The Texas Longhorns play their annual Orange-White spring game on April 13 in Austin, and here’s the info you need to watch. The annual Orange-White spring game means college football is on the horizon in Austin, and this Saturday is that very event. And with that, head coach Tom Herman is nearly ready to turn his Texas Longhorns squad loose on a hopeful 2019 season. There are a small village of returning starters making their way back to the Longhorns this year. Heading up that roster is quarterback Sam Ehlinger, who is coming off a 2018 season that saw him throw for almost 3,300 yards and only five interceptions. He was able to vastly improve on his 2017 freshman numbers, as his completions and yards per attempt both increased. Joining him will be Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay, as they are both returning for their respective senior seasons. Both players have the potential to get close to the 1,000-yard receiving mark this year. Johnson had seven touchdowns a season ago and looks to hit double digits in his final campaign. It will be interesting to see what this mostly familiar Longhorns lineup will look like, as we’ll get our first look at them since their 10-win performance in 2018 and an Allstate Sugar Bowl victory in their trophy case. Date: Saturday, April 13 Time: 8:30 p.m. ET Location: Austin, Texas Venue: Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium TV Info: Longhorn Network Live Stream: Start a free 7-day trial to watch on Fubo TV I WatchESPN While it’s only the spring game, this will at least give us a glimpse at the team that has historically been a thorn in the Big 12 over the last few years. Oh, and for those that might be entertaining the idea of going to the spring game, stick around after the game. You’ll get a LIVE musical performance from three-time Grammy Award winner Ludacris. The concert will be free and open to the public, a great way to spend a Saturday night in Austin.<doc-sep>AUSTIN, Texas — The time has come for Texas football to show its fans all of the work the Longhorns have put in during the offseason with the upcoming Orange-White Spring Game. The Longhorns will kick off the annual spring game at 6:30 p.m. CT and live broadcast coverage will be available on Longhorn Network. The Longhorns have unveiled the rosters ahead of Saturday's spring game, which will feature the following players suiting up for the Orange team and White team. Team Orange QB: Sam Ehlinger, Casey Thompson (will play both ways), Tremayne Prudhomme OL: Zach Shackelford, Derek Kerstetter, Denzel Okafor, Samuel Cosmi, Junior Angilau, Tope Imade (will play both ways), Rafiti Ghirmai (will play both ways), Christian Jones (will play both ways) RB: Keaontay Ingram, Jordan Whittington, Jarrett Smith WR: Brennan Eagles, Collin Johnson (will not play), Joshua Moore, Malcolm Epps, Bru McCoy (will play both ways), Devin Duvernay (will play both ways) TE: Cade Brewer, Jared Wiley (will play both ways), Austin Hibbetts DL: D'Andre Christmas-Giles, Jacoby Jones, Daniel Carson, Peter Mpagi, Troy Torres, Tristan Bennett, Chris Hannon LB: Byron Vaughns, Marcus Tillman Jr., Luke Brockermeyer, Cort Jaquess, Russell Hine DB: Kobe Boyce, DeMarvion Overshown, Montrell Estell, Donovan Duvernay (will play both ways), Turner Symonds, Mason Ramirez, Hank Coutoumanos ST: Cameron Dicker, Justin Mader Team White QB: Roschon Johnson, Casey Thompson (will play both ways) OL: JP Urquidez, Reese Moore, Tyler Johnson, Tope Imade (will play both ways), Rafiti Ghirmai (will play both ways), Christian Jones (will play both ways), Ishan Rison, Jakob Sell, Matt Frost RB: Kirk Johnson, Daniel Young WR: Jordan Pouncey, Al'Vonte Woodard, Devin Duvernay (will play both ways), Katrik Akkihal, Kai Jarmon, Kai Money, Travis West TE: Reese Leitao, Jared Wiley (will play both ways), Jaren Watkins DL: Marqez Bimage, Rob Cummins (will not play), Gerald Wilbon, Keondre Coburn, Jamari Chisholm, Malcolm Roach, Ta'Quon Graham, Moro Ojomo LB: Jeffrey McCulloch, Joseph Ossai, Caleb Johnson, Ayodele Adeoye, De'Gabriel Floyd (will not play) DB: Anthony Cook, Jalen Green, D'Shawn Jamison, Chris Brown, Josh Thompson (will not play), B.J. Foster, Donovan Duvernay (will play both ways), Caden Sterns (will not play), Brandon Jones (will not play) ST: Chris Naggar, Ryan Bujcevski, Chandler Kelehan Horns247 is live on the scene, and will provide updates of Saturday's spring game throughout the day. Orange-White Spring Game: Saturday, April 13, 2019 Kickoff: 6:30 p.m. CT Location: Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium TV: Longhorn Network Local Radio: Longhorn IMG Radio Network, 104.9 FM in Austin. Check other local affiliates here. Audio Stream: TexasSports.com Longhorn Network Pre-Game: