The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Spring position previews
03.02.2005 | Football
Throughout the week leading up to the opening of spring practice, Mack Brown-TexasFootball.com previewed the 2005 Longhorns entering those sessions, position by position.
Offensive Line
The Longhorns have one big void to fill on the offensive line, but return four starters and four other veterans who have seen significant action. Gone from the unit that paved the way for Texas to rank second nationally in rushing (299.2 ypg), 12th in scoring (35.3 ppg) and seventh in total offense (464.4 ypg) is C Jason Glynn, a starter in his final 38 career games. Among the returnees are four starters, three of which earned All-Big 12 recognition a year ago when Texas produced its most rushing yards (3,590) since 1977.
The returning starters are senior RG Will Allen (19 career starts/2004 honorable mention All-Big 12), RT Justin Blalock (25 straight starts/2004 first-team All-Big 12), LT Jonathan Scott (31 career starts/second-team All-American) and junior LG Kasey Studdard (11 starts in 2004). That group has combined to start 86 career games. Texas also returns senior Mike Garcia, who has five career starts as Allen's backup, as well as three of the other four top backups from a year ago. Junior C Lyle Sendlein, Glynn's backup for the past two seasons who has played in 23 career games at either center or guard, enters the spring as the lone new starter.
Senior RT William Winston and sophomore LT Tony Hills return as experienced backups at tackle. Veterans senior C Brett Valdez, who will work at center the spring after spending his first three years at guard, and sophomore G Kyle Thornton as well as redshirt freshmen G Cedric Dockery, T Greg Dolan and true freshman Adam Ulatoski will all compete for playing time in the spring. Redshirt freshman Dallas Griffin will miss the spring season while recovering from a knee injury.
Defensive Tackles
Texas' defensive tackles, who helped the Horns limit opponents to 107.4 rushing yards per game (16th NCAA) and 17.9 points per game (18th NCAA), return virtually intact. Anchoring that unit is one of the nation's premier defensive tackle tandems in senior Rodrique Wright (32 career starts) and senior Larry Dibbles (11 starts in 2004), both of whom passed up a chance to head to the NFL to return to UT for their senior seasons. Despite battling an ankle injury for much of the season, Wright earned second-team All-American honors while Dibbles made his mark in his first year as a starter, claiming first-team All-Big 12 honors. That duo combined to post 85 tackles, eight TFLs and 16 pressures last season. Dibbles will miss spring drills but be back with the team for summer workouts.
In 2004, Wright still managed to post 36 tackles, a sack, three TFLs and seven QB pressures in 11 games. In 2003, he registered 80 tackles (tied for fourth on team), 12 TFLs (tied for second on team), a team-high 7.5 sacks, a team-best 30 QB pressures, three batted down passes and shared the team lead with three forced fumbles. For his career, Wright has 181 tackles, 28 TFLs, 13 sacks, 52 QB pressures and five forced fumbles in 37 games (32 starts).
In his first year as a starter last season, Dibbles made the best of his opportunity. After seeing limited action as a freshman and sophomore, Dibbles put his high-energy and relentless style of play to work en route to first-team All-Big 12 honors for the Horns in 2004. He led all UT defensive linemen with 49 tackles and also posted five TFLs, 1.5 sacks, nine QB pressures and batted down six passes on the year. His forced fumble at Arkansas, when the Razorbacks were driving deep in UT territory late in the fourth quarter, preserved that critical road victory for Texas. Dibbles has 72 tackles, nine TFLs, 2.5 sacks and 12 pressures in 28 career games (11 starts).
Also back in the middle for the Horns are a pair sophomores in Frank Okam and Derek Lokey, both of whom played as true freshman in 2004. A first-team Freshman All-American in 2004, Okam played in all 12 games, starting one, and recorded 22 tackles, six TFLs, two sacks, and nine QB pressures in his first season with UT. Lokey had 10 tackles, three TFLs, a half sack and five pressures in 10 games on the year. Sophomore Tully Janszen, who missed the 2004 season with a knee injury and will be limited this spring, played in seven games as a redshirt freshman in 2003 and will compete for action in the fall. Sophomore Thomas Marshall is a third-year veteran who will compete for playing time as well.
