Friday provided a sense of normalcy for the Texas football program.
The Longhorns completed their first day of fall training camp without any major issues. Although some processes were unusual, the team as a whole was excited to be back on the field competing.
Texas head coach Tom Herman spoke with the media via a virtual press conference shortly after the practice concluded. He provided plenty of information regarding particular players and coaches, but one question regarding position battles stuck out the most.
Joe Cook of Inside Texas shared the three position battles that Herman is intrigued to see play out. There is a plethora of talent available at the cornerback position, so that’s more of a fun and competitive battle to watch than anything else.
Three position battles Herman is keeping an eye on:
1. O-Line: "There will be a lot of guys involved in that battle."
2. LB: "We've got to make sure that production is solidified."
3. CB: "For good reason, I think our battle at CB is going to be a very interesting one." #HookEm— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) August 7, 2020
At linebacker, the Longhorns are lacking solid depth, production and experience. However, they’ve recently emerged as the favorites to land Arizona graduate transfer linebacker Tony Fields. If Fields does in fact choose Texas, he could compete for a starting role immediately. His production at Arizona speaks for itself.
DeMarvion Overshown has made the switch from safety to linebacker due to his physical nature of play. He’s currently penciled in as a starter, but obviously lacks experience at the position. Juwan Mitchell is expected to play after a back and forth offseason, but David Dbenda and Ayodele Adeoye are right in the mix to receive more playing time as well.
Other than solidified starters in left tackle Sam Cosmi and center Derek Kerstetter, there are numerous players competing for starting roles at left guard, right guard and right tackle.
Denzel Okafor, Junior Angilau, Tyler Johnson, Tope Imade, Christian Jones and Willie Tyler are all available. That’s not even including the two young guys in Logan Parr and Jake Majors.
Due to the talent in the secondary, Texas may choose to move a few players around in order to have the best players on the field. Chris Brown and Xavion Alford are suddenly making noise at the safety position to earn a starting role alongside Caden Sterns. Will BJ Foster remain at safety or move to nickel?
It’s nearly impossible to predict the depth chart at cornerback due to the talent alone. How is anyone’s starting job safe at that point?
D’Shawn Jamison is expected to play a major role in Texas’ defense this season, but he’s versatile and can move around as needed. Jalen Green, Kenyatta Watson, Chris Adimora, Josh Thompson and Anthony Cook will be provide an interesting battle among each other.
Get your popcorn ready.