Longhorn Network will begin its live coverage with Texas GameDay one hour prior to kickoff of the Orange-White Spring Game, at 5:30 p.m. CT. Longhorn Network will return immediately following the spring game for Texas GameDay Final, which is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. CT. Pre Spring Game and Post Spring Game Event Schedule 3 p.m. CT: Opening of Bevo Blvd. and 50-yard Line Lounge, and both are free to fans. Bevo Blvd. features an Austin gameday experience complete with food trucks, alcohol sales and many more fan specific activities. The 50-yard Line Lounge is a one-of-a-kind gameday experience exclusively put together for the Orange-White Spring Game., Texas athletics unveiled a new culinary and beverage experience and will welcome fans to the 50-Yard Line Lounge, allowing UT fans the opportunity to watch the Orange-White Spring Game in a one-of-a-kind suite-like atmosphere on the ninth floor of Belmont Hall. The 50-Yard Line Lounge is available on a first come, first serve basis. 4 p.m. CT: Alejandro Escovedo and Alesia Lani at Longhorn City Limits 4:30 p.m. CT: Bevo Parade Presented by Texas Farm Bureau Insurance 5:30 p.m. CT: Stadium Stampede Team Arrival 6:15 p.m. CT: Bevo Blvd. closes 6:30 p.m. CT: Texas Football Orange-White Spring Game presented by Living Spaces Postgame: Texas Football autographs on the field 8:30 p.m. CT: Ludacris and Noah North at Longhorn City Limits Key Orange-White Spring Game Storylines 10 Things to Watch at the Orange-White Spring Game: Some of the most pressing storylines to follow at Saturday's spring game. Horns247 Staff Predicts the Headlines from the Spring Game: The Horns247 staff gives their thoughts on what Texas fans will be talking about coming out of the Orange-White Spring Game. Highlights from the final days of spring practice: As Texas prepares for the Orange-White Spring Game, the creative department has put together a highlight reel from the final days of spring ball. Tom Herman Requests Fans Attendance at the Orange-White Spring Game: Herman requests all fans to show up and create a special spring game environment Saturday. The Eyes of Texas: VIP Spring Football overload as Texas wraps up spring practice. Todd Orlando Weighs in on Texas Reloading: Orlando has his work cut out for him as the Longhorns look to replace several key starters from last year's roster.<doc-sep>AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas spring game where 105 offensive snaps resulted in only one touchdown makes the 2019 edition of the Orange-White game on that won’t be replayed on the Longhorn Network for years to come. That said, the lack of scoring shouldn’t diminish what good things Tom Herman and Co. can take away from the last practice the Longhorns will have until preseason practice gets going in August. Everyone got a good look at Casey Thompson operating the offense (both the No. 1 and No. 2 groups), some of the young offensive playmakers who made noise throughout the spring had bright moments under the lights and the defense might’ve had their best collective performance of the spring with a large audience inside Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium watching. The Longhorns weren’t going to show much, making the spring game one final session for the coaches to evaluate personnel. Among the three biggest takeaways from the spring game are what a few of those players involved in critical personnel decisions the staff has to make between now and the season opener did and what can be gleaned from both sides of the ball.<doc-sep>With the wind gusting to 30 miles per hour as the temperature dropped in Austin, the White beat the Orange, 12-6, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium to conclude spring practice for the Texas Longhorns. Takeaways from any spring game are often difficult, but it was clear that the weather played a large factor in the game — on a 60-yard field goal attempt by sophomore kicker Cameron Dicker, the ball swerved several times due to the wind strength. In a segment on Longhorn Network during the game, head coach Tom Herman admitted that the defenses were loading the box and daring the offenses to throw the ball over the top, saying afterwards that it was “almost impossible” to throw the football. “It was even difficult to throw and catch a bubble [screen], let alone a ball thrown down the field,” Herman said. As usual, the offense was pretty vanilla, too, with Herman mentioning that there are a variety of run-pass options that the Longhorns installed this spring, but didn’t want to put on film for opponents to scout. Unsurprisingly then, the plan largely worked defensively, as the first-team defense looked especially strong at the point of attack and