On Texas Football - State of the Program: Discussing the five players who could improve Texas' season
On the latest video episode of On Texas Football’s State of the Program Inside Texas’s Bobby Burton and Eric Nahlin got us caught up with the happenings around the Longhorns, including an extensive discussion on Nahlin’s story on five players who could improve Texas’ Season in 2023.
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The duo started the video with a quick thought about a statement made by Texas coach Steve Sarkisian on San Antonio on Tuesday about the current state of healthiness on his team.
“Sark told the media that every single player, he thinks, is going to be healthy by the time the team comes back and returns in June and July,” Burton said.
Nahlin, the publisher of Inside Texas, remarked that that was what he expected.
“They were they’re mostly healthy getting through spring ball,” Nahlin said. “Yeah, you can’t ask for anything more. But you know, it’s just always one of those things. You have to knock on wood because, you know, things can change in such a hurry.”
The five players Nahlin profiled a those who could improve are senior defensive tackle Alfred Collins, senior wide receiver Adonai Mitchell, senior safety Jalen Catalon and freshmen running back Cedric Baxter and linebacker Anthony Hill.
“I thought you chose them really, really smartly in that these are guys that can be additive to the team and make them go from a good football team to potentially a great team,” Burton explained.
Nahlin said that we’ve only been teased by Collins’ ability so far.
“You know, everybody remembers the interception Collins had in the Alamo bowl his freshman year, and he’s displayed that type of athleticism off and on,” Nahlin said. “We just have not seen it consistently enough. I’ll think he only has 10 and a half tackles for loss and four and a half sacks in his career, and that’s the type of season he should have. He can even have a better season than that if he puts it all together.”
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Both experts say that Mitchell, the Georgia transfer, could be the playmaking receiver the Longhorns have been pining for.
“AD has flashed his ability but if he puts it together for 12 games, he might not have as many receptions as (Xavier) Worthy but I think teams are going to fear him every bit as much,” Nahlin said. “He’s a size mismatch in the boundary, and he can work with quickness, he can win with speed, and he can win 50/50 balls.”
Catalon, according to Sarkisian, will be ready for full strength and conditioning work prior to preseason drills in August.
“He hasn’t played as much in recent years so I think a lot of people forget how dynamic he was as a playmaker in the in the back end,” Nahlin said about Catalon. “He’s an eraser – he erases ball carriers and comes downhill like he shot out of a cannon. Sort of like how Quandre Diggs plays in the NFL.”
Go watch the video in its entirety to see what Burton and Nahlin think about the two freshmen.
