Cade Brewer on fifth year return to Texas football

University of Texas tight end Cade Brewer commented on his decision to return to Texas for a fifth season during media availability on Monday. Brewer has started 20 games for the Longhorns since 2017 in a career hampered by injuries.

Cade Brewer on his Texas return

Speaking with media on Monday, Cade Brewer fielded questions about his decision to return to Texas for a fifth year instead of declaring for the NFL draft. NCAA athletes that participated in the shortened 2020 season were told that their four years of playing eligibility would not be impacted by it. With an extra year of college eligibility, Brewer enters the 2021 season as a “super senior” for a fifth year of play.

Brewer explained that with his experience comes a new role as a leader with the Longhorns.

“Obviously I have an important role on this team being a fifth-year guy that’s played a lot,” Brewer stated. “They want me to be that vocal leader on the field and when things aren’t going well, get it back going again. It’s been awesome, [I’m] very glad I came back. This coaching staff has been unbelievable. Very hard on us, but also great guys.”

Brewer went on to explain his reasoning for passing on the NFL draft, and what he could hope to get from a fifth year at Texas.

“I think I had a lot to prove to people. I didn’t think I was quite ready to come out and go to the draft. I think one more year of development and ultimately winning a championship as well. That was really the main reason, but here I am ready to roll this season… ready to get this thing going, I can’t wait.”

Cade Brewer’s career so far

Cade Brewer’s playing time at Texas has been limited so far by injuries, including a torn ACL late in his freshman season of 2017. After recovering from injury, he never fully worked his way back into the starting lineup as a sophomore and played mostly special teams.

When his fellow tight end and starter Andrew Beck left for the NFL, Brewer stepped into the starting role as Texas’ tight end in 2019. He played most of the season as a starter before suffering an ankle injury against Texas Christian University and missed the remainder of the year. In 2020, Brewer finally hit his stride with the team and hopes to develop fully with an extra year of college play.

In four seasons as a Longhorn so far, Brewer has caught 37 receptions for 427 yards and five touchdowns.

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