rallying to the football on the perimeter. “I thought it was good for our defense,” Herman said. “They had taken a few of these on the chin here lately in the previous few scrimmages, so it was nice to send them into the offseason with a little bit of confidence.” In fact, the offense won both scrimmages this spring, with practice clips indicating that it frequently produced big plays, both in the passing game and the running game. On Saturday, the physicality of young players really showed up, with sophomore cornerback Jalen Green looking strong on the edge and sophomore safety DeMarvion Overshown delivering a big hit on redshirt freshman quarterback Casey Thompson that the coaches likely didn’t appreciate — quarterbacks are non-contact in scrimmages. Combined, the defenses forced two turnovers in the first half, both interceptions, with senior Rover Jeffrey McCulloch also breaking up a fourth-down pass intended for Ingram on a wheel route. Even Mac linebacker Ayodele Adeoye got in on the pass coverage, breaking up a throw to sophomore wide receiver Joshua Moore up the seam. Sophomore B-backer Joseph Ossai did the same, forcing a back-shoulder throw to freshman running back Jordan Whittington on another wheel route. The ball hit Whittington in the hands — it should have been a catch — but Ossai was in excellent position. One interception was forced against Thompson when it appeared as if freshman defensive lineman Peter Mgapi hit the quarterback’s arm as he threw the ball into the wind, resulting in a fluttery pass that ended up in the hands of sophomore cornerback Kobe Boyce. The second turnover of the game was an interception by McCulloch, who has been good in pass coverage in his limited opportunities at inside linebacker. McCulloch undercut a checkdown route intended for sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram from junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger. McCulloch returned the ball close to the goal line, resulting in the game’s only touchdown. The tackling was impressive, too, as defenders only missed a small handful during the entire game and the pass rush generated four sacks in the first half. Dropped passes were the biggest disappointment offensively for the Orange and the White teams, as numerous wide receivers failed to bring in throws that hit their hands and didn’t display particularly strong ball skills. Freshman tight end Jared Wiley, for instance, dropped his first two targets. Sophomore wide receiver Jordan Pouncey had multiple drops, as well. Herman thought that nervousness was a factor, with some of those receivers playing in front of a large Texas crowd for the first time. Some busted routes also factored into the equation, with senior wide receiver Collin Johnson spending a lot of time on the sidelines coaching the young wideouts. Thompson suffered the most because of those drops, but he also barely overthrew freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy down the sideline on a double move. Had Thompson taken a little bit off of it, McCoy would have scored a touchdown. The windy conditions probably impacted the throw, as Thompson is at his best on those touch passes. “It’s a shame that our fans didn’t get to see just how well we’ve been throwing the deep ball during spring practice with [Malcolm] Epps especially, and [Devin] Duvernay and Brennan [Eagles] and Bru [McCoy] — we’ve really come a long way in that regard,” Herman said. “But that’s okay. We know the extenuating circumstances and we’re going to have to do a good job distributing the football.” Overall, however, Thompson looked good, especially on designed quarterback runs and scrambles — several went for big yardage only limited by the quick whistles typical for non-contact scrimmages. In fact, his runs were the highlight of the first quarter, with the only touchdown of the game coming on a short run by Thompson on the goal line. Team Icy White goes up 7️⃣-0️⃣ on the Casey Thompson scramble. #ThisIsTexas #HookEm pic.twitter.com/tcVmH9MApk — Texas Football (@TexasFootball) April 14, 2019 Coming off one of the best statistical seasons for a Texas quarterback in school history, junior Sam Ehlinger struggled early, misfiring on his first two passes and stepping out of bounds as he attempted to throw the ball away on a scramble. On third and long, he nearly threw an interception when junior tight end Cade Brewer failed to create separation against sophomore nickel back BJ Foster, who was in good position. Along the first-team offensive line, redshirt freshman Junior Angilau received the start at left guard while co-offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Herb Hand rotated juniors Derek Kerstetter and Denzel Okafor between right guard and right tackle. “We needed to improve and enhance our run game,” Herman said. “I feel like we did that. Our first o-line got a lot better, a lot more cohesive. Our tailbacks our seeing the holes and understanding the run game. We had more explosive runs in 14 practices than we did the entire season last year.<doc-sep>
