Texas Football: Does Charlie Strong Need to Name Starting QB Before Notre Dame?

The gap between Texas quarterbacks Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard appears to have opened back up. Or at the very least, the battle between the two isn't any tighter now than it was in the spring.

That appears to be the vibe coming out of Longhorn preseason practices this week. According to Ryan Autullo of the Austin American-Statesman, head coach Charlie Strong admitted there was a gap between Swoopes and Heard:

If that's indeed the case, it's a matter of time before Strong must name Swoopes the starter for Week 1 against Notre Dame—that is, if he hasn't already. Unofficially, Swoopes exited spring practices as the front-runner and entered preseason camp as the No. 1 guy.

Basically, he's been the presumed starter in an open competition from spring to August.

But even if it's in private, even if Strong never tips his hand to the media, establishing a definitive No. 1 and No. 2 is important for the offense's development.

It doesn't mean that the pecking order has to, or will, stay as is over time—Strong told ESPN earlier this summer that Swoopes and Heard will play against Notre Dame (via the Alcalde)—but giving the No. 1 guy a chance to build chemistry and leadership with his teammates in practice is critical.

Right as preseason camp was about to get underway, I wrote that playing Swoopes and Heard against Notre Dame could work if the competition between them was tight. Sometimes, a good way to break the tie is to put both players into live situations and see how they react.

Strong may still do that, and that's OK.

With that said, all signs indicate that Swoopes is the guy who will get the first crack at the Irish defense. If reports are any indication, he's earned that chance. The junior took a ton of criticism last season and sometimes deservedly so.

However, based on tweets by Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News and Horns247, it sounds like Swoopes has taken that criticism to heart and used it to become a better quarterback and leader:

One of the purposes of preseason camp is to see if there's any growth—or decline—from the spring. To hear Strong and Co. talk about Swoopes, it's easy to decipher that he's the one taking the steps forward.

During Big 12 media days in July, Strong and senior running back Johnathan Gray talked often about Swoopes for questions relating to the quarterback competition. On the other hand, Heard was usually only brought up when asked about specifically.

USA Today's Dan Wolken suggested that Heard has all the confidence in the world—and that's a good thing—but as noted by Brian Davis of the Austin American-Statesman, the takeaway from media days and practices is that Swoopes still has the edge:

What probably worries fans is that it's unclear if Swoopes truly improved during the offseason or if Heard is not living up to expectations.

We tend to vividly remember the most recent thing that happened, and the lasting memory of Swoopes from 2014 was him throwing for 57 yards in abysmal loss to Arkansas in the Texas Bowl. Before that, he threw four interceptions in a season-ending loss to TCU.

There was also a time, though, when Swoopes played well against Oklahoma, Iowa State and Oklahoma State. That gets brought up significantly less often.

Fans clamoring for change and improvement are understandably hesitant to give Swoopes any sort of due, but the reality is players can get better. They do all the time. If they didn't, we wouldn't have TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin as a preseason Heisman Trophy contender.

That's not to compare Swoopes to Boykin in any way, but if Swoopes has earned the trust of his teammates and coaching staff, then he deserves a chance to go out and prove them right. It doesn't mean he will, but he should at least have the opportunity.

Otherwise, what's the point of working?

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand. Stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.