The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
University of Texas
San Jose State
Football welcomes SJSU to town Saturday afternoon
09.04.2017 | Football
The Longhorns and Spartans will meet for the first time ever Saturday inside DKR - Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas Game Notes
Texas Football is back at home Saturday to continue the 2017 season when they play host to the San Jose State Spartans. The Longhorns are 0-1 following a 51-41 setback at the hands of the Maryland Terrapins last weekend. San Jose State enters with a 1-1 record. They were defeated by South Florida in week one before beating Cal Poly at home this past weekend. The trip to Austin will mark SJSU's first game on the road this season and will be the first contest between the two programs all-time.
National Game Coverage
• Saturday's game will kickoff at 2:35 p.m. and is set to be broadcast on Longhorn Network. Lowell Galindo will handle the play-by-play duties, while Ahmad Brooks will provide analysis from the booth. Kris Budden will round out the crew and report from the sidelines.
• Beginning two hours prior to kickoff, tune into Longhorn Network's Texas GameDay show live from DKR - Texas Memorial Stadium. Following the game, LHN will also host Texas GameDay Final for an hour postgame.
• A Texas radio broadcast with Craig Way, Roger Wallace and Quan Cosby can be heard nationally on Sirius channel 132, XM channel 199 and online channel 953.
At The Game ...
• Texas Athletics is honoring campus and Austin-area first responders for the contributions and sacrifices they make to ensure the safety and security of our campus and community.
• The Longhorns' 2016-17 Big 12 Championship teams will be recognized at halftime. UT programs claimed seven Big 12 Conference Championships: men's swimming and diving, women's swimming and diving, men's indoor track and field, women's golf, men's golf, rowing and men's outdoor track and field.
The All-Time Series
• Texas and San Jose State have never played on the gridiron.
• The Longhorns are 13-1 (.929) against teams from the current Mountain West Conference. Their lone loss came to Air Force in the 1985 season.
• Saturday's game will mark the first of two consecutive in which the Longhorns will play a team from California. UT travels to USC for a primetime showdown next Saturday (Sept. 16).
A Texas Win Would...
• Be the first win for Head Coach Tom Herman at Texas and improve his career record to 23-5.
• Mark the program's 892nd all-time victory, third-most in college football.
• Make UT 1-0 all-time against San Jose State.
Bouncing Back
• Texas is 12-5-1 (.694) in program history in games following a season-opening loss.
Head Coach Tom Herman
• Tom Herman is in his first season at Texas and his third season overall as a head coach. Herman is 22-5 in his career, including a 6-0 mark against Top 25 opponents.
• Herman guided Houston to a 13-1 record and a win in the Peach Bowl during his first season. He was just the fourth head coach in NCAA history with at least 13 wins in a rookie season (Chris Petersen, George Woodruff, Walter Camp) and just the fifth to win the first 10 games of his career (Petersen, Woodruff, Camp and Larry Coker).
• In addition to a 6-0 record against Top 25 opponents, Herman's teams have gone 3-0 against Top 10 foes and 2-0 against teams inside the Top 5.
Thrice As Nice
• After recording zero non-offensive touchdowns during the entire 2016 season, Texas Football exploded for three in Saturday's season-opener against Maryland.
• Holton Hill recorded two of them - a 31-yard interception return and a 65-yard blocked FG return.
• Reggie Hemphill-Mapps also had one, returning a punt 91 yards to the house.
• It was the first time since Oct. 10, 2009 that UT has scored three non-offensive TDs in a game.
First Time Starters
• Three Longhorns registered their first career start on Saturday against Maryland: TE Garrett Gray, WR Lil'Jordan Humphrey and RB Kyle Porter.
First Time Players
• Eleven UT players played in their first game as a Longhorn Saturday against Maryland: LB Marqez Bimage, TE Cade Brewer, DL Jamari Chisholm, DL Ta'Quon Graham, WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, OL Patrick Hudson, LB Gary Johnson, K Joshua Rowland, DS Kaleb Smith, DB Josh Thompson and RB Daniel Young.
The 2017 Schedule
• The Longhorns continue a difficult 2017 slate on Saturday against San Jose State.
• UT's opponents have a combined record of 10-3 entering this week and eight 2017 opponents went to a bowl game last season.
• Beginning with Texas' week three matchup at USC, the Longhorns will play the winners of last season's Rose, Texas, Sugar, Alamo and Cactus Bowls within a six-game span.
An Early Season Block Party
• After blocking five kicks and punts a season ago on special teams, the Longhorns picked right up where they left off in Saturday's season opener as Poona Ford blocked a Maryland field goal that was returned for a touchdown.
