impact. Howe reported that Holton Hill, Kris Boyd and Davante Davis have all been excellent this summer. As superior athletes to the other options opposite Thomas, it's hard to imagine that one of them won't trot out with the first team in South Bend.

Then there are safeties DeShon Elliott and PJ Locke, who each have designs on early playing time.

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Imma let yall know now, that first game against Notre Dame I will be starting.

@DeShonElliott_4, March 4, 2015

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Now, none of this is to say Texas is going to trot out three or four freshmen as starters in Week 1. There's a learning curve, and defensive coordinator Vance Bedford will avoid playing freshmen for as long as he can.

Still, Strong has stated that the best players will play, per Howe, and a lot of them are going to be youngsters. Only a couple will start early on, but they'll see a lot of early action after showing what they can do in camp.

Marcus Johnson Will Get Pushed

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

With the young talent developing behind him, Johnson could have real trouble hanging on to a consistent role.

Texas' defenders aren't the only ones who will be fighting off this fiery freshman class. The same thing will happen on offense, and it could claim the receiving corps' most experienced member.

Sure, there will be battles for the backup running back job and starting tight end job. But all of those guys will be back next season, which cannot be said for senior wideout Marcus Johnson.

Johnson's in a tough spot this year. At 6'1", he's not big enough to play John Harris' role on the outside, and he lacks the overall playmaking ability or versatility of explosive sophomore Armanti Foreman.

Foreman will have his role, and a bigger receiver will undoubtedly claim the blocking-heavy "X" job. That leaves Johnson on the fringe in three-wide sets, and there are more versatile players vying for the same job.

Take, for instance, sophomore Lorenzo Joe, a 6'2" route-running tactician with long arms. Joe might not beat out Dorian Leonard for that high-volume outside role, but he's a big target who knows how to get open and finish plays. You also can't count out Jacorey Warrick, who always seems to be in the mix.

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Lorenzo Joe hit the truck stick after the catch for a 22-yard gain. Jerrod Heard likes throwing his way. #TEXspringgame

@max_olson, 18 Apr 2015

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And, of course, there are the freshmen, who have refused to take a backseat to their defensive counterparts. DeAndre McNeal has already been cast in multiple roles, per Howe, thanks to his ability to line up just about anywhere, while John Burt and Ryan Newsome have been putting in great work of their own.

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#Longhorns#Hookem coach Charlie Strong said Marcus Johnson has all the tools. He just has to step up. Said he just got lost last year

@AnwarRichardson, 23 Mar 2015

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The point is this: The coaches aren't going to hand Johnson a starting job just because he's a senior. The pressure's on for him to clean up his route running and drops, or else he's going to watch a younger talent take his reps.

It's too early to hand Johnson's starting job to someone else, but it's far from safe. That'll be obvious throughout camp.

Connor Williams Will Be the Only New Starter Up Front

Connor Williams busted into the starting lineup as an early enrollee this spring, and he'll emerge from camp as the only new face along Texas' offensive line.

The offensive line is the one area that needs to value continuity. As described by Grantland's Matt Hinton, developing chemistry is one of the most important steps in building a formidable offensive line. Last year's group had nothing remotely resembling that, with only Kent Perkins and Sedrick Flowers projected to be starters at the beginning of the season.

The resulting group took its well-documented licks, which might be putting it lightly. But the side effect is experience and familiarity that weren't there a year ago. At this point, unless you have markedly better players, the goal should be continuity.

At right tackle, which was a revolving door all season, Williams is now an obvious upgrade. The former tight end is both mobile and aggressive, which is why he ran with the first team during the spring game.

Everyone to the right of Williams was in the same group that ran out in the beatdown against Arkansas last season. The only reason is that Wickline believes in the cohesiveness of this unit; otherwise, we would have seen an early enrollee like Brandon Hodges or Tristan Nickelson slide in somewhere.

Those two will factor into the rotation, but Williams looks like the only change Wickline wants. Unless somebody proves he's markedly better than one of the other four guys, the other four spots will stay the same.

Derick Roberson Will Finally Make Noise

Courtesy of 247Sports

A physically mature Roberson could provide situational help in 2015 before ascending to stardom as a sophomore.

It's straightforward with edge-rusher Derick Roberson—he's talented, and he's finally healthy enough to show it.

Now up to 238 pounds (though he was up to 250 at one point this offseason), Texas' top recruit from the 2014 class finally looks like a college player. That will allow Roberson to finally unleash his rare pass-rushing ability, providing an element Texas will need with such a young secondary.

Since Roberson's never played a collegiate down, it's too early to put him in the full-on breakout category. Not only is he playing at one of the deepest positions on the team, but he's also a long way from contributing on anything beyond strict passing downs.

However, Roberson will make noise in camp with his extraordinary quickness and moves off the edge. Much like Hassan Ridgeway showed off his potential long before last season's breakout, the redshirt freshman will get people excited and lay the foundation for a huge season in 2016.

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