Tight Ends
Texas returns one of the nation's top tight ends in senior David Thomas, a first-team All-Big 12 pick last season. A replacement will be sought in the spring for Bo Scaife, a first-team All-Big 12 pick who completed his career ranked second on the UT all-time TE reception list (75) and third in receiving yards (997). The dynamic duo of Thomas and Scaife combined to catch 51 passes for 778 yards and seven TDs last season. Thomas is a versatile athlete who has lined up at tight end, H-back, slot receiver and wideout during his career. He has posted three of the top nine longest receptions by a TE in UT history. Thomas registered 25 catches for 430 yards and five TDs (T-No. 3 on UT's all-time TE list) last season and has recorded 48 catches (No. 6 on the UT all-time TE list) for 754 yards (No. 6 on the UT all-time TE list) and 10 TDs (T-No. 2 on the UT all-time TE list) in 38 games (25 starts).
His 60-yard TD catch at Texas A&M in 2003 is the fifth-longest reception by a TE in UT history. In 2004, he added a 49-yard TD reception in at Arkansas and matched that against Rice, marking the ninth-longest reception by a TE in school history. Thomas also recorded a 36-yard grab in the 2004 opener versus North Texas. He has registered five career catches of at least 30 yards and three of the 10 longest receptions by a TE in UT history. In 2003, he grabbed 14 passes for 219 yards and three TDs and his 61-yard TD catch at Texas A&M that year is tied for the fourth-longest reception by a TE in UT history.
There is plenty of talent in place to compete for Scaife's spot, led by junior Neale Tweedie, who will work exclusively at tight end this spring after serving double-duty as a tight end/defensive end last season and as a tight end/offensive tackle in 2003. Sophomore Tyrell Gatewood, who spent the past two years at receiver, will work at tight end/H-back this spring. Sophomore Steven Hogan, who saw action primarily on special teams last year, and redshirt freshman Peter Ullman will compete for playing time as well.
Defensive Ends
Texas returning starting tackle tandem will be flanked by a pair of returning starters at end in juniors Tim Crowder and Brian Robison. A third-team freshman All-American as a true freshman in 2003, Crowder continued his progress in 2004, earning honorable mention All-Big 12 honors. He posted 47 tackles, 10 TFLs and team highs of 4.5 sacks and 22 pressures on the season. He has played in 25 career games (21 starts) and posted 82 tackles, 13 TFLs, 5.5 sacks and 36 pressures. Joining Crowder as a returnee to the starting lineup is Robison, who earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors after moving from linebacker to end last spring. He led all UT defensive linemen with 14 TFLs and also recorded 48 tackles, 1.5 sacks and 18 pressures in 2004. His interception return for a TD against Missouri last season helped the Horns secure a 28-20 win. Robison, who played in 13 games and started three at middle linebacker in 2003, has registered 86 tackles, 18 TFLs, 1.5 sacks and 24 pressures in 25 career games (15 starts). Texas also will have the services of another returnee with starting experience with junior DE Mike Williams, who redshirted in 2004, is back in action in the spring. Williams posted 23 tackles, seven TFLs, six sacks, 15 pressures and three forced fumbles in 11 games (one start) as a sophomore in 2003. Fifth-year senior Kaelen Jakes is back to provide experienced depth to the end position. Promising freshman Brian Orakpo will compete for action this spring after redshirting in 2004.