AUSTIN — The sights and sounds surrounding Saturday's Orange-White spring football game will be the main attraction. Athletic director Chris Del Conte, director of external affairs Drew Martin and the rest of the Longhorns’ sprawling athletics department have positioned this glorified practice as the centerpiece of a day-long circus featuring the return of Bevo Blvd. and Longhorn City Limits, Game 2 of a three-game baseball home series against Kansas State, and a post-game concert headlined by Grammy Award winner Ludacris. It’s a continuation of the attraction-driven vision Del Conte has tried to bring to life since he traded TCU purple for burnt orange in December 2017. But between all those ancillary activities, a game will be played. Coaches won’t reveal much, as the play-calling remains “vanilla” in order to keep this coming season’s strategies hidden from prying eyes tuning into the Longhorn Network in search of some clues. Still, there will be some information to extract from this “game.” A look at what we might be able to learn as spring practice comes to a close at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Royal-Memorial Stadium. How will QB Sam Ehlinger’s backups handle the pressure? By all accounts, junior quarterback Sam Ehlinger hasn’t been hindered by the shoulder injury he played through during the second half of last season. He did not require surgery and received a steroid injection in his right arm in January that, paired with rest and rehabilitation, returned the Heisman candidate to pristine condition. But given how much of a pounding the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Ehlinger takes on a game-to-game basis — he is essentially the team’s featured short-yardage and goal-line power back — the development of two untested backups has been a critical focus for coach Tom Herman and his staff. Redshirt freshman Casey Thompson is the new No. 2 following the transfers of junior Shane Buechele (SMU) and fellow 2018 signee Cameron Rising (Utah). Early enrollee Roschon Johnson is the only other scholarship quarterback on roster and the de facto No. 3. “I like Casey,” offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “I thought he would be a really good player once he kind of learned the offense. He’s gotten better. I wouldn’t say he’s at Sam’s level yet, but he is getting better. “Casey has made a lot of plays for us. He’s got a really good feel, good instincts back there. And he throws the ball well, he’s got good ball placement. He’s just got to continue to grow and understand.” Of Johnson, Beck said he “looked like every freshman quarterback I’ve ever had.” “We’ve got to teach him what to do first,” Beck added. “He’s got to know what coverage is this, what route does this guy have, what route does that guy have, and what is your footwork on this. Then you teach him how to do it better. He’s still in the ‘what’ stage. “We try to, when he plays, to condense it down to things that he knows. But he’s going to be a really good player for us.” Where will the explosive plays come from? Out of 132 FBS teams, Texas was just one of two last season that did not have a single offensive play go for at least 50 yards. It was a quirky statistic that didn’t prevent the Longhorns from winning 10 games and taking down Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. But there has been a renewed commitment to finding “explosive’ playmakers capable of breaking off 50-plus yard plays. “We have a lot of weapons,” offensive coordinator Tim Beck said. “As many as we’ve had since I’ve been here. With Collin (Johnson) and Devin (Duvernay) and Bru (McCoy) and Brennan (Eagles) and Malcolm (Epps). You see those guys all out there doing their things. “We’ve been making a lot of big plays which has been an emphasis for us.” Early enrollees McCoy and Jordan Whittington are two to watch in that regard. McCoy, who transferred suddenly from USC after some coaching turnover, is turning heads at receiver. Whittington, the versatile stud from Cuero, has already formed a two-headed monster in the backfield with sophomore tailback Keaontay Ingram. Johnson and Duvernay are still recovering from injury, so 6-4 Eagles and 6-6 Epps will get a chance to showcase their talent against a defense without injured starting safeties Brandon Jones and Caden Sterns. How are the offensive and defensive lines shaping up? Texas lost its entire starting defense line.