Shane Buechele
The Arlington Lamar High school native was one of the top prospects in 2016. The 6-foot-1, 191 pound dual-threat quarterback passed for 6,379 yards and 73 touchdowns, while rushing for 1,805 yards and 21 touchdowns during his high school career. During the Elite 11 camp, the nation’s top high school quarterback competition, he won the “Golden Gun Challenge” for passing accuracy and finished No. 2 in the camp’s overall rankings.
As an early enrollee, Buechele spent an entire off-season on campus. On April 16th, Buechele showed he was ready to compete when he went 22-of-41 for 299 yards passing within 2 quarters of the spring game . Although not officially named a starter, he has put in the work and shown what he could do for the Longhorns against Notre Dame.
Defensive Line
Last season, the Longhorns allowed 219.2 rushing yards per game, third highest in school history, while also allowing 452.6 total yards per game, another school record.
During the spring game, not much improvement was shown by veterans senior Paul Boyette, junior Poona Ford, and sophomore Chris Nelson. The two offensive units rushed for 241 yards on 53 attempts in two quarters against the defense. The five freshmen defensive linemen Jordan Elliot, Chris Daniels, DeAndre Christmas Giles, Marcel Southall, and Gerald Wilbon arrived on the forty acres this summer, but it is uncertain they will be in shape and ready to take the field in time against Notre Dame.
D’Onta Foreman and Chris Warren
The 6-foot-1 249 pound junior Foreman and 6-foot-2 252 pound sophomore Warren have been dubbed the “smash brothers” for their power and tough running style. Last season, Foreman eclipsed 100 rushing yards in 4 separate games, including a 117 yard performance in a win against Oklahoma. In his 95 attempts, Foreman racked up 681 yards, averaging 7.2 yards per carry. With two years of experience under his belt, Foreman is ready to be a bigger part of the Texas offense. Warren, with just one year of experience, rushed for 470 yards on 71 carries, averaging 6.6 yards per carry last season. Warren’s breakout game was against Texas Tech, when he rushed for 276 yards. The duo showed their potential to dominate the offense in the spring game, running for a combined 174 yards on 16 carries for two touchdowns.
Tyrone Swoopes
Standing tall at 6-foot-4 249 pounds, the highly-anticipated quarterback has failed to move the ball effectively. Swoopes is not a strong passer. During the 2014 and 2015 seasons, his completion percentages were a paltry 58.5 and 50.2 respectively. In his debut game against BYU in 2014, Swoopes handed Texas its worst home-loss since 1997. In the Texas Bowl against Arkansas, he racked up just 57 yards of total offense. After losing his starting position to Jerrod Heard following the game against Notre Dame, Swoopes mostly played as an “18-wheeler” option to pound the ball into the end zone. If Swoopes takes the field in 2016 as the starting quarterback, it will be because of his experience, but the outcome is likely to be the same.
