UT, freshmen await South Bend

AUSTIN — It all sounds good, especially if you are a coach, player, or fan of University of Texas football. The freshmen work hard. The freshman are fearless. The freshmen are fast learners. The freshmen are prepared. The freshmen are good.

Freshmen, freshmen, freshmen.

Seven of them will start the game for Texas and begin their careers by waking up the echoes in South Bend, Indiana, Saturday when the Longhorns face Notre Dame. Inquiring minds all want to know the same thing: how will these freshmen perform when the college football world sees them for the first time with leprechauns and Knute Rockne’s ghost taunting them all the while?

Only Touchdown Jesus knows for sure, and he ain’t talking.

At Tuesday’s media availability, Texas assistant head coach for offense and quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson was talking, and he didn’t seem overly concerned with the burnt orange freshmen invasion. Perhaps the biggest freshmen concern most have entering the season is this: both UT starting offensive tackles are first-year players which, coupled with quarterback Tyrone Swoopes’ state of uncertainty, gives Texas fun a bit of concern, to say the very least.

“Those two freshmen, I’m excited about them, they are going to be great players here for as long as they are here,” Watson said confidently of Connor Williams and Patrick Vahe. “They’ll be fine. The other guys have to help out the young guys, and they know that.”

But what about the two main backups behind running back Johnathan Gray? D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren III are big – and talented – but they also may or may not have to shave. Are you concerned at all about handing those teenagers the ball in college football’s grand cathedral?

“I love those two guys,” Watson said. “I love the big back. I love wearing people out with big guys. I want to make it hurt when you tackle them. I think they’ll be fine.”

What about you, tight end/H back Alex De La Torre, what do you think about being surrounded by a bunch of babies?

“They’re ready for it,” De La Torre said. “They built confidence in practice, and they’re ready to go. You’ll see Saturday night.”

And what say you, Naashon Hughes? Your defense has freshmen at linebacker and defensive back, so how worried are you?

“So far, the young guys are handling it,” Hughes said. “They know what they’re doing. It’s a big step they are taking, but they know how to handle it.”

Marcus Johnson, what do you think of your fellow receiver, John Burt, the freshman Floridian who will be catching balls next to you?

“Of course he’ll have jitters, but he’s done the work,” Johnson said. “He doesn’t carry himself like a freshman.”

And finally, there is Duke Thomas, who might be the most effusive of all of those behind the microphone Tuesday. He’s a defensive back, after all, so you know he’s going to talk.

“Any of us would be nervous and anxious about it,” said Thomas, in his rapid-fire delivery. “But that’s what we came here for, the big games. You’re going to have jitters, that’s natural. But they work hard, and they are eager to learn. And the biggest thing about it is, they are already there physically.”

In other words, don’t worry.

NOTES

* The up-tempo – Watson said he’s fired up about the impending increase in tempo of his offense, which will incorporate more of the spread attack that is predominant at the high school level. “All of the players have taken to it. It’s in their nature, so it’s been an easy transition, and high school offenses have been a great training ground.” And how fast do you want to go? “Warp speed,” insists Watson, who added that he wants to snap the ball every 23 or 24 seconds. “We are totally different from what we were a year ago,” Watson said. “We’re not battling the same issues that we were this time last year. Now we’re ready to turn’em loose and let’em play.”

* The quarterbacks – Watson said experience and production were the key factors in naming Swoopes as the starter and Jerrod Heard as the backup quarterback. He also said Heard had one big advantage that Swoopes did not. “Honestly, Jerrod is where Ty was a year ago,” Watson said. “But he has the advantage now of learning from Ty. Ty kind of had to learn for himself. Both of them are the other’s best ally. They are really supportive of each other.”

* The state of Gray – Though Gray is obviously known primarily as a gifted carrier of the football, Watson – typically for a coach – spent a great deal of time complimenting the senior on his ability as a blocker. “He’s so good a protection, he’s like a coach out there,” Watson said. “And he’s so durable, and physical…he’s huge for us right now.”