• It was Ford's third career blocked kick after he blocked two extra points last season.
Transforming Bodies
• Texas has gotten stronger and faster since the arrival of Yancy McKnight and having gone through his offseason training program.
• The Longhorns lost 525 pounds of body fat this offseason, while gaining 385 pounds of lean muscle mass.
• The team increased their vertical jump average to 30.3", power clean average to 279 pounds, back squat average to 467 pounds and bench press average to 315.
Brotherly Love
• The University of Texas roster features three sets of brothers in 2017.
• Junior defensive back Kris Boyd and brother Demarco, a redshirt-freshman linebacker, are from Gilmer, Texas.
• Devin Duvernay, a sophomore wide receiver, and his twin brother Donovan (redshirt-freshman defensive back) hail from Sachse, Texas.
• Third-year running back Kirk Johnson and sophomore wide receiver Collin Johnson are from San Jose, Calif.
Like Father, Like Son
• The Longhorns' 2017 roster features five players whose fathers also lettered in football at UT.
• Reserve quarterback Josh Covey's father Mark lettered as a defensive back for Texas in 1977.
• Linebacker Breckyn Hager's dad, Britt, lettered as a linebacker for the Longhorns in 1984, '85, '87 and '88 and is UT's all-time leading tackler.
• Kirk and Collin Johnson's father Johnnie lettered from 1976-79 and was an All-American defensive back for Texas.
• Redshirt-freshman deep snapper Michael David Poujol's dad Mike lettered as a punter in 1982.
Buechele Passing By The Numbers
• Sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele started his 13th career game on Saturday against Maryland.
• In the game against the Terrapins, he was 34-of-52 for 375 yards and two touchdowns. He set new career highs for passing yards, completions and attempts.
• His 375 yards passing were 10th-most in school history for a single game and the second-most by a sophomore (Chris Simms, 383).
• A native of Arlington, Texas, Buechele has now passed for 200 yards in 11-of-13 games, while Saturday's performance was his second career 300-yard game.
• In just 13 games, Buechele has passed for 3,333 yards, good for 10th-most for a career in school history.
• Buechele has thrown a touchdown pass in 12-of-13 games and Saturday marked his eighth career multi-passing touchdown game.
• In Saturday's game, Buechele, after an incompletion on his first throw, completed his next 12 passes. He was one completion shy of cracking the record books with 13 consecutive passes completed.
• He has been named to the watch lists for both the Maxwell Award and Davey O'Brien Award this offseason.
Hemphill-Mapps' Memorable Debut
• After redshirting in 2016, Reggie Hemphill-Mapps had a memorable debut on Saturday against Maryland.
• In the third quarter, the Manvel, Texas native returned a punt 91 yards for a touchdown. It was the third-longest punt return in school history, longest by a freshman in Big 12 Conference history and the Longhorns' first in nearly two years.
• He also tied for the team lead with seven receptions for 69 yards.
Johnson An Offensive Threat
• After totaling 24 catches for 264 yards and three touchdowns as a true freshman, wide receiver Collin Johnson is poised for a breakout sophomore campaign.
• The San Jose, Calif. native got off to a strong start in Saturday's opener against Maryland, catching seven passes for 125 yards and a touchdown.
• His 125 yards receiving were a career high.
Foreman Finds The End Zone
• Senior WR Armanti Foreman was back in the end zone on Saturday against Maryland.
• He caught five passes for 57 yards in the game, including his third-quarter touchdown from 33 yards out. It was his eighth career TD reception.
Williams Ready For The Spotlight
• Junior left tackle Connor Williams had a standout sophomore campaign a season ago and seems ready for an even better season in 2017.
• Last season, Williams was a consensus first-team All-American, just the fourth sophomore in UT history to receive first-team All-America honors (Hub Bechtol, 1944; Russell Erxleben, 1976 and Earl Thomas, 2009) and second sophomore (Thomas) to earn consensus honors.
• Throughout the offseason, Williams was recognized as a preseason All-American by the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, Sporting News, College Football News and Athlon Sports.
• Additionally, Williams was named to the watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Outland Trophy, Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award and was also named preseason All-Big 12.
Williams By The Numbers
• Williams' strength numbers are equally impressive as his on-the-field accolades. The junior from Coppell, Texas power cleans 365 pounds, bench presses 420 pounds, back squats 565 pounds and has a 33.5" vertical at 315 pounds. His vertical jump, pound-for-pound, is the best on the team.
• According to Pro Football Focus, Williams was the only returning OT to log more than 370 snaps in pass protection last season and allow less than five QB pressures. His Pass Blocking Efficiency was 98.2, tied for the best mark in the country. He allowed just one sack in 423 pass block snaps during 2016.
