Texas Football: Will Jerrod Heard Keep Starting QB Job All Season?

Jerrod Heard has taken over as the Texas Longhorns' starting quarterback, bringing a level of confidence that should lock him into the job for the rest of the season.

Sure, it was Rice, but Heard's running and big-play ability has put an indelible mark on this team.

Making his first start since high school, Heard was electric against the Owls. Equal parts effective and explosive, the speedy quarterback needed only seven passes to put up 120 yards and two touchdowns, including a gorgeous 69-yarder to John Burt, while also using his special athleticism to run for 96 yards on 10 carries.

Heard's third play from scrimmage was all it took to show Jay Norvell that his decision to start Heard over incumbent Tyrone Swoopes had paid off.

"When he broke the pocket on that first drive…he changed our whole team," said Texas' brand-new play-caller on Tuesday, per TexasSports.com (h/t SB Nation's Wescott Eberts). 

The play to which Norvell was referring came on a called pass on 3rd-and-11. Heard dropped back to the tune of an uneasy Texas home crowd, couldn't find a receiver and then sprinted down the left sideline for 53 yards.

A penalty turned the run into a 35-yarder, but everyone watching knew this was different. And if they were on the fence, he finished the drive six plays later with a 32-yard touchdown pass. And if that wasn't enough, the 69-yarder to begin the third quarter sealed it—this is Heard's team now.

The entire performance is an indictment of former play-caller Shawn Watson's on-the-job performance. The former offensive coordinator spent the entire offseason dismissing Heard's ability, opting instead for a system that produced a mere 21.4 points per game last season.

With Watson out of the way, Heard was turned loose, and it couldn't have looked any different. The Longhorns were decisive, explosive and, most of all, energized. 

All of that stemmed from Heard's self-confidence, and freshman Malik Jefferson stated as much when asked about the impact of Heard's personality on Monday, per TexasSports.com:

"

[Heard brings] swagger, I think. We need that sense of humility. We need to have fun when we're on the field. I think he brings that attitude. He wants to go out there and win. Of course, he wants to have fun while winning. So that's most important.

"

That's the chief difference between Heard and the frustrating Swoopes. Whereas the latter's body language obviously dipped when he and the team were struggling, Heard has the fortitude to move on mentally, which has made an impression on head coach Charlie Strong, per TexasSports.com: 

"

The thing about Jerrod is he has so much confidence. He always has had it. A lot of things just don’t really bother him. Sometimes you can get the wrong impression with him because you may look at him and think that he's not really focused or locked in, really doesn't care, when he does. That's just who he is. …

He's just one of those guys that I think sometimes with guys, when the lights come on, it's like they even take a step up, which he does. It's almost like, Okay, the lights are brighter, so I'm going to go shine. Everybody's going to watch me shine.

"

Strong's absolutely right about that last part. Heard's a two-time state champion on the strength of 10 total touchdowns in clinching games, winning his first title via a 16-point comeback in the second half. He's a gamer, through and through. 

That'll be key for Texas this season, because the tough games have yet to begin. 

This week's matchup with Cal's explosive offense is the first of several problematic games just around the corner for Texas. Then it's the Big 12 gauntlet of Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma, while West Virginia and Baylor loom large at the end of the season.

Texas has a chance to compete in some of these games, but the defense's youth and the offense's lack of game-changing talent says there's also a lot of potential for blowouts. Remember, this is a team that ranks dead-last in preventing third-down conversions and next-to-last with 220 yards per game, according to cfbstats.com.

When it gets bad, and it almost certainly will, do you want a guy who will hang his head and drift into the background? 

Or do you want a guy who has the pulse of the team? Because that's what senior Johnathan Gray sees from Heard, as he told the media on Monday, per TexasSports.com: "[Heard] brings a lot of energy to the team, a lot of excitement, a lot of maturity, a lot of knowledge. Just a great guy to be around. That's what the team needs, especially from a quarterback. I think he's done a great job of taking over that role."

On the field, Heard's athleticism will make a huge difference in how Texas moves the ball. The benefits of being an explosive dual-threat quarterback are obvious on the collegiate field of play, and Heard's willingness to drive the ball downfield only makes him that much more lethal.

But Heard's more than just an athlete handling the ball on every snap. He's a leader as much as he is a difference-maker. This young Texas team, which had 13 true or redshirt freshmen on the two-deep for Rice, needs somebody who's going to hang in there when it gets tough.

For that reason, even more so than his explosive style of play, Heard will be Texas' quarterback until at least the end of this season.

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