Tag: Texas team of the decade

Texas Longhorns of The Decade: Tight Ends

The TE position has not been a strength of the Longhorns throughout the 2010s. The best TE for Texas this decade has been Andrew Beck.

The tight end position has not been a strength of the Longhorns throughout the decade, only producing one NFL talent in Geoff Swaim. While Swaim has had a solid career, his numbers as a Longhorn are less than impressive. The best tight end to play for the Longhorns in the past few years has been Andrew Beck.

Switching to the position after playing linebacker in high school, Beck became a fan favorite for the Longhorns. Also lining up as a full back, he was an excellent blocker for both quarterback Sam Ehlinger and running backs.

As a pass-catcher, his best season came in his senior year in 2018. After missing 2017 with an injury and redshirting, he was able to haul in 28 passes for 281 yards and two touchdowns. He had at least one catch in all 14 games, with his career-high of four catches coming against Kansas State.

Here is the tight end of the decade, Andrew Beck:

Years played: 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018

Receiving stats: 39 receptions, 435 receiving yards, 11.2 yards per reception, four touchdowns

Best game: vs Oklahoma State in 2018. Three receptions, 51 yards, 17 yards per reception, one touchdown

STILLWATER, OK – OCTOBER 27: Tight end Andrew Beck #47 of the Texas Longhorns pulls in a catch for a touchdown against the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the fourth quarter on October 27, 2018 at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State won 38-35. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)

Best moment: Go ahead touchdown vs Oklahoma State in 2016

Accomplishments: First-team All-Big 12 (2018)

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Texas’ offensive lineman of the decade

Texas’ OL has been impressive in the second half of the decade. The Longhorns have turned around their offensive line play in recent history

Being the most important unit in all of football, the offensive line for Texas has been impressive in the second half of the decade. Currently with three guys playing in the NFL, the Longhorns have turned around their offensive line play recently.

Connor Williams, Trey Hopkins, and Calvin Anderson are the three guys in the NFL, with Williams and Hopkins declaring after their junior year. The two started in a majority of the games the played, being consistent performers for the Longhorns. They also both helped Texas have some monster games on the ground, each having a 400-yard rushing game during their time at Texas.

Anderson was a graduate transfer from Rice who only spent one year with the Longhorns. He was a big get for Texas in 2018 and made an instant impact the minute he started to play. Starting in all 14 games he played in, Anderson was the left tackle for quarterback Sam Ehlinger. Protecting the blindside, he was a reliable blocker for the team.

Two players who are not in the NFL just quite yet are Zach Shackelford and Samuel Cosmi. The two have been the best players on the offensive line for Texas in 2019. Shackelford is a four-year player with 39 career starts, mainly at center. Cosmi redshirted in 2017 but has been a breakout performer for the Longhorns in his two years on the line.

Here is the Texas offensive line of the decade for the 2010s:

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Texas wide receivers of the decade

In the 2010s, Texas really struggled to find solid guys at the QB position. That made it difficult for some of the talented wide receivers.

Throughout the decade, Texas really struggled to find solid guys at the quarterback position. They never were fully consistent or the best player on the team. That made it difficult for some of the talented wide receivers on the team to fully make their mark.

The exception to this was Mike Davis, who was an outstanding receiver for the Longhorns in all four years on campus. While he never broke 1,000 yards in one season, what he did in his junior and senior year was score touchdowns. Having 15 in his final two years, it shot him up to the fifth most receiving touchdowns in Longhorn history.

Once Sam Ehlinger arrived on campus, the receivers for Texas got a lot better. Collin Johnson was one of those players, arguably being the most talented receiver of the three. Even though he was injured most of his senior season, Johnson put up great numbers in his junior season. Nearly getting to 1,000 yards in 2018, Johnson had some of his best games in the biggest matchups of the season for the Longhorns.

Then there is Devin Duvernay, whose 103 catches in 2019 is the second-most in a single season for Texas. He led the entire nation in catches this season and his 1,294 receiving yards were the most in the Big 12. He was Mr. Reliable for the Longhorns this season, making big play after big play.

In a decade where throwing the ball was not the strong suit of Texas, these three players rank inside the top 10 in all-time Longhorn receiving yards. A combined 47 receiving touchdowns, Davis, Johnson, and Duvernay are three of the best receivers to ever play in Austin.

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Running back of the decade: D’Onta Foreman

Three 2010s Texas RBs are all in the top 15 career rushing list for the Horns. Foreman gets the nod as the best running back in the decade.

Even though the Longhorns struggled in the early parts of the decade, one part of the offense was really solid. Texas consistently had good running backs throughout the 2010s. D’Onta Foreman, Malcolm Brown and Jonathan Gray are all in the top 15 career rushing list for the Longhorns. It was difficult to pick one of them, but Foreman gets the nod as the best running back for Texas in the 2010s.

It was close between him and Malcolm Brown as they have similar numbers. Foreman has more rushing yards, but Brown has more touchdowns and did better in the passing game. What ended up giving Foreman the nod is the monster season he had in 2016.

In 2016, he had the first 2,000-yard season in Longhorn history since Ricky Williams did it in 1998. Foreman finished second in the country in rushing that year, only 107 yards behind San Diego State’s Donnel Pumphrey. His efforts were good enough to see him win the 2016 Doak Walker Award, given to the nation’s best running back.

Years played: 2014, 2015, 2016

Rushing stats: 431 attempts, 2,774 yards, 6.4 yards per carry, 20 TDs

Receiving stats: 13 receptions, 146 yards

Best game: vs Texas Tech, 2016. 33 rushing attempts, 341 rushing yards, 10.4 yards per carry, three touchdowns

Best moment: Game tying touchdown in the fourth quarter vs Notre Dame in 2016

Accomplishments: Doak Walker Award (2016), First Team All American (2016), First Team All Big 12 (2016), Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award (2016)

Foreman’s career for Texas may not have been great overall three seasons he played, but 2016 was the best season a Longhorn running back has had since Ricky Williams. He went on to be drafted in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft, 89th overall to the Houston Texans. While he is not currently on an NFL roster due to injury, what Foreman did for Texas in his junior season will live on for years to come.

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