Texas Football: Interesting notes from the latest spring practice
Texas is gearing up for their annual Orange-White spring game on April 23.
Every week there seems to be improvement across the board, some players are clearly taking advantage of their opportunity to help solidify themselves atop the depth chart.
247Sports’ Chip Brown was able to provide some insight from Texas’ latest spring practice, which included updates on the quarterback, secondary and offensive line positions. Tuesday’s practice marked practice No. 10 of 15 total, and based on some of the notes and observations made, there may be some unexpected leaders in a few position battles.
Although the there are still a few spring practices left and all of fall camp, it’s interesting and telling to see who the coaches are leaning towards early on in the process.
Here are some of the most interesting notes from Texas’ practice on Tuesday.
Punter Isaac Pearson has done well this spring
Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports
The Longhorns lost their do-it-all specialist Cameron Dicker to the NFL, meaning they need a new kicker and punter. While the kicker spot hasn’t been reported on as much, as they will likely wait for Will Stone to get onto campus, the punting competition may not be a competition anymore. Redshirt freshman Isaac Pearson has reportedly done very well and has even showcased of a plethora of different kinds of punts.
Both safety spots seemed to be locked up
AP Photo/Ron Jenkins
After starting the spring session as one of the more concerning positions due to the fact the Longhorns lost both of their starters from last season, both of the safety spots seemed to be locked up. Both of which being manned by someone who was apart of the position changes early on in the process, as Anthony Cook was playing in the nickel role last season, and Kitan Crawford was a reserve cornerback.
Steve Sarkisian spoke highly of both, expressing how natural of a player Cook has looked due to his experience and raved about Crawford’s switch.
Kitan, to me, looks better now at safety than he really ever looked at corner, and that’s awesome. That’s not knocking him at corner. It just looks like a much more natural position for him. He’s a guy who’s very physical, who can run. He gives you cover ability at that spot to where – when he has to cover wideouts and tight ends, he’s very comfortable doing it.
Hayden Conner getting first team reps at left tackle
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
After some reports implied that the left tackle spot was Andrej Karic’s to lose, it seems he may have done just that. Hayden Conner was seen starting at left tackle in the most recent scrimmage, and has been taking reps with the first team at the left tackle spot. This move has led to Junior Angilau at left guard, Jake Majors at center, early enrollee Cole Hutson at right guard, and last year’s left tackle Christian Jones at right tackle. Here is what Sarkisian told the media about Conner’s rise to the top.
He’s a versatile guy. Clearly he’s got a guard playability, but yet he has the ability to go play tackle when needed. So, we like the flexibility there.
And what I like about Hayden is he’s a tough guy. He’s committed. I think he has the right mentality internally from an offensive line perspective buying into Coach Flood. That group has to play as one, and I think he kind of embodies the characteristics we’re looking for.
The quarterbacks
AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall
The quarterback situation is the most anticipated battle of the spring, and as of late it seems that both are doing well. Similar to last season’s battle, the quarterbacks are splitting the first team reps. Sarkisian expressed how pleased he was that both Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card completed over 70% of their passes during the recent scrimmage.
Brown believes Ewers was the star of the most recent scrimmage, as he threw for three touchdowns and really flashed his arm talent. Sarkisian was asked about Ewers’ arm this week.
The really good quarterbacks have the ability to show touch and have different arm angles, and I think Quinn has that. There’s no question that he’s shown the variability to make different styles of throws when you need it. Quite frankly, I don’t think he shows off his arm that much – as much as you think that he would. He’s a passer. He’s not a thrower, and that part has been a good sign.
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