Breaking Down The 2015 Texas Quarterback Battle

The Texas Longhorns have 3 scholarship quarterbacks on their roster, but with coveted freshman Kai Locksley expected to redshirt, incumbent starter Tyrone Swoopes and redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard will be battling for the starting quarterback job. While Texas is also looking other options (like Notre Dame transfer Everett Golson, who has yet to announce his destination), one has too assume that one of those three will be under center come the 2015 opener. Here is where they stand following spring practice:

TYRONE SWOOPES

After a rough 2014, most of the Texas faithful are hoping for someone other than Tyrone Swoopes under center. While he was surrounded by a lot of hype initially, he proved over and over to be inconsistent at best. He hit an all time low in his final two outings against TCU and Arkansas. In the game against TCU, Swoopes had a season high 6 turnovers and looked absolutely lost the entire game. The bowl game that followed was no better as Swoopes led the 'Horns to 57 yards. TOTAL.

However, after completing 17 of his 31 passes for 159 yards in the spring game, Swoopes is still the starting quarterback, according to head coach Charlie Strong.

JERROD HEARD

Redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard is currently locked into the backup role, but he's nipping at Swoopes' ears. Coming out of high school, Heard was the No. 2 dual threat quarterback in the country and the no. 10 player in the state of Texas. While he has no experience at the collegiate level after a redshirt year, the coaches seem to think that he has all the intangibles needed to lead Texas in 2015. He can beat you with his arm as well as his legs, and with Texas moving to more of a spread offense, he would be a perfect fit.

Strong said the staff is pleased with the process Heard has made this spring, but says he still has a long way to go. He completed 20 of 29 passes for 177 yards and an interception in the spring game while also scrambling for a touchdown.

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