With signing day having just passed, the Longhorns now have 3 scholarship quarterbacks on their roster. While they are always looking for other options, one has too assume that one of those three will be under center come the 2015 opener. Here is where they stand right now:
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. Following those games and a season of more downs than ups, I believe it is safe to say that for a team trying to get back to national prominence, Tyrone Swoopes is not the answer.
The next option will be redshirt freshman Jerrod Heard. 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. In his senior year of high school, he had 4,297 total yards and 49 touchdowns while leading his team to the state championship. At this point, Heard has to be viewed as the favorite to be the starting quarterback for Texas in 2015.
The third scholarship quarterback will be incoming freshman Kai Locksley. The son of Maryland offensive coordinator Mike Locksley, Kai was a late flip to the Longhorns from Florida State. With Zach Gentry decommiting and missing out on Kyler Murray, Charlie Strong was able to convince Locksley that Austin was a better opportunity for him to play quarterback than FSU. The four star prospect had over 30 offers, however most were to play wide receiver rather than quarterback. Texas is one of the few schools that was willing to give him a shot under center. Locksley is an intriguing athlete at 6-4 and 188 pounds with excellent speed and agility. Playing high school ball in a predominantly run heavy offense at Maryland powerhouse Gilman, it is yet to be seen if he has the skills to be a signal caller at the next level. Regardless, Locksely is an excellent athlete and whether he plays quarterback or receiver, Texas has landed a special player.
Even with three quarterbacks, the Texas Longhorns are still in the market for a graduate transfer. Earlier this morning, Eastern Washington QB Vernon Adams chose the Oregon Ducks over Texas. This was expected as Adams wanted to stay close to home. The two other two top options are Notre Dame's Everett Golson and Ohio State's Braxton Miller. While neither has openly said that they are going to transfer, should they opt to leave, Texas will be quick to pounce. Both have shown to be more than capable starting quarterbacks at the FBS level, especially Miller who was a preseason Heisman candidate heading into 2014.
One thing is for sure, there will be a big time competition for the starting job come this summer. Competition is something that the coaching staff has been dying for in Austin, and with 3-4 quarterbacks in camp that will definitely happen. Seven months remain until the 2015 season commences and quarterback coach Shawn Watson has his work cut out for him trying to sure up the quarterback situation before Notre Dame.
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