An important question surrounding each UT position group (offense)

On Thursday we took a look at some big picture questions for Texas heading into the season. Today we’ll focus in a little closer and discuss questions pertaining to each position. If these questions along with the ones to follow on defense are largely answered in the affirmative, Texas will hit the over on Vegas’ 8.5 win total and the optimism of the Kool-Aid brigade will finally be rewarded.

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I’m trying to stay away from the overly obvious, but typically questions heading into the season are obvious for a reason. 

Let’s start with the most important position in the sport — quarterback.

How soon can Quinn Ewers transition from talented passer to talented quarterback?

A talented passer drops back and hits the tight end down the seam. A quarterback looks the safety off first. A talented passer hits his first read in stride down the field. A talented quarterback can do the same to his third receiver when need be. A talented passer carves up a defense from the comfort of the pocket. A talented quarterback operates amidst the chaos of a broken pocket, slides his feet, keeps his eyes up, finds a window, resets his feet, pauses to reflect just how far he’s come as a player, and delivers a strike. Ewers is probably going to have more of those pockets than he’d like. In time, he’ll be better for it, but how soon?

What’s in store for Keilan Robinson? 

It was good to see the former Alabama transfer holding court for the press recently. That got me thinking, though he had a bit of a quiet camp, surely they have something up their sleeve that hasn’t been repped a ton in August. Robinson is simply too fast and too hard to tackle to not receive touches, even with one of the best running back duos in the country ahead of him. Though he hasn’t demonstrated the greatest hands, he’s an easy guy to get the ball to in myriad ways. Due to toughness and surprising strength, he’s not a bad traditional ball carrier, either. Yes, a touch for him is one less for Bijan Robinson, but they are complementary talents.

Can Casey Cain approximate a classic No. 2 receiver?

In Xavier Worthy, Texas has a clear No. 1. Some on the IT staff believe he’s the most important offensive player in the program. With the loss of Isaiah Neyor, Sark lost some size and ball-winning skills on the perimeter.

While Jordan Whittington will almost assuredly be the de-facto No. 2 receiver, redshirt freshman Casey Cain has classic No. 2 receiver traits, namely good hands, reliability to be in the right spot, and the ability to win with his length and body in traffic underneath. He also stands to benefit from defensive focus placed elsewhere. Sark can’t replace Neyor with a like for like, but Cain can replace some of the No. 2 aspects Neyor possessed as the boundary receiver. He’s not the athlete Neyor is and his ability to beat press coverage needs to be proven, though he does have the traits to win at the line of scrimmage. There’s no sugar-coating it, Neyor was a big loss, but Cain should be able to mitigate aspects of it.

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Everyone is excited about improved individual talent on the O-line, but what about unit cohesion?

It was curious watching people say Kyle Flood’s Alabama unit won the Joe Moore Award, given to the nation’s top offensive line, due to talent. Of course they had talent, but if you watched that group for more than five snaps you would see how terrifically coordinated they were. Working in unison isn’t unique to the ultra-talented, but as Flood infuses some talented, albeit young players, can he also create or retain cohesion across the line? Even if it may not have felt like it, his unit came a long way last year, but they need to pick up where they left off, not start over in the opener.

The tight ends have some of the best hands on the team, but can they block?

Ja’Tavion Sanders and Juan Davis have hands most receivers would envy. Jahleel Billingsley is part receiver and part tight end. Guannar Helm is a solid two-way tight end, but may require a little more physical and technical development before he becomes a quality blocker. Their ability as receivers will be devastating at times this season but receiving is only half of the game. For the offense to unleash Bijan in the run game and provide the young passer time in the pocket, this group is going to need to provide adequate run and pass blocking. If they do, the offense should be as good as fans hope.