Wide Receivers
For the second spring in a row, Texas' wide receiver unit will start the year without its top pass catcher from the previous season. Gone is Tony Jeffery who caught 33 passes for 437 yards and three TDs in 2004. There is plenty of talent returning with the most productive returnee being sophomore Limas Sweed. A starter in seven games, Sweed hauled in 23 receptions (No. 3 on the UT all-time freshman list) for 263 yards as a redshirt freshman. Also back with game experience is sophomore Nate Jones, who had seven receptions for 73 yards and started five games as a true freshman, senior Brian Carter (three starts in 2004) and sophomore Myron Hardy. Two other talented young receivers are returning to action after missing last season with injuries. Redshirt freshman Jordan Shipley was in the midst of a great preseason before a knee injury forced him to miss the 2004 season. Sophomore Billy Pittman missed much of last season with a shoulder injury. George Walker spent 2004 redshirting and will compete for playing time also.
Linebackers
Texas will be looking to fill its biggest loss on defense at the linebacker position with WLB Derrick Johnson completing his eligibility. Johnson posted team bests of 130 tackles and 19 TFLs, as well as a UT and NCAA record nine forced fumbles en route to National Defensive Player of the Year honors last season. The two-time consensus first-team All-American started 40 career games and registered 458 tackles (No. 3 on the UT all-time list) and a UT record 65 tackles for loss during his career. Texas returns its other two starters at linebacker in second-team All-Big 12 MLB Aaron Harris and SLB Eric Hall. Harris was Texas' second leading tackler with 118 stops in 2004. He also had two sacks, 10 TFLs, six pressures, nine pass breakups and a pair of forced fumbles on the year. Harris capped off a stellar junior season with a team-high nine tackles in the Longhorns Rose Bowl victory over Michigan. He has played in 38 career games (18 starts) and posted 191 tackles, 15 TFLs, 20 pressures, 11 PBUs and five forced fumbles. Hall, who started all 12 games at strongside LB in 2004, will start the spring competing for the starting weakside spot vacated by Johnson. A former fullback who also has worked at defensive end, Hall turned in 41 tackles, four TFLs, one sack and four pressures last year.
Another returnee with game experience, sophomore Robert Killebrew, will work with Hall at WLB. Killebrew, Johnson's top backup at WLB last year, played in 11 games and recorded 15 tackles and two pressures as a redshirt freshman. Redshirt freshman Nic Redwine will also compete for playing time at WLB this spring. After seeing action at SLB as a true freshman in 2003 and redshirting as a reserve quarterback last year, sophomore Eric Foreman will return to the defensive side of the ball this spring. Foreman, who posted 18 tackles, one TFL, one fumble recovery and five pressures in 12 games in 2003, enters the spring competing with redshirt freshman Jeremy Campbell and fifth-year senior Braden Johnson at SLB. Sophomore Scott Derry, who played in 12 games at either linebacker or on special teams last year, is Harris' top backup at MLB. He posted 21 tackles, two TFLs and a sack as a redshirt freshman in 2004. Redshirt freshman Rashad Bobino will also compete for action at MLB.
Quarterbacks
Entering his junior year with a 17-2 record (T-No. 9 on the UT all-time QB victory chart), Vince Young has steadily developed into one of the nation's premier offensive players. The 2005 Rose Bowl MVP is coming off of a season where he threw for 1,849 yards and 12 TDs and became the first player in UT history to combine for 1,000 yards passing (1,849) and rushing (1,079). He also rushed for a UT QB record 14 TDs. Young capped the year with a spectacular 192 yards rushing (No. 1 on UT's single-game QB rushing list) and four TDs, as well as completing 16-of-28 passes for 180 yards and a TD in leading the Horns to a Rose Bowl victory. The first QB in UT history to rush and pass for 1,000 yards in a season and rush and pass for 2,000 yards in a career, Young already ranks eighth on the UT all-time passing yardage list (3,004) and ninth in TD passes (18). His 5,081 yards of total offense rank eighth on the UT all-time list and his 2,077 rushing yards rank 14th all-time. Young's 25 career TDs are the second-most ever by a UT QB. He also has completed 59 percent of his passes (232-of-393) which is the best pass completion percentage for a UT QB through their first two seasons. Texas enters the spring without the services of reliable backup Chance Mock, who started six games in 2003. Mock threw for 1,613 yards and 17 TDs in 28 career games. After three seasons as the Horns third-string signal caller, senior Matt Nordgren enters the spring as UT's top backup. A bright fourth-year player who will complete his undergraduate degree this spring, Nordgren has completed 2-of-3 passes for 13 yards in seven career games. Junior walk-on Matthew McCoy enters the spring as the Horns No. 3 QB and incoming freshman Colt McCoy is expected to compete for playing time as a true freshman when he arrives in the fall.
