The 2010 Texas Longhorns Depth Chart: Reactions and Ruminations

Here is our Texas Football 2010 opening depth chart.

OFFENSE

Position: No. Player | No. Player | No. Player
Flanker (Z): 5 John Chiles or 1 Mike Davis
Sub B: 84 Marquise Goodwin or 11 James Kirkendoll
Tight End: (Y) 89 Barrett Matthews | 85 Ahmard Howard
Right Tackle: 72 Britt Mitchell | 54 Mark Buchanan
Right Guard: 67 Mason Walters | 76 Trey Hopkins
Center: 78 David Snow | 73 Garrett Porter
Left Guard: 63 Michael Huey | 79 Thomas Ashcraft or 55 Dominic Espinosa
Left Tackle: 64 Kyle Hix | 77 Luke Poehlmann
Split End (X): 11 James Kirkendoll or 9 Malcolm Williams
Quarterback: 7 Garrett Gilbert | 6 Case McCoy | 18 Connor Wood
Tailback: 31 Cody Johnson | 28 Fozzy Whittaker or 23 Tre' Newton
H-Back: 83 Greg Smith | 21 Chris Whaley
Fullback: 41 Jamison Berryhill or 30 Ryan Roberson
Placekicker: 19 Justin Tucker | 14 William Russ

DEFENSE

Position: No. Player | No. Player | No. Player
Buck: 32 Eddie Jones | 44 Jackson Jeffcoat
Tackle (Nose): 91 Kheeston Randall | 85 Ashton Dorsey
Tackle: 93 Tyrell Higgins | 80 Alex Okafor | 96 Calvin Howell
End: 81 Sam Acho | 92 Reggie Wilson
Strongside LB: 9 Dravannti Johnson | 18 Emmanuel Acho
Middle LB: 18 Emmanuel Acho | 42 Dustin Earnest or 11 Jared Norton
Weakside LB: 1 Keenan Robinson | 33 Jordan Hicks
Right CB: 8 Chykie Brown | 23 Carrington Byndom or 7 A.J. White
Right Safety: 21 Blake Gideon |17 Adrian Phillips
Left Safety: 6 Christian Scott | 16 Kenny Vaccaro
Left CB: 3 Curtis Brown or 4 Aaron Williams
Nickel: 4 Aaron Williams | 16 Kenny Vaccaro
Punter: 47 John Gold | 19 Justin Tucker

SPECIAL TEAMS

Position: No. Player | No. Player | No. Player
Punt Returns: 3 Curtis Brown | 4 Aaron Williams
Kickoff Returns: 84 Marquise Goodwin | 26 D.J. Monroe
Kickoffs: 19 Justin Tucker | 14 William Russ
Holder: 86 Cade McCrary | 47 John Gold
Deep Snapper (PAT/FG): 83 Greg Smith | 77 Luke Poehlmann
Deep Snapper (Punts): 48 Alex Zumberge | 49 Trey Wier

Thoughts

Wow. Football season is finally here. And we’re making a massive commitment to youth in our two deep. Very exciting stuff. The coaches weren’t kidding about living with some mistakes in order to get the best athletes on the field.

Offense

As I predicted about two weeks ago, Cody Johnson is your Texas Longhorns starting RB. Yes, I’m that good. Fozzy and Tre will split the backup role. For now, that means a three-headed monster at RB. I expect Cody to log at least 60 percent of the available carries.

Case McCoy is your backup QB. A moderate shock. He knows the offense better than Connor and he’s more ready to run the show should Garrett go down. We lose four games minimum if he’s pressed into action. I wouldn’t use this short-term move to handicap this job long-term. That said, I hope David Ash and the 2012 QBs are quality.

The WR depth chart suggests a sensible approach of five or six guys rotating and drawing snaps until game situations and on-field play provide differentiation. Fantastic to see Mike Davis listed as a co-starter on the two deep. Kirkendoll being listed twice on the two deep tells you what the coaches thought about his preseason camp.

They don’t see DeSean Hales as an every-down WR, obviously. But he will play.

Whaley is your backup H-back.

No surprises on the OL. Hopkins is listed at OG and Buchanan, surprisingly, is listed at OT. That may be reflective of the Paden Kelly suspension and will change post-Rice. Dominic Espinosa is backing up at the other guard spot with Ashcraft. Mild surprise. The coaches will decide whether to shirt him or not as the season progresses.

Darius White will play this year. Good call by the staff. He needs to be engaged.

Jeremy Hills has asked to redshirt. Uh, okaaaay Jeremy. I think we’re going to go ahead and play you.

Defense

DT continues to be cursed. Tyrell Higgins is our No. 2 DT and Alex Okafor is our No. 3 DT. Calvin Howell is relegated to the third team, either because of lingering effects from his concussion or because of practice allergies, depending on which story you trust. An immense disappointment, in either event. As predicted, Ashton Dorsey is the freshman most ready to play. Taylor Bible will play later in the year, which I suggested last week. Add another month of conditioning and some cool weather, suddenly Bible can give you 10-15 plays.

We’re starting our best 3 athletes at LB: Acho, Robinson, Johnson. Johnson goes off in the nickel, IMO. Acho at MLB is an exciting possibility. We’ll also use Johnson as a situational rusher. I don’t see him off of the ball doing traditional LB things that often.

Jordan Hicks cracks the two deep, as expected.

Nolan Brewster will redshirt with a banged-up shoulder.

Reggie Wilson and Jackson Jeffcoat are your No. 2 DEs on each side. That allows the Okafor move and reflects their incredible play, rather than desperation; exactly what you want when a freshman is on the two deep. These are your 2011 starters.

Did Chykie Brown beat out Curtis Brown for a starting gig at CB? I’ll be curious to monitor this. Curtis and A.J. are listed as co-starters while Chykie is unchallenged on the other side. More likely: we’re playing a base nickel and all three guys start.

Byndom, White, and Phillips will play this year, as I anticipated. This DB class is a pleasant surprise.

Special Teams

Will Russ will play this year to gain experience.

Marquise and D.J. are the kick returners; Curtis is your No. 1 punt returner, but Brown suggested in the press conference he’ll split time with Williams.

Alex Zumberge is deep snapper!!! OMG!!!

From the FanTake blog: Barking Carnival

Follow on Twitter: @BarkingCarnival

Be a fan of Barking Carnival on Facebook: Barking Carnival