Barrett Matthews: Key to Longhorns' Offense in 2011

At times last season, Texas' offense looked frustratingly predictable.

The usual plot for most offensive series was as follows: On first down, they would hand the ball off out of the shotgun to a running back that was basically standing still, which would result in either a loss or minimal gain. On second down, Colt McCoy would stare down Jordan Shipley, who was seemingly triple covered, and complete a pass to him over the middle for about a five yard gain. On third down, an incomplete pass would be thrown to a player running either too short or too long a route.

There's little doubt that the lack of a pass-catching tight end made life easier on linebackers playing against the Longhorns the past two season.

Fortunately, the offense wasn't stagnant thanks to the best wide receiver/quarterback duo in the history of Texas football. Regardless, after starting tight end Blaine Irby suffered a career-threatening knee injury in the fourth week of the 2008 season, the team's overall production suffered, especially in rushing the ball.

Case in point, in the 25 games that the Longhorns have played since Irby's injury, they have had a running back rush for more than 100 yards only five times.

Reading this, it's easy to assume that there is simply a severe lack of talent at the running back position in Austin. But a closer look reveals that Texas has plenty of talent at running back. The real problem is twofold: offensive scheme and offensive predictability.

As many know, the scheme is going through a major change this off-season in order to cater to the talents of Garrett Gilbert.

As far as solving Texas' predictability problem next season, insert blue-chip sophomore Barrett Matthews.

In the spring game, Matthews was a revelation, getting open several times and making multiple catches including a touchdown from Gilbert.

The former North Shore Galena star could help the Longhorns running game out significantly this season by forcing linebackers to constantly keep tabs on him and in doing so, alleviate some of the pressure off of the offensive line.

There's no Longhorn fan that will question the importance of a tight end with reliable hands—without David Thomas' outstanding receiving skills, it's questionable as to whether Texas would have defeated USC in the 2005 national championship game.

It's very likely that Matthews will overtake starter Greg Smith at the position if he has not done so already. While Smith is a capable blocker, he proved to be a liability at times last season.

Matthews also has an edge over fellow tight end D.J. Grant for playing time, who, despite likely being a superior pass catcher, lacks experience at the position and has been forced to sit out of drills while recovering from a torn ACL.

Having a tight end with good hands should make the process of acclimating to the college game much easier for Garrett Gilbert—Matthews will provide an outlet for the young quarterback when his first read is covered.

With Matthews emerging during the spring game, D.J. Grant's obvious talent, talented El Paso tight end M.J. McFarland coming in the 2011 class, and the highly rated Austin Seferian-Jenkins appearing likely to join him, it appears that the Longhorns won't find themselves with a void at this position for a very, very long time.