Texas Football 2014 – Better, Worse or about the Same?

OFFENSE

The key question mark for the 2014 Texas Longhorn season will center on the quarterback position. If David Ash returns from an ankle injury (Jones fracture for which he had surgery toward the end of spring football), then the prognosis for the team is quite good. Before his injury in spring training, Ash had picked up the new offense and was performing well. He represents the vast bulk on the experience at the position.

Sophomore Tyrone Swoopes is a diamond in the rough and not ready to assume full control of the offense at this point. Freshman-to-be Jerrod Heard is highly skilled but certainly would benefit from a redshirt year. New head coach Charlie Strong may have some serious decisions to make. Implementing a new offense will also take its toll.

Considering the up-and-down nature of last season’s team, particularly after Ash was waylaid by concussion symptoms, the Texas offense should at least measure up to that standard; with Ash and his experience, it could be much better. The early season schedule is tough, so chances are the Longhorn defense will have to be powerful enough to compensate for the offense.

Texas QB David Ash

DEFENSE

The Horn defense should be the early strength of the team and has the capability of being top 20 or better. Anchored by an experienced and powerful defensive line (DT Malcom Brown), good linebackers (with the return of injured senior Jordan Hicks) and experience in the secondary.

However, the big change will be the new coaching staff with DC Vance Bedford, a former Texas standout, installing an aggressive, physical defense much more in line with classic Texas defenses of the past. Last season’s early fiasco and the interim efforts of Greg Robinson helped make the middle and last of the season more successful than it would have been under fired DC Manny Diaz. This year the D should be a strength from the git-go.

Texas Football 2014 – Better, worse or about the same?

This should be a better team than last year if the QB situation can be resolved. While the schedule is tougher with BYU and UCLA as early OOC opponents, and Baylor and Oklahoma all in the first half of the season, Texas could work its way to a 10-3 mark.

With Ash at the helm and a fine bevy of RBs (Malcolm Brown, Joe Bergeron) and receivers (Jaxon Shipley), the offense at full strength could be impressive. The defense, if aggressive and smart, could make this record a little better. The team and the fans all are hungry, and that’s a great sign. Everyone is tired of wandering in the desert the last few years, and Charlie Strong and his staff have a great opportunity to restore Longhorn Nation.

whills, the History editor of Burnt Orange Nation, provided the information for our Texas Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up. For more Texas football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Burnt Orange Nation on Twitter @PBatBON.