Texas Longhorns Insider: A Look Back at the Wide Receivers

The Longhorns year of offense was really less than desirable.  Quarterback Garrett Gilbert struggled as the leader of the team and wasn’t as effective passing the ball as the Longhorns have been used to in the past.  After being spoiled with a guy like Colt McCoy for so long, Texas was unable to get much going passing the ball and they failed to win more than five games and earn a bowl bid.  

That’s bad for Texas Football.

The receivers on the team didn’t fare as well as they could have if the quarterback position had been better in 2010.  Granted, at times the receiving corps let the Longhorns down but for the most there were problems getting the ball from the quarterback.

Let’s take a look how the receivers on the Longhorn’s 2010 team did this season and what they did to contribute to the team during their losing season.

The Longhorns were led at the receiver position by senior James Kirkendoll.  Kirkendoll played in 12 games catching 52 passes for 707 total yards with two touchdowns and an average of 13.6 yards per catch.  There were many that felt that Kirkendoll would have a much better season than he did but as a result of the problems at quarterback he didn’t do as well as they thought.  He won’t be back next year.

Freshman receiver Mike Davis has a bright future with the team and if the passing game improves then he should improve as well.  During the 2010 season, he participated in 11 games and caught 47 passes for 478 yards with an average of 10 yards per catch with two touchdowns.  Depending on whom the Longhorns decide to bring in as an offensive coordinator this offseason, Davis should be able to have a good season next year and could become their featured wide receiver.

Sophomore Marquis Goodwin spent some time on the field this season and contributed to the Longhorn’s passing attack.  He played in 11 games and had 31 catches for 324 yards and one touchdown averaging 10 yards per catch.  Goodwin has a great chance at becoming a valuable asset in the Longhorn’s passing game next season especially if they go with an offense that features passing as a big part of their attack and you know that they will.

This was senior John Chiles last season with the Texas and unfortunately it didn’t end as well as he had hoped it would.  Chiles was involved in 11 games for Texas catching 29 passes for 418 yards and one touchdown.  His average yards per catch was 14.  One of the many wide receivers that the Longhorns have remaining will have to step up and take Chiles place now that he’s played his last game as a Longhorn.  Who will it be?

Junior Malcolm Williams will be back next season after having a less than stellar 2010 season with the Longhorns.  In 2010, he played in all 12 games, had 24 catches for 334 yards and two touchdowns with an average of 13.9 yards per catch.  Williams will be the senior leader at the position on this team in 2011 and hopefully he will be able to step up and take a bigger role next season.

DeSean Hales was a sophomore this last season and played in 11 games recording ten catches for 75 yards with no touchdowns and an average of 7.5 yards per catch.  Hales will factor into things next season and should be featured much more in the offense.  Let’s see what the Longhorns decide to do with their coordinator situation to see how their passing game may end up in 2011.

Sophomore tight end Barrett Matthews got some attention in the passing game this past season.  He played in all 12 games and caught ten passes for 47 yards and one touchdown averaging 4.7 yards per catch.  The Longhorns didn’t really use their tight ends that much this season but could look to use them much more in 2011.  They have a pretty nice group coming back and should try to use the tight ends much more in their offense.

Senior tight end Greg Smith has seen his last days as a Longhorn but at least he got to see a little action in 2010.  All together Smith played in all 12 games for Texas catching nine passes for 60 yards, no touchdowns and an average 6.7 yards per catch.  

Freshman tight end Dominique Jones didn’t get too many opportunities in 2010 but he’s assured of seeing much more action next season.  He played in five games catching two passes for 14 yards and one touchdown with an average of seven yards per catch.  Look for him to develop at the tight end position much more next season and become a bigger factor in the Longhorn’s passing game.

Freshman wide receiver Darius White played in 10 games and caught just one pass for five yards.  He’s another one of those guys that should improve next season.

Texas did pass to their running backs a few times in 2010.  Fozzy Whitaker led all running backs in catches with 34 for 217 yards and no touchdowns with an average of 6.4 yards per catch.  Tre’ Newton was second with nine catches for 56 yards while Cody Johnson caught four passes for 49 yards.

There are other players on the roster heading into next season that will impact the Longhorn’s passing game.  They are (at wide receiver): Sophomore Marquis Goodwin, Freshman John Harris, Sophomore Brock Fitzhenry, Freshman Jaren Nickelson, Freshman Chris Jones, Freshman Gregory Timmons, Freshman Cade McCrary and Sophomore Patrick McNamara.

The tight ends that will be around when the team comes back to play next season will be Junior Ahmard Howard, Freshman Darius Terrell, Sophomore D.J. Grant, and Junior Cameron Wendt.

Once the Longhorns have figured out who their offensive coordinator is going to be and he is hired we should be able to have a much better idea of what they plan to do on offense in 2011.  Will they try to pass a lot, will they run more or will they mix it up? 

We will find out soon.