Young, unproven secondary is a primary storyline
AUSTIN — Todd Orlando reckons a one-on-one matchup with 6-6, 220-pound receiver Collin Johnson is the best possible litmus test for his crop of young cornerbacks.
“We’ve got to challenge ’em,” the Longhorns’ third-year defensive coordinator said. “And we’ve got some great guys offensively to challenge them with.
“If they can go against Collin and be successful, we feel like they can play with anybody in the country.”
Much has been made about the experience this program lost in the secondary.
Last season, Texas was able to lean on steady seniors Kris Boyd (13 starts) and Davante Davis (12 starts) at cornerback. But those two, plus nickelback and thirdleading tackler P.J. Locke, are gone, leaving Orlando with four underclassmen battling for vacancies on either side of the field.
Sophomores Anthony Cook, Jalen Green and D’Shawn Jamison, plus redshirt sophomore Kobe Boyce, are contending for those openings.
“It’s competitive,” Orlando said. “Nobody has given us any signs that they can’t play at this level.”
Texas was so well-stocked with corners last year that Jamison, the Class of 2018’s No. 15 corner per the 247Sports composite, was forced to play receiver and special teams. The transition back to the other side had a few setbacks and stumbles, but the former Lamar High School standout seems to have shaken off the cobwebs.
“I think both Jalen and D’Shawn have done a tremendous job so far,” senior safety Brandon Jones said. “The biggest thing I think they needed to work on was their confidence.
“Obviously, they have the skillset and have the elite talent to play on an island and be on their own. But building their confidence and showing they’re capable of doing that really grown so far this camp.”
At the moment, Green and Cook appear to have a tenuous grip on the starting jobs. Regardless of which two replace Boyd and Davis, all four will be utilized this season as Orlando implements a sub package featuring an eight-man secondary that will also feature Jones and fellow starting safety Caden Sterns.
“We’re working on trying to get our best guys out there,” Orlando said. “We’re shuffling around some guys seeing who’s the pass rushers, and it kind of starts from there. Then trying to figure out who is going to be our best guys in coverage at the second level.
At this point, positional fluidity and experimentation are ongoing.
Orlando and safeties coach Craig Naivar have emphasized cross-training as a way to foster familiarity with unfamiliar positions and help non-starters find another way onto the field in these third-down packages. Right now, Texas plans to use senior Malcolm Roach at nose guard, with linebackers Jeff McCulloch and Joseph Ossai rushing on the outside and eight defensive backs scattered around the field.
“I mean, you want to talk about looking like Star Wars for some of these quarterbacks,” said UT coach Tom Herman, mimicking confusion. “So that’s a fun kind of toy to have.
“Now in first-and-10, we’ve got to figure out if we can hold up. But we’ve had long discussions ever since the spring; you have to play on first down with at least three linemen and at least two corners and we’ll figure the other six guys out.”
Talented as this group of underclassmen corners might be, Herman wants to see considerable improvement leading up to the Aug. 31 opener against Louisiana Tech.
The offense won Sunday’s scrimmage on a final two-minute drive, an outcome that might have been reversed had the secondary won a few more balls.
“Up and down,” Herman said of the cornerbacks’ play Sunday. “I thought they did well in run support. We caught some 50-50 balls on some guys that I think we need to do a better job of playing the ball in the air. But the run support was good and assignment-wise they didn’t turn anybody loose. But some of those 50-50 balls we’ve got to play a little bit better.”
Big 12 teams might look at the Longhorns’ depth chart, see a pair of starting sophomore defensive backs with little in-game college experience and start to salivate at the thought of attacking that supposed weakness. But junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger thinks that would be a terrible mistake on their part.
“Our defense has a chance to be elite,” he said. “The speed that they have over there is unlike we’ve ever had before. Just because they’re younger, don’t underestimate them.”