On Texas Football - State of the Program: A discussion of every position on the Longhorn football team
On the latest video episode of On Texas Football’s State of the Program, Inside Texas’ Bobby Burton and Eric Nahlin get us caught up with the sports happenings around the 40 Acres, including an update on Spring drills for the Longhorns and a look at each position.
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Nahlin, managing partner of Inside Texas, talked about how quarterback Quinn Ewers has grown in the role since last year and has a confidence he lacked at times in 2022.
“Quinn is obviously a lot more comfortable than we saw him at any point last year other than the very good beginning against Alabama,” Nahlin said. “He’s definitely a lot more composed in the pocket. He’s definitely lighter on his feet, more athletic. That lost weight is serving him well, not just making plays with his legs but making plays and staying and keeping plays alive behind the line of scrimmage and keeping his eyes downfield.”
Burton opined that a lot of people are paying close attention to the second-string battle at quarterback. He asked if there’s a battle for that position between Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning and if Manning for sure going to redshirt.
“Manning could also still be the backup and redshirt given the four-game rule and how close are the games Texas is in,” Nahlin said. “If Texas is blowing out Rice in the third quarter, I would expect Murphy to be the first quarterback off the bench. But if they have to prepare a full week for Alabama, then all bets are off.
“So I don’t really know who the (backup) quarterback is. I do believe that there’s a true battle. Certainly Maalik and Arch are treating it as they’re competing for it. That’s the way it should be.”
Burton said that there’s been so much tension about who’s leaving at the running back spot that people can forget that who’s coming back. He opined that while no “one” person is going to replace Bijan Robinson, “maybe the pieces they added might be better than anticipated.”
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Nahlin said the showing of the Longhorns running backs have given him a lot of confidence in the position.
“I think they can win with any combination of two from the five that they have,” Nahlin added. “All those guys need carries for different reasons. Our sources are putting it as they’re all pretty even. They all do different things that are good. So I’m feeling really confident about the platoon they have next year.”
At wide receiver, there is a good battle going between Casey Cain and AD Mitchell, the transfer from Georgia.
Burton said Texas may have some questions about the depth at tight end behind Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Does Texas have the best offensive tackle tandem in the Big 12 with Kelvin Banks and Christian Jones manning those spots? The duo has been so dominant that the Longhorns’ EDGE rushers have been having difficulty making an impact in Spring drills and scrimmages.
There’s plenty more to see and hear in the video, including a breakdown of the defense and a discussion about the hiring of Rodney Terry as Texas’ head basketball coach. You owe it to yourself to watch it in its entirety.
