Texas Longhorns
Overall Rank: #16
#3 Big 12
Texas Team Page
Expectations in Austin year in and year out are so high that a 7-5 regular season is considered quite a disappointment. This is coming off of a year where they actually had a losing record under Mack Brown for the first time in his tenure at the school. The last two seasons have been tough pills to swallow. On some level a drop off for the Longhorns had to be expected. A program can only win so many games after a national champion quarterback (Vince Young) and NCAA wins record-setter (Colt McCoy) move on. Brown and his group hope to bounce back in 2012. With a young, tough defense and yet another solid recruiting class, Texas is on its way to the top of the Big 12 once again.
2011 Record: (8-5)
2011 Bowl: Holiday Bowl vs California (W 21-10)
Coach: Mack Brown (141-39 at Texas, 228-113-1 overall)
Offensive Coordinator: Major Applewhite/Bryan Harsin
Defensive Coordinator: Manny Diaz
Returning Leaders:
Rushing: Malcolm Brown, RB, 742 yards
Passing: David Ash, QB, 1,079 yards
Receiving: Mike Davis, WR, 609 yards
Tackles: Kenny Vaccaro, S, 67
Sacks: Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, 7.5
Interceptions: Quandre Diggs, DB, 4
Other Key Returnees: QB Case McCoy, WR Jaxson Shipley, OL Mason Walters, DE Alex Okafor, LB Jordan Hicks, DB Carrington Byndom
Key Losses: DE Emmanuel Acho, RB Fozzy Whitaker, LB Keenan Robinson
Strengths:
Texas has always had a tough defense, and in 2011 the defense carried this squad. They led the Big 12 in three major defensive categories. They had one of the best rush defenses in the nation allowing less than 100 yards per game. Bookends Jackson Jeffcoat and Emmanuel Acho kept teams contained and in the backfield. Jeffcoat, in addition to his high sack total, had 16.5 tackles for loss. Pair that with Acho’s 14.5, and you have 31 tackles for loss just between two players. Acho is now gone, but Jeffcoat returns and Texas expects another big year out of him. They also had one of the best special teams units in the conference. They ranked first and second in in punt returns and kickoff returns, respectively. Star defensive back Quandre Diggs is back to continue his return duties.
Weaknesses:
It all comes back to the offense and quarterback play for the Longhorns. Mack Brown went with David Ash and Case McCoy under center last year. Playing a two-quarterback system is not necessarily going to yield great results. Brown learned this first hand. All it means is that neither one of these guys have stepped up to seize the job yet. Brown says he will continue the same process this year. In 2011, the quarterbacks only threw for 189 yards per game and could only muster about 28 points per game. In other conferences those numbers might be okay, but the Big 12 is high-octane. In order to keep up, you have to be able to throw the ball down field and score. Also, these two quarterbacks have a tough time getting away from the pressure. They went down at least two times a game throughout most of the season. They will have to do a better job of evading defenders in 2012.
The Bottom Line:
It is safe to say Texas will certainly be in a bowl again in 2012. Which one is the ultimate question. Some may think Mack Brown is playing with fire using two quarterbacks. Usually that system tends not to work. But Texas is a young, athletic team. Incoming recruits want to play for Texas and Brown. They will have no problem getting back to their winning ways as long as they keep raking in stellar recruiting classes. They no longer have to face rival Texas A&M and will have some new teams to scout starting this season. That should not be too much of an obstacle. Eight or nine wins is a solid outlook for the 2012 version of the Longhorns.
Projected Bowl: Cotton Bowl
2011 Team Stats:
Rushing Offense: 202.62 (21st in nation, 3rd in conference)
Passing Offense: 189.92 (86, 8)
Total Offense: 392.54 (54, 7)
Scoring Offense: 28.08 (55, 8)
Rushing Defense: 96.23 (6, 1)
Pass Defense: 209.85 (42, 1)
Total Defense: 306.08 (11, 1)
Scoring Defense: 22.23 (33, 2)
Turnover Margin: .00 (T59, 6)
Sacks: 2.31 (29, 3)
Sacks Allowed: 2.15 (73, 7)
Madness 2013 NFL Draft Rankings:
#32 Alex Okafor
#52 Jackson Jeffcoat
#103 Kenny Vaccaro
Madness 2012 Football Recruit Rankings:
#4 Johnathan Gray
#10 Malcom Brown
#55 Kennedy Estelle
#58 Curtis Riser
#69 Cayleb Jones
#102 Kendall Sanders
#111 Peter Jinkens
#129 Torshiro Davis
#132 Camrhon Hughes
#153 Hassan Ridgeway
#164 Orlando Thomas
#228 Daje Johnson
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