• With freakish numbers across the board, Sports Illustrated's Bruce Feldman named Williams at No. 35 on his 2017 Freaks list, while College Football News tabbed him as the 14th-best player in college football.
Experience Among Offensive Line
• Texas totals 71 career starts among offensive linemen on the 2017 roster.
• Williams has started all 24 games in which he has played during his Longhorn career.
• Texas has at least six returning starts at each position along the offensive line.
• Patrick Vahe has made 20 career starts, Zach Shackelford has 10, Jake McMillon has six and Tristan Nickelson has seven.
• Center Zach Shackelford is on the watch list for the Rimington Trophy, which honors the nation's top center.
• Patrick Vahe is on the watch list for the Polynesian College Football Player of the Year.
Warren Returns To the Field
• After missing the final eight games a season ago due to injury, RB Chris Warren III returned to the field Saturday against Maryland and rushed for 31 yards on six carries.
• Despite playing in just three-and-a-half games a season ago, Warren ran for 366 yards and three touchdowns on 62 total attempts.
• As a freshman, Warren ran for 470 yards and four touchdowns, the bulk of his production coming in the season's final two games.
• Against Texas Tech (2015), Warren rushed for a UT freshman-record 276 yards and four touchdowns. The following week he had 106 yards in a win at Baylor.
• Depite playing in just 13 games to date with four starts, Warren has 867 career rushing yards and seven touchdowns. He is just 133 yards shy of becoming the 51st Longhorn in school history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark for rushing.
• The junior from Rockwall, Texas is on the watch list for the 2017 Maxwell Award.
Top Of The Hill
• Junior cornerback Holton Hill had arguably his best game as a Longhorn on Saturday against Maryland, becoming the first FBS player in the last 10 seasons to record a pick-six and a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in the same game.
• His 31-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter marked the Longhorns' first since Hill also did so against Oklahoma State in 2015.
• Later, he returned a blocked field goal 65 yards for a touchdown. It was Texas' first blocked FG return for a touchdown since Sept. 28, 2002 vs. Tulane - a span of 188 games.
• Hill also tied his career high with eight tackles in the game, all unassisted.
Built Ford Tough
• Nose tackle Poona Ford (Hilton Head, S.C.) is in his senior season and has emerged as not only one of the Longhorns' leaders, but also one of their best defensive players.
• Despite playing on the interior defensive line, Ford finished fourth among UT defenders with his 54 tackles a year ago.
• He added 5.5 tackles for loss, four quarterback hurries, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery and two blocked extra points.
• He was named second-team All-Big 12 by ESPN.com and was also tabbed honorable mention All-Big 12 by the league's coaches.
• This season he has been named preseason All-Big 12 and is also on the Senior Bowl watch list.
• He started the 2017 season with three tackles against Maryland. He also blocked a field goal which Holton Hill returned 65 yards for a touchdown.
• The blocked FG was Ford's third career blocked kick. He also blocked two extra points a season ago.
Ford By The Numbers
• Ford is one of the Longhorns' strongest players and also one of its most athletic across the board, standing at 6-foot-0 and 305 pounds.
• The senior power cleans 330 pounds, squats 600 pounds and bench presses 380 pounds, in addition to his 28" vertical jump which is inside the top 20 pound-for-pound in the program.
• According to Pro Football Focus, Ford was second nationally among defensive interior players with 37 stops a season ago.
• He received a grade of 85.9 from PFF overall, while grading out at 88.8 with 41 stops against the run.
Jefferson Ready To Lead The Defense
• Junior linebacker Malik Jefferson was a highly touted recruit out of high school and has made 19 career starts to date.
• As a freshman, Jefferson was named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News and USA Today. He made 61 tackles and seven TFL in 2015.
• Last season, Jefferson totaled 62 tackles, 8.5 TFL and 5.5 sacks to earn second-team All-Big 12 recognition from the Associated Press.
• This summer he has been named a preseason All-American by Sporting News, preseason All-Big 12 and is on the watch lists for the Bednarik Award, the Nagurski Trophy and the Butkus Award.
• In Saturday's season opener against Maryland, Jefferson led the team with nine tackles.
Jefferson By The Numbers
• Jefferson is another Longhorn who had complete buy-in to the new coaching staff throughout the offseason, and has the numbers to back it up in the weight room.
• He power cleans 330 pounds, squats 530 pounds and bench presses 430 pounds, all with a vertical jump of 36.5".
• According to Pro Football Focus, Jefferson tied for first among Big 12 linebackers with less than 630 defensive snaps in 2016 with 33 total stops. A stop is defined as the total number of solo defensive tackles made which constitute an offensive failure.
