Steve Sarkisian encouraged by the Longhorns' depth at corner, Star
Texas cornerback Malik Muhammad left the Longhorns’ Monday practice before it had even begun in earnest, though Steve Sarkisian said it was a precautionary move and that he expects to standout sophomore to be back at practice on Wednesday or Friday.
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Without a likely starter for Monday’s practice, Sarkisian had a chance to see the depth of his cornerback and Star back group tested. Whatever he saw from Terry Joseph‘s charges must have been encouraging because he heaped a solid amount of praise on players at those positions after the helmet and shoulder pads day.
“I feel pretty good,” Sarkisian said Monday about the depth at cornerback. “We have some pretty good versatility in the back end. I know we probably label Jahdae (Barron), Jaylon Guilbeau, and Austin Jordan as Stars, but we’re rolling those guys at multiple positions. We’re rolling safeties at stars. We’ve got really good depth with (Terrance) Brooks and Gavin Holmes coming back with (Muhammad), it’s been helpful.”
Brooks started 13 games last season, the only exception coming at Iowa State when the Longhorns trotted out a base defense look that had Barron playing corner. Holmes started two games against Oklahoma and Houston while Ryan Watts was dealing with one of his myriad injuries, and was with the first-stringers on Monday in the wake of Muhammad’s departure. Muhammad himself saw plenty of playing time during his freshman season, including starts in the Big 12 Championship versus Oklahoma State and the Sugar Bowl against Washington.
Barron started 11 games last season with 10 of them at Star. He’d moonlight at cornerback when Texas was in base or when Pete Kwiatkowski deemed it necessary. The first player behind him at Star was Guilbeau, who started in Barron’s place against Houston and has four starts at the position to his name. Jordan has seen most of his action on special teams, including in 2023 when he returned a blocked PAT for two points at Iowa State.
Returners like the top group at corner in Muhammad, Holmes, and Brooks plus veteran Stars like Barron and Guilbeau provide a strong corps for the Longhorns tasked with covering some of the best wide receivers in the nation in the Southeastern Conference. Working in their shadows are some younger players who have already shown promise through four spring practices.
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“But there’s an influx of some young players that are getting some good opportunities and seeing some growth in them and what they can be,” Sarkisian said. “Wardell Mack, Kobe Black, those guys.”
Mack was ranked as the No. 143 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking while Black finished ranked No. 37. They’re learning the ropes at this juncture but by August will be working to earn playing time.
The next step for Sarkisian is figuring out who from that group should see the lion’s share of playing time August 31. But he has months left to accomplish that task. In the meantime, he’s liked what he’s seen from his players currently battling for position on the depth chart.
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“I feel really good about the depth,” Sarkisian said. “We’re going to have to harness it a little bit here at some point down in August of ‘what’s this rotation going to look like when we get there?’ Right now they’re all playing and they’re all looking pretty good.”