Specialists
Texas returns all of its primary kickoff/punt return men, its punter, a reliable deep snapper and a place-kicker and holder with game experience in 2005. Senior P Richmond McGee has steadily improved and enters his third year as the Horns punter and fourth handling kickoff duties. He averaged 39.7 yards on 49 punts and dropped 11 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line in 2004. Of his 75 kickoffs on the year, 28 were touchbacks. He has averaged 40.3 yards per punt on 95 career punts and dropped 20 punts inside the opponents 20. Of his 249 career kickoffs, 91 have been touchbacks. The Longhorns top kickoff returner, junior Selvin Young (career averages: 23.8 yards per kickoff return/17.5 per punt return), was sidelined for most of last season with a broken ankle and will miss the spring season while he continues to rehab that injury. He registered a UT first when he returned a kickoff and punt for a TD in the same game in 2003. Young, who already has tied the UT record for career kick returns for scores at three (two punts/one kickoff), has returned two of his seven career punts for TDs. Junior Aaron Ross, who replaced the injured Young on punt returns in 2004, averaged 7.6 yards on 18 punt returns on the year. Sophomore Ramonce Taylor gained experience returning both kickoffs and punts as a true freshman and junior Tarell Brown has experience returning kickoffs. Senior PK David Pino, who filled in for an injured Mangum in the final two games of 2003 and has lettered twice, is the leading candidate for the place-kicking job. He has connected on three of his four career field goal attempts and 17-of-18 PATs. Junior Greg Johnson is the Horns backup punter. Before transferring to UT in 2003, Johnson averaged 43.8 yards per punt, made eight-of-13 field goal attempts and all 27 of his PAT attempts en route to Freshman All-American honors at Vandy in 2002. Senior Nick Schroeder, who served as Cullen Loeffler's (now the snapper for the Minnesota Vikings) backup deep snapper in 2002-03, proved to be a solid replacement in handling those duties last fall. Senior Matt Nordgren returns with experience as the team's holder.
Running Backs
With the graduation of Cedric Benson, the second-leading rusher in UT history and the sixth-best in NCAA history, Texas will spend the spring seeking a replacement for a back that rushed for 5,540 yards (No. 6 in NCAA history) and 64 TDs (third in NCAA history) over the last four years. Benson also became just the fifth player in NCAA history to rush for 1,000 yards in four consecutive seasons during that time. The Longhorns also will be without the services of the leading candidate to replace Benson in Selvin Young, who will miss the spring season while he continues to recover from a broken ankle he suffered in the second game of the 2004 season. Young, also UT's top kick and punt returner, has rushed for 661 yards and 10 TDs in 26 career games. He has 1,622 career all-purpose yards (8.9 yards per play). With Young sidelined, the Horns will focus the spring on the development of versatile sophomore Ramonce Taylor, true freshman Michael Houston and redshirt freshman Chris Ogbonnaya. Taylor, who joined only teammate Vince Young and USC's Reggie Bush in registering a rush, pass and reception of 40 or more yards last season, rushed for 283 yards and a TD on just 27 carries (10.5 ypc) as a true freshman. Houston is an early enrollee who graduated high school in December after posting 1,414 yards and 23 TDs as a senior. Ogbonnaya spent most of his redshirt season as a receiver, but has added 10 pounds (up to 215) and is a promising prospect at tailback.
