National Signing Day 2011: Texas Longhorns' Top 5 Positional Recruiting Needs
The Texas Longhorns had a forgettable 2010 season, marred by a litany of problems on and off the field.
The beginning of their offseason was highlighted by a complete overhaul of coaching changes on both sides of the ball, including offensive and defensive coordinators, special teams coordinator and offensive line, quarterbacks, wide receivers, defensive tackles, linebackers, defensive backs and strength and conditioning coaches.
Mack Brown has filled all the necessary positions on his staff, but that is only a fraction of the remedy needed to right the ship towards reclaiming Texas' position in the Big 12.
In addition to replacing the graduating seniors and draft-eligible juniors, the Longhorns still have multiple holes to fill on offense and defense, voids that were largely determining factors in their 5-7 record last year.
Heading into the 2011 season, with spring practice just weeks away, here are the top positional needs for the Longhorns' recruiting machine.
Offensive Guard
1 of 5
After implementing what was supposed to be a transformation to a power running offense during the spring and summer of 2010, ready for execution during the fall, the Texas running game fell flat on its face.
Some point fingers at the offensive line, which in some instances came off the line slowly and without the finishing technique required to bully the opponent's defense.
Creating the holes at the first and second levels can begin in the interior of the offensive line: the guards. The argument can be made that the Longhorns lack a single proven guard to anchor a proper running attack.
Tray Allen, the son of former Dallas Cowboy Larry Allen, has consistently battled injuries that have left the only senior mostly unused at the position. The lone junior is Mark Buchanan, who has also proven to be unfamiliar to most outside of the program.
Mason Walters, a former 5-star recruit out of Wolfforth, Texas, is a bright spot for the program. His fellow sophomores include Thomas Ashcraft and Trey Hopkins.
Incoming freshmen Sedrick Flowers has the make of a successful career in Austin, but the only thing for certain is that Texas is very thin on proven guards.
Offensive Tackle
2 of 5
Parallel to the problem at guard, the outside of the offensive line had its own share of trouble when it came to protecting the backfield, whether it was Garrett Gilbert dropping back or holding down the backside on running plays to the opposite side of the field.
Kyle Hix (pictured left) and Britt Mitchell were the seniors of the tackles, but depth likely will be a serious issue heading into next season.
Despite a slew of incoming freshmen (Josh Cochran, Taylor Doyle, Garrett Greenlea, Marcus Hutchins), the Longhorns remain thin at tackle. Paden Kelley and defensive-end-turned-offensive-tackle Kyle Kriegel are sophomores and round out the underclassmen. Junior Luke Poehlmann is the lone upperclassman, but he will be coming off an ACL injury suffered last year.
New offensive line coach Stacy Searels will have his hands full trying to put together a viable offensive line, which could be littered with underclassmen by default.
Filling the holes with the right guys who can and will develop quickly and skillfully will lend itself greatly towards fixing a major problem.
Running Back
3 of 5
Depth at running back has not been a problem for some time for the Longhorns, and that trend continues into 2011.
Quality of depth, however, is a cause for concern.
Fozzy Whittaker and Cody Johnson return to Texas as experienced seniors and will be highly serviceable next season, but neither possesses the characteristics of an every-down back or one with multiple skill sets.
Leave that to incoming freshman Malcolm Brown, rated the top high school running back in the nation in the 2011 class by Rivals.com
Junior Tré Newton, as a change-of-pace tailback, is gone from the program, leaving a horde of options, mostly unproven, in the backfield.
The rest of the juniors—D.J. Monroe, Jeremy Hills and Ryan Roberson—combined have had minimal touches during their careers in Austin. Monroe, however, has demonstrated glimpses of his speed and game-breaking abilities, and it will be interesting to see how the speedster factors into Bryan Harsin's offense.
Rounding out the remaining options at the position, Chris Whaley may get another shot at running back, but his size and frame shout H-back to most. Traylon Shead is coming off a redshirt year after setting Texas state high school football records for rushing yards, and Joe Bergeron joins Brown as incoming freshmen.
Many of these names may be unfamiliar to most outside of the program, which lends a hand to the number of options at running back. For the last couple of years, the Longhorns have gone with quantity over quality, despite what some may say.
Brown is a very bright spot for the future, but shoring up the position with some more quality names in next year's class could fill in any leftover question marks for some years to come.
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Cornerback
4 of 5
The Longhorns lost a trio of serviceable cornerbacks to the NFL in Curtis Brown, Chykie Brown and Aaron Williams. Replacing that amount of talent and experience so quickly will be nearly impossible for new defensive backs coach Jerry Gray.
Kenny Vaccaro saw the field consistently and could serve as a nickel corner, but the options elsewhere are very raw and young.
Currently listed at cornerback are sophomores Eryon Barnett, Carrington Byndom and A.J. White, all of whom have seen some time on the field but have been waiting in the wings. Byndom has shown morsels of his potential and could be a viable option to start.
The incoming freshmen look very promising, but catching up to the speed of the college level may take some time. Quandre Diggs, Leroy Scott and Josh Turner have the frames for corners, and Sheroid Evans likely will spend time working as a safety.
What was once a position that was rarely seen as an issue may take on a different light next season. Youth runs wild at cornerback for the Horns, and while the talent is there, continuing the label as "DB U" should be a priority for Texas.
Linebacker
5 of 5
The Longhorns have two seniors on scholarship next season, Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson, both of whom play the position very well.
However, looking past that, there is a plethora of very talented and young linebackers waiting to come onto the scene.
In the sophomore class, Tariq Allen has progressed slowly, with some believing he was primed to record some good minutes on the field. The nation's top linebacker in the 2010 class, Jordan Hicks, should factor in a healthy chunk of time after getting some opportunities as a freshman. Patrick Nkwopara has been a shadow.
Aaron Benson took a redshirt last season, giving some separation between him and the ultra-talented Hicks.
The incoming freshmen come very highly regarded.
Steve Edmond figures to be a fixture at the position when his time comes, but expect an adjustment process. Chet Moss and Kendall Thompson do not share Edmond's hype, but they are no slouches nonetheless, as Moss is a tackling machine.
With senior leadership quite thin and a handful of great prospects for next year's recruiting class, the Longhorns are expected to add depth with talent.
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