In a matter of hours, the Texas Longhorns will hit the practice fields to begin head coach Tom Herman’s third spring on the Forty Acres, On Sunday, Texas released the 2019 spring football roster. Several position changes are worth noting — sophomore D’Shawn Jamison has moved back to defensive back from wide receiver and sophomore Rob Cummins has moved back to defensive line from tight end. So the coaches clearly feel good about depth at tight end with the addition of early enrollee Jared Wiley. One position change that didn’t happen was a move to tight end for redshirt freshman wide receiver Malcolm Epps, who was ranked as a tight end out of high school and is now listed at 6’6 and 245 pounds. Sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram has put on 10 pounds of muscle, so he’s well on his way to the 15 or 20 pounds that he wanted to add this offseason. Along the defensive line, redshirt freshman Keondre Coburn is now listed at 340 pounds and senior Gerald Wilbon is 335 pounds. On the other side of the ball, redshirt freshman Reese Moore is listed at 300 pounds. There are some roster updates, too — the two running backs in the NCAA transfer portal, senior Tristian Houston and redshirt junior Kyle Porter, are not listed on the roster. Neither is junior offensive guard Patrick Hudson, who is taking time away from the team to consider his future after heat-related issues last fall. Redshirt junior linebacker Demarco Boyd, who was indefinitely suspended last July following an arrest for misdemeanor assault, is listed on the roster. Early enrollees<doc-sep>AUSTIN, Texas — The start of spring football is the first day to see how coaches are viewing next year’s way-too-early depth chart, how players’ bodies are changing, what the first goals and priorities are, and, quite frankly, who is on the field and who isn’t. We learned Monday receiver Devin Duvernay isn’t likely to start going through spring football until after spring break because these really cool shorts full of sensors worn by Texas' skill guys detected a deficiency in how some of his explosion muscles (glutes, hamstrings, hip flexors) were firing, which led to an MRI that revealed a “stress reaction in his pubic bone.” Receiver John Burt, the Big 12 60-meter indoor hurdles champion, is focusing on track this spring and is expected back with the football team for fall camp. We learned behemoth offensive guard Patrick Hudson, one of the jewel defections from Baylor after the scandal surrounding the dismissal of Art Briles, has officially retired from football and will now serve as a volunteer in player development and assist UT trainers. In somewhat alarming news, we learned redshirt freshman nose tackle Keondre Coburn is awaiting test results before being medically cleared for a second “kidney issue” in the past seven months signaled by intense back pain. “There have been blood tests and a piece of muscle has been biopsied,” Herman said of Coburn. “The prognosis is good, because he played for us after the first issue. But it’s a concern to have two of these episodes in the past seven months.” We learned Herman’s top priorities for the spring are: — Developing leadership, especially on defense — Settling on the starting five on the offensive line — Finding ways to get the ball to an explosive group of playmakers — Settling on a new front seven on defense We learned Tope Imade, who lined up at first-team left guard on Monday, weighs 340 pounds with only 15 percent body fat and that Denzel Okafor, who lined up at first-team right tackle, is an impressive 320 pounds. Likely starting left tackle Sam Cosmi is up to 295 pounds from 280 at the Sugar Bowl. The first-day, first-team offensive line was: LT Cosmi, LG Imade, C Zach Shackelford, RG Derek Kerstetter and RT Okafor. The second-team OL was: LT Reese Moore, LG Junior Angilau, C Rafiti Ghirmai, RG J.P. Urquidez, RT Christian Jones. Defensive end Marqez Bimage, the most explosive player on the team (700-pound squat) coming out of summer conditioning last season before a shoulder injury cut his 2018 short, is up to 270 pounds. We learned Herman likes the work ethic of his 10 early enrollee freshmen. When asked specifically about Bru McCoy, Herman said McCoy’s versatility is such he’ll work at the X, H (slot) and Z receiver positions. “Great kid who also happens to be a five-star athlete,” Herman said of McCoy, whose eligibility waiver has yet to be submitted by Texas as UT officials wait for the rulings on a few other high-profile transfer waivers before sending off McCoy’s. We learned Herman didn’t have any history with former North Carolina coach Larry Fedora before Fedora visited six weeks ago, the two hit it off and Herman hired Fedora as an analyst. Herman is excited for the input of Fedora and new UT analysts Andre Coleman (the former OC at Kansas State) and Paul Williams (a former defensive coach at Houston) during the season when it comes to game-planning and advance scouting. Former Longhorn defensive back Nathan Vasher is now working as a volunteer coach. Thank heavens, we learned B.J. Foster is “locked into” a position battle at nickel with Josh Thompson, according to Herman when asked if safety Brandon Jones could see time at nickel. (Foster is special, and playing him at nickel is a total game-changer for next year’s defense in my humble opinion). We learned Herman thinks safety and