Texas Football: Should Longhorns Worry About the Recent String of Departures?

And, like that, two more Texas Longhorns are gone. Now the question becomes if the recent trend of player attrition is a bad sign for second-year coach Charlie Strong. 

The short answer is yes and no. 

On Tuesday, it was reported by various outlets that true freshman linebacker Cecil Cherry and redshirt freshman running back Duke Catalon intended to transfer from the program. For what it's worth, Texas has not confirmed the transfers yet; rather, per Max Olson of ESPN.com, Strong has only said that he has "spoken with" both players. However, Cherry confirmed on Twitter Wednesday that he had received his release:

The reasons for the reported transfers vary. Cherry's father confirmed to Olson that his son's decision was based on fit. Catalon's decision appears to be rooted in playing time, or lack thereof, per Jeff Howe of 247Sports. 

The pair of departures is the latest in a string of problems/attrition for the Longhorns. Of the so-called "Florida Five" in Texas' 2015 recruiting class, which included Cherry, only cornerback Davante Davis remains. As Olsen noted, "ESPN 300 tight end recruit Devonaire Clarington has yet to be cleared to enroll at Texas, which began fall practice Friday. Prep school receiver Gilbert Johnson failed to qualify, and defensive back Tim Irvin flipped to Auburn in January."

Additionally, Catalon is one of a few Texas-based Longhorns to either leave the program or fail to arrive at all. Offensive lineman Darius James transferred to Auburn earlier this summer, and defensive tackle Du'Vonta Lampkin has been looking to get out of his national letter of intent. 

All of these losses certainly aren't ideal. One of the great things about preseason camp is that it's usually ripe with depth. Springtime, after all, is when depth is at its highest premium because the number of outgoing players isn't fully replenished by incoming freshmen and transfers. 

Of the '15 class departures, Cherry had the highest rating from 247Sports and was working with the No. 2 defense in practice in part because of the injury to Dalton Santos. There's a chance Cherry was going to see the field this season, but his odds of starting were probably slim. In that vein, few of the recently departed players were expected to contend for starting time in 2015. 

The recent string of departures is disappointing for Texas, but they don't necessarily fall under the "major" category. It's not like Malik Jefferson, the touted in-state linebacker who will undoubtedly be a key contributor as a freshman, is leaving. As Strong noted in speaking with reporters, the only thing his team can do is move forward with the players it has: 

Departures aren't anything out of the norm, and different players do it for different reasons. Certainly, Strong has played a season short-handed before. Myriad suspensions and dismissals stemming from disciplinary issues were the theme of Strong's first season in Austin. On top of that, injuries were an issue. 

Discipline hasn't been a problem like it was in 2014. However, it is worth noting that many of the players who recently left the program were Strong's recruits, not Mack Brown's. And while many of them may not have started this year, they were nevertheless players Strong recruited to be the foundation of his program moving forward. 

Strong's 2015 recruiting class, after all, was far more of an extension of him than the '14 class. The more players who depart (or never make it to campus) in one class, the less room for error it puts on any and all future classes moving forward. 

Recruiting is a numbers game at the end of the day. Some players will become stars. Some will be decent contributors. Some will never pan out. Some will never make it onto campus or transfer. From a coach's perspective, it's about maximizing the positive numbers and minimizing the negative ones. 

What time will tell is whether the recent attrition is a matter of cutting out the fat or an indictment on a bigger problem. For now, the recent transfers and no-shows are disappointing to Texas and probably nothing more. 

It'll be in 2016, '17 and '18 in which we find out if it's more than that. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless noted otherwise.