Stock Up: Armanti and D’Onta Foreman
The Foreman twins had quite a game against Baylor, racking up 392 yards as a tandem in what was for each a career best game.
Junior wide receiver Armanti Foreman bounced back from a tough game against Kansas State to lead the receiving corps in both receptions (4) and yardage (142), and he got the spotlight early by hauling in a 40-yard catch for a touchdown on Texas’ opening drive.
Armanti showed how much he can contribute to the offense on Saturday, and if he continues this performance, he can become a needed leader among the receivers.
Junior running back D’Onta Foreman followed up his brother’s touchdown with a 37-yard scoring run just 14 seconds later. D’Onta didn’t let up from there, and ended the game with 250 yards and two total touchdowns. The game pushed D’Onta to a total of 1,105 rushing yards this season, and the performance proved how essential he is to the offense.
Stock Down: Sterlin Gilbert
Though several players on the offense certainly did do well, some of the play calling by offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert was a bit questionable.
Gilbert tried to stick with senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, who failed a two-point conversion attempt and had seven yards on seven carries, in the now sputtering 18-wheeler package.
This exemplifies Gilbert’s problem with predictable play calling and questionable choices against Baylor. Gilbert has certainly improved the offense from the last two seasons, but there is room for growth for the first-year coordinator.
Stock Up: P.J. Locke III
Sophomore safety P.J. Locke III was stellar in the Texas secondary against Baylor.
On Baylor’s second drive of the game, Locke intercepted a tipped pass to give Texas’ offense the ball in the Bears’ territory, leading to a Longhorn score.
Later in the second half, Locke once again got a turnover when he recovered a fumble by Baylor quarterback Seth Russell. After his noticeable contributions on the field Saturday, including a lot of pressure, Texas will look at Locke to continue contributing to the secondary in future games.
Stock Down: Run defense
While the defense did play better against Baylor than it had in some past games this season, the Longhorns still continue to struggle with stopping the run.
The Bears were able to rush for 398 yards Saturday and had two players with over 100 rushing yards each — running back Terrence Williams with 180 yards and quarterback Seth Russell with 138 yards.
Texas especially had trouble containing Russell in the second half, when he was able to exploit holes and hurdle hapless defenders. Texas won’t have to play many run-heavy offenses for the rest of the season, but it’s run defense still needs some work for the future.
