Texas football is heading into year two of the Charlie Strong era, which means increased expectations and a fan base hungry for a return to the top of the college football mountain. However, before we start buying our plane tickets for the College Football Playoff semifinals, there's several things that need to be addressed. With that being said, here's our 4 Biggest Questions For Texas Football Heading Into Fall Camp.
4. What Kind Of Havoc Will Malik Jefferson Wreak?
One of the most celebrated and hyped recruits to hit Austin in the past decade or so, the former #1 player in the state of Texas will have a massive spotlight over him when he takes the field at fall camp. Jefferson has bulked up to 240 pounds and projects to be the type of impact true freshman that college football rarely sees in the era of redshirts. Malik will take snaps in the season opener against Notre Dame, and fall camp will go a long way in revealing just what that'll mean from an on-field havoc standpoint.
3. How Well Will The Wide Receiving Corps Reload?
Texas loses its two top wideouts from a year ago, John Harris and Jaxon Shipley, so the onus is on leading returning receiver Marcus Johnson and the rest of the group to step up in the duo's absence. Senior Daje Johnson, who has split time between running back and wide receiver, could be the key here. A natural speedster who has the ability to take it to the house at any moment, a big fall camp for Johnson could mean a regular wideout role and BIG things for the Texas offense.
2. How Do We Assess The Charlie Strong Buy-In Factor?
Year one of the Strong regime was a clearing-out of sorts. Strong picked through the program, implementing a hard and fast cultural shift inside the program and casting off those who couldn't (or wouldn't) fall in line with his vision. The former Louisville HC was basically given a mulligan for an inconsistent product on the field last year, but this will be the first fall camp where we can truly assess just how the talent is buying in and just what that means in terms of future wins and losses.
1. Who Will Be The Starting Quarterback?
"A lot is made about the quarterback position, and it should be," Charlie Strong said recently. "When it plays well, it gets a lot of praise. When it plays bad, it gets a lot of criticism." The vibe at Big 12 Media Days seemed to point to polarizing junior Tyrone Swoopes as the frontrunner for the job, but we're not counting out obviously athletically-gifted redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard just yet. Strong said recently that he expects both to play in the season opener, so the margin between the two in the head coach's mind must be razor thin.
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