Texas Football: Report Card Grades for the Longhorns' Second Game

It wasn't pretty, but the Texas Longhorns put together a scrappy, 17-16 win over the BYU Cougars on Saturday night. The triumph brings the Horns to a 2-0 start to its 2011 season, but it was at this point last season where the road got a little bumpy.

Texas overcame another sluggish first half and adjusted well in the second half behind a relatively comfortable running game to come out on top.

The grades are in, and while they are not deserving of any honor roll praise, the Longhorns have created plenty on which to build.

Quarterbacks

Grade: D

Let's face the truth. The Garrett Gilbert Era in Austin is likely over and done with. The junior quarterback completed as many passes to BYU as he did to his own teammates, which probably isn't the best indication of growth and progress moving forward.

Case McCoy did his best to mimic what his older brother did for the Longhorns during his celebrated tenure, dinking and dumping his way underneath the BYU defense to finish 7-of-8 for 57 yards.

David Ash continued to wet his feet to complete 2-of-3 passes for 35 yards and one reception for 23 yards, courtesy of the Bryan Harsin offense.

The poor grade is a result of the inconsistency at quarterback. With three candidates to run the offense, it will only reflect on point production, as it will be difficult to expect the receivers to maintain their consistency with three different arms delivering balls.

Running Backs

Grade: B

Behind defense and a reliable running game, the Longhorns crept their way back into a winning attitude in the second half.

Credit the offensive line for improving as the game wore on, opening things up for Cody Johnson's two touchdown runs. Perhaps not enough credit can be given to true freshman Malcolm Brown. The Cibolo, Texas product finished with a team-best 68 yards on 14 carries.

The play of the quarterback position may hold less significance if the Horns can put together four quarters of a sturdy running game. But whatever the case may be, it is time for Brown to claim his role as the starting tailback. With the Gilbert Era effectively done with, what better time to start fresh in the backfield as well.

Receivers

Grade: D

Save for Jaxon Shipley, the wide receivers and tight ends were simply pedestrian.

Obviously with increased consistency from the quarterback position, the receivers should become more comfortable with a consistent ball coming out of the pocket.

But until that point, Shipley seems to be the lone, reliable option out wide. Marquise Goodwin's return should help with with depth and consistency, but it will take some time for the track star to fully grasp the offense.

Offensive Line

Grade: B-

The interior line, namely Mason Walters, Dom Espinosa and David Snow, held their own throughout the night, paving the way for the Texas backs to 166 yards on the ground.

Slowly but surely, the Horns are putting something together in the trenches. The group will only get better as the season wears on, and with Malcolm Brown surely getting more touches, it will reflect positively on the line.

Likewise in the passing game, once the consistency issues are hammered out between David Ash and Case McCoy, the offense should take on an entirely different face.

Defensive Line

Grade: B-

The defensive tackles turned a complete 180 from Week 1, helping to hold BYU to just 43 yards rushing.

Conversely, the defensive end duo of Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat again failed to produce the type of pressure most Texas fans are expecting.

As the season moves on, the Horns absolutely need better efforts from two of their best playmakers in the trenches. Texas cannot afford having invisible defensive ends.

Linebackers

Grade: B+

The Longhorns have found a staple on defense in their linebackers.

Jordan Hicks, Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson have proven to be a strength in the center of Texas' defense, and as they go, so does the defensive production.

These three are monsters in the run game, as the Cougars didn't pick up more than nine yards on any single rush attempt.

The scary thing is that once the defensive line starts to increase its pressure, it should only increase productivity at the second level.

Secondary

Grade: B+

The young, Texas cornerbacks did a phenomenal job blanketing the Cougars' receivers. Adrian Phillips and Quandre Diggs each picked off a Jake Heaps attempt. The trio of Phillips, Diggs and Carrington Byndom may be young, but their promise is sky-high with plenty of room for growth.

What kept the secondary from earning an A was minimal presence from the safeties, especially in the run game.

Still, it is a great sign to see production from the young corners, especially when there is little pressure coming from the defensive line.

Special Teams

Grade: C+

Special teams will be an area that can provide a huge lift in a short amount of time for the Longhorns.

With weapons like D.J. Monroe and Marquise Goodwin, a couple of speedy track athletes, Texas can threaten a touchdown on any given punt or kickoff.

Consistency, however, is still an issue on both returning and defending kicks and punts. Historically, the Longhorns have excelled on special teams when most other programs have failed, but it has been some time since the Horns have been deadly on either end.

Texas has the weapons; they just haven't come out yet. Right now, it's a ho-hum unit.

Coaching

Grade: B-

The first half was a mess, exacerbated by a couple of Gilbert interceptions.

Defensively, Manny Diaz made some major adjustments at the half that controlled the BYU offense and kept the Cougars to just one touchdown in the game. Added up, that makes just one end zone score in eight quarters for the Texas defense.

Offensively, Bryan Harsin simply got the job done. It wasn't pretty, given that all three signal callers saw significant time, but the Horns leaned on the running game in the second half, and it carried them to victory.

Credit to the coaches and the players for buckling down and executing a team win and nothing for the individual. This is a momentum and confidence builder moving forward.

Intangibles

Grade: B

There is youth all over this Texas team, and the youngsters had hands in so many game-changing plays. Obviously, it is hard for many coaches to rely on inexperience and talent when they come so close together, but between Shipley, Diggs, Phillips, Ash, McCoy and Brown, among others, there is a wealth of hope for the Longhorns this season.

The first few games are expected to be ugly gut-wrenching. But when you can add up talent and the immeasurables of simply making plays when they matter the most, this team will be something special come October and November.