Texas Football: Report Card Grades for Texas vs. UCLA

The media called it "Road Test Saturday," and while some failed considerably, the Texas Longhorns passed with flying colors, despite racking up 49 points against what some would say is a poor UCLA team.

Nevertheless, the 29-point win was the kind of statement victory that this young Longhorns program needed moving forward as they enter their Big 12 schedule.

Led by Case McCoy, Malcolm Brown and a swarming defensive presence, Texas jumped out to a big lead and never looked back.

The grades are out, and the Horns are poised for a place in the Honor Roll.

Quarterback

Grade: A

With respect to what the coaching staff wanted out of this position after the changes in the depth chart, Texas couldn't be happier with the results.

Case McCoy was every bit as composed as his brother would've been, and he showed flashes of that McCoy "moxie" in and out of the pocket. Connecting with D.J. Grant on two touchdowns, in addition to his seemingly innate connection with anyone named Shipley, will only help his comfort level moving forward. Extending plays with his feet and keeping his head looking downfield seem to be his forte, and the Horns have something to build on with an outstanding performance, minus a few poor decisions.

David Ash, meanwhile, did everything asked of him. He was 3-for-3 passing and converted some clutch third downs.

Make no mistake, this game belonged to McCoy.

Running Back

Grade: A

The Malcolm Brown Era is officially here, and the jury is fully convinced of its potential.

Countless times, the true freshman appeared to gain two or three yards before bouncing off defenders and falling forward for a few more. Negative runs were few and far between for the former five-start recruit.

Brown, who is very much the feature back of the Texas offense, gobbled up 110 yards on 22 carries and found the end zone once.

Fozzy Whittaker was relegated to spot duty, but he looked fresh on his 36-yard touchdown score from a wildcat formation.

Overall, the Longhorns were able to run the ball when they wanted and how they wanted. Texas ran the ball a total of 50 times for 284 yards and four touchdowns. Mack Brown wanted this kind of production last season, but he'll get it this year.

Between Brown's special talent, Whittaker's change of pace, Cody Johnson's slams up the gut and a flurry of end-arounds from Marquise Goodwin, Jaxon Shipley and D.J. Monroe, Texas has something special.

There are well-defined roles in the running game, and as long as Bryan Harsin continues to exploit those roles, Texas should be successful on the ground.

Receivers

Grade: A

In the passing game, it was the Grant, Shipley and Mike Davis show.

Grant, out of the tight end position, had a career game hauling in six catches for 77 yards and three touchdowns. Shipley was all over the place, securing 46 yards on five receptions, one rush for 15 yards and a touchdown pass to Grant. Davis, who has been hit or miss so far this season, still presented his deep threat status, catching three passes for 77 yards.

Texas threw the ball only 20 times, but the receivers made them all count.

The Longhorns could be on the verge of a dominant running game, but the balance they showed in this game was critical moving forward.

Grant's performance cannot be overstated. Harsin's offense runs many tight end sets, and if Grant can consistently be that outlet for McCoy or Ash in the middle of the field, the rest of the passing game can open up.

Offensive Line

Grade: B+

The offensive line was good and solid, but there is still room for growth. McCoy's shiftiness in and out of the pocket probably made the line appear to be better than they were, but credit the interior line for creating the gaps in the running game.

David Snow, Dom Espinosa and David Snow are the main fixtures of the line that can lead this team's running game to where it needs to go, but the tackle positions has to generate some concern when Texas plays against better defensive linemen.

The 284 yards on the ground doesn't come without some good things in the trenches, but this group is far from being a complete package.

Defensive Line

Grade: B-

The Longhorns defensive line kept UCLA under 200 yards for the first time this season, but at a 4.1 average, it can only garner mild praise.

Manny Diaz helped mask some weakness by loading linebackers in the box, and it provided some backbone to the run defense.

But as far as pressure from the ends, Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor finished the game with again something extra to be had.

Most expected the interior line to struggle, but hardly anyone, I daresay no one, expected zero production out of the two former five-star recruits.

Linebackers

Grade: B+

The linebackers did well, despite not having that true middle linebacker presence in the lineup yet.

Emmanuel Acho was the star of the show, picking up multiple quarterback pressures and a sack. The senior was everywhere and made his presence felt in a game that needed the linebackers to come up big.

Keenan Robinson was solid for having moved to the MIKE position this year. He is quick to the ball and is a sure tackler, but he doesn't stuff the gaps like one would want of a true middle linebacker.

Jordan Hicks went mostly unnoticed, but remember that he is only a true sophomore and slowly creeping onto the scene as a fixture at the position.

The group got burned a couple of times, but against a good running team like UCLA, you are happy to trade a couple of big gains for a solid overall performance.

Secondary

Grade: A-

Talk about a dominating performance.

Minus giving up a few big plays that didn't amount to much for the Bruins, the combination of Kenny Vaccaro and Blake Gideon at safety and Carrington Byndom and Adrian Phillips at cornerback was stellar.

Against the run, Vaccaro made his presence felt. Against the pass, all the defensive backs were involved in big plays throughout the game. Three first quarter interceptions forced UCLA's starter Kevin Prince out of the game, and by that time Texas had a 14-point lead and it would never be pressured.

All things considered, this was the best performing unit of the day.

Special Teams

Grade: C-

In a game where virtually every position unit played to par and better, special teams dropped the ball again (no pun intended).

Jaxon Shipley's muffed punt in the first quarter fortunately amounted to nothing for UCLA.

The return game and coverage was ho-hum.

The lone bright spot was Justin Tucker's 46.3-yard per punt. When Texas needed to flip the field position, the senior delivered.

Coaching

Grade: A

If you're searching for off-balance play calling and mixing things up, look no further than the offensive and defensive coordinators for the Longhorns.

It is almost as if Manny Diaz and Bryan Harsin come from the same school of thought, but had different professors.

Texas came in ready to play on both sides of the ball. The defense jumped on UCLA's poor passing game early, and the offense capitalized often.

The gameplans were spot on, and they were executed effectively. It was a great, all-around effort up and down the Texas program.

Intangibles

Grade: A

We learned a ton from Saturday's win.

Brown is the real deal at running back. McCoy brings the same presence, leadership and confidence that his brother had. The defense can force turnovers. The offense is electric and multiple.

The youth on this team will bring the swagger that was sorely missed last season, and they will bring it every weekend.