Hughes Starts Strong
• Senior linebacker Naashon Hughes has worked hard all summer to make the most of his senior season.
• He was rewarded by being named a captain, earning the respect of his teammates all summer long.
• In Saturday's season opener against Maryland, Hughes finished third on the team with six tackles. He also added a tackle for loss.
Locke-ing Down The Defense
• Junior defensive back P.J. Locke III is looking to build on a strong 2016 season. He has stepped up this offseason and blossomed into a leader for the Longhorns, proven by being selected a captain by his teammates.
• The Beaumont, Texas native has played in all 25 career games to date and made his 10th career start on Saturday against Maryland.
• He had three tackles and a pass breakup in the loss.
• Last season, Locke made 33 tackles, two TFL and a sack. He also had two interceptions, a fumble recovery and eight passes defended.
• According to PFF, Locke had the lowest passer rating (48.9) when targeted among all returning Big 12 cornerbacks last season who played at least 308 snaps in coverage. The next best was Oklahoma's Steven Parker, who posted a rating of 68.5.
• Locke's 48.9 rating against the pass was second-best among returning cornerbacks in the Power Five Conferences. Only Alabama's Minkah Fitzpatrick (37.8) had a better rating.
Dickson A Ray Guy Award Candidate
• Junior punter Michael Dickson, a native of Sydney, Australia, entered the 2017 as one of the nation's top returning punters. Last season, he was named a finalist for the Ray Guy Award, the first Longhorn to ever earn that distincition.
• Dickson, who was named Big 12 Conference Special Teams Player of the Year, set a school record with an average of 47.4 yards per punt. That mark led the conference and was third-best in the NCAA.
• In total, Dickson punted 65 times and totaled 3,079 yards. Of his 65 punts, 25 were more than 50 yards and 28 were downed inside the 20.
• In addition, 13 of his punts were downed inside the 10-yard line. Of those punts downed inside the 10, opponents scored just seven points on the ensuing drives all season long.
• As a team, Texas was first in the Big 12 and fourth nationally with a 42.8 net punting average.
• Prior to the 2017 season, Dickson was named a preseason All-American by Athlon Sports, preseason All-Big 12 and a member of the Ray Guy Award watch list.
• In Saturday's season opener against Maryland, Dickson was only called upon to punt twice.
• He totaled 116 yards on two attempts, good for an average of 58 yards per punt. His long was 64 yards and his second punt was 52.
• Dickson's 58 yards per punt average would have set a school record, but does not qualify due to not reaching the minimum of five attempts in the game.
Longhorn All-Americans
• Four UT players earned All-America honors following the 2016 season, including three that return in 2017.
• In addition to RB D'Onta Foreman, returning OL Connor Williams was a consensus All-American. P Michael Dickson was also an All-American while OL Zach Shackelford earned freshman All-America honors.
Five Named Preseason All-Big 12
• Five Longhorns were named preseason All-Big 12, tied for the most representatives in the conference. P Michael Dickson, DL Poona Ford, LB Malik Jefferson, DL Malcom Roach and OL Connor Williams were those that received preseason recognition.
Three On Senior Bowl Watch List
• Three Longhorn seniors were named to the Senior Bowl watch list prior to the 2017 season.
• Those on the watch list are DL Poona Ford, DB Jason Hall and LB Haashon Hughes.
Winning In The Classroom
• Eleven Longhorns earned Academic All-Big 12 honors in 2016. Six players were recognized on the first team, including P Michael Dickson, DS Jak Holbrook and OL Connor Williams who return in 2017. In addition, K Mitchell Becker, DB John Bonney, OL Elijah Rodriguez and LB Anthony Wheeler are the returnees who were named to the second team.
• A total of 37 student-athletes were recognized on the fall semester Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll last season, while 34 were honored following the spring semester.
• QB Shane Buechele, WR Devin Duvernay, LB Jeffrey McCulloch, RB Kyle Porter, OL Zach Shackelford and DL Gerald Wilbon were the six Longhorns named to the Academic All-Big 12 Rookie Team.
Longhorn Graduates
• Two Longhorns on the 2017 roster celebrated graduation in mid-May during UT's spring commencement ceremony. Both DB Antwuan Davis and OL Jake McMillon graduated with their bachelor's degrees from UT, while graduate transfers Kendall Moore (Syracuse) and Kaleb Smith (Oklahoma State) also hold degrees.
• Several notable Longhorns and former NFL players also earned thier degrees: Emmanuel Acho (master's), Mike Davis, Michael Griffin, Chris Ogbonnaya (master's), Cory Redding and Jaxon Shipley.
