2010 NCAA Football Preview: Texas
Nothing stings more than to dominate all season long, be called a championship calibre team, and end up losing the one game that matters in the end. Members of the Texas Longhorns football team might say though, that there is one thing that stings more:
That would be losing with your Heisman trophy caliber quarterback injured and an inexperienced freshman in Garrett Gilbert taking over on the biggest stage in college sports.
Gilbert showed flashes of future brilliance during the game, but was simply over matched against a tough Alabama team. While that had to hurt for the departing seniors, the rest of the team had to think that they would be in good hands come 2010.
While there is no way you replace a player the calibre of Colt McCoy, you figure out a way to move on anyhow.
With Mack Brown, the highest paid coach in college sports, the Longhorns are in good hands. Along with defensive coordinator and future head coach Will Muschamp, Brown will have the Longhorns in fighting form in 2010.
Offence
No one would be surprised if the Longhorns had a bit of a drop of in offensive production in 2010. Losing the most successful quarterback in college football history hurts.
Garrett Gilbert will try to do his best to make people forget the spectre of Colt McCoy. He was thrust in a pretty difficult position when McCoy was injured early in the BCS Title game last season, but held his composure and gave the Longhorns a chance to win in the end.
Gilbert will be without one of McCoy’s favourite targets, wide receiver Jordan Shipley. He does have three talented receivers coming back that should help him out early in Malcolm Williams, John Chiles, and James Kirkendoll. Combined the three barely had more catches than Shipley had alone in 2009.
With McCoy at the helm the Longhorns have not worried too much about a running game. What they do next season remains to be seen; they do have a whole group of running backs coming back in 2010 including the likely starter Tre Newton (552 yards on 116 carries). Also likely to see time will be Cody Johnson (87 carries for 335 yards) who scored most of the touchdowns on the ground for the team with 12, Vondrell McGee, and Forrest Whittaker.
Defence
The strength of the team is going to lie in the defense, especially the secondary. In a conference that is heavy with pass-happy teams, bringing back the best secondary in the conference will be important to their conference title hopes, not to mention any national title aspirations they may have in 2010.
Back at the cornerback positions will be the Brown Boys, seniors Chykie Brown and Curtis Brown; both had 44 tackles last season with three interceptions between the two. Blake Gideon saw his tackle production drop off a little from 2008 to 2009 (56 to 43), but his six interceptions made up for it. Kenny Vaccaro could be looked upon to start at the open safety position; Nolan Brewster will look to pick up some more playing time as well.
Keenan Robinson returns at linebacker; his production stepped up significantly in 2009 from 23 tackles in 2008 to 59. The team likely will look to him to pick up his production again in 2010.
Where they may hurt defensively will be in the front four. The only returning starters are Kheeston Randall and Sam Acho; Randall only had 19 tackles last season while Acho had 55. Acho’s eight sacks make him an important part of the Longhorn front. However, if the team can’t find replacements to fill in the remaining two spots he will probably grow accustomed to double teams in 2010.
Texas has been on top for some time. What has made them so good has been Mack Brown’s ability to bring in young, talented players year in and year out. Whether or not those guys will be able to acclimate to starting rolls will dictate how successful 2010 will be for the ‘Horns.
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