Texas safety Jalen Catalon is a heat-seeking missile. His target is opposing ball carriers at which he runs with intent to bring down with authority. It could be time for the Longhorns to fully utilize Catalon in what will be the biggest remaining game of the season.
The No. 3 Texas Longhorns (5-0) will take on the No. 12 Oklahoma Sooners (5-0) on Saturday. The Sooners have made this game significant with their dominant play through five games. The matchup demands that the Longhorns exhaust all effort to win. Catalon stands as one of the players Texas can ill afford to minimize.
The transfer and former All-SEC safety is necessary for several reasons, but one is the Longhorns’ struggling secondary play. Last week continued the trend of the team getting beat by the downfield throw and featured a backup safety or two getting burned in coverage. This isn’t the week to risk that happening again.
Texas faces an Oklahoma squad who can make teams pay for vulnerability at safety. The Sooners can attack with downfield shots, but can also attack weaknesses in the intermediate passing game. The Longhorns need range from their safeties. No safety on the roster has more range than Catalon.
Whatever reason Catalon has been limited to a select amount of plays this season might be thrown out the window on Saturday. The Oklahoma game isn’t the whole season, but it’s certainly the most important conference battle.
Texas can’t hold anything back against Oklahoma. It needs its best players for as many snaps as possible. The team will look to deploy Catalon against the Sooners in Saturday’s game.
Jalen Catalon is a missile. pic.twitter.com/tSIswe5zqw
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_TFB) October 2, 2023