Texas will also spend the spring auditioning for the starting fullback position. Gone is two-year starter Will Matthews who developed into one of the nation's top performers at the position and played a key role in Benson's rush to the 2004 Doak Walker Award. Also gone is promising veteran Albert Hardy who was forced to give up football after the 2004 season as a result of a series of injuries. Junior Ahmard Hall, a walk-on who joined the Longhorns in 2003 after serving in the Marines, is the frontrunner for the position. He played primarily on special teams last season. Marcus Myers, who after spending his first three seasons working at linebacker and seeing much of his game action on special teams, will make the transition to fullback and compete with Hall. Another walk-on, junior Wesley Jones will also compete for playing time. TE/H-backs David Thomas and Tyrell Gatewood also will see action at fullback.
Secondary
Texas returns three of its four starters from a talented defensive backfield. The lone loss is FS Phillip Geiggar, a second-team All-Big 12 pick in 2004 who played in 48 career games (22 starts). Led by fourth-year starter SS/CB Michael Huff, who passed on leaving for the NFL early to return for his senior season, the Horns three returning starters have combined to start 80 career games. Huff (37 starts) is joined by fourth-year starter and 2004 honorable mention All-Big 12 selection senior CB Cedric Griffin (31 starts), and junior CB Tarell Brown (12 starts) as returning starters in the secondary. All totalled, UT returns 11 defensive backs with game experience.
An honorable mention All-America and first-team All-Big 12 pick in 2004, Huff leads a deep safety unit that returns seven of the eight players that saw game action a year ago. Huff registered 73 tackles, two interceptions and a team-high 14 PBUs as a junior. He has played in 38 career games (37 starts) and posted 209 tackles, 16 TFLs, 30 PBUs, two caused fumbles and blocked a pair of kicks. Huff averages 25.2 yards per interception return and has returned four of his six career picks for TDs. The four career INT returns for TDs are a UT record and one short of the NCAA career mark. Fourth-year junior Matt Melton is Huff's top backup at SS. He battled injuries as a junior, missing four of the final five games, but has played in 21 career games and posted 17 tackles, three PBUs and returned a fumble for a TD. Sophomore Bobby Tatum and senior walk-on Karim Meijer will also compete for playing time at SS.
Junior Michael Griffin, who has been Huff's top backup at SS the past two years, enters the spring as the frontrunner to claim the free safety job. Griffin played in all 12 games (one start) and posted 49 tackles, two TFLs, one sack, three PBUs, one fumble recovery, a caused fumble and two blocked kicks as a sophomore. He has 114 tackles, three sacks, seven TFLs, one interception, five PBUs, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 24 career games (three starts). Sophomore Drew Kelson and Michael's twin brother, Marcus, will compete for playing time at free safety as well. They both were special teams standouts for the Horns last season. Marcus Griffin ranked third on the team with seven special teams tackles as a redshirt freshman while Kelson played in eight contests as a true freshman.
On the corner, Griffin is a fourth-year starter who heads up a crew of cornerbacks that returns both of its starters and its top two backups in 2005. Griffin turned in 68 tackles, three TFLs, two interceptions and six PBUs en route to honorable mention All-Big 12 honors as a junior and has 189 tackles, seven TFLs, three interceptions and 17 PBUs in 38 career games (31 starts). Brown registered 42 tackles, five TFLs, 1.5 sacks and four PBUs in starting all 12 games last year. Junior Aaron Ross and sophomore Brandon Foster enter the spring as the top backups at CB. Ross has played in 25 career games and posted 63 tackles, one interception and five PBUs. Foster played in nine games as a redshirt freshman last fall. Redshirt freshman CB Ryan Palmer will miss the spring season while he continue to recover from a knee injury while sophomore CB Erick Jackson will miss the spring, but is expected to return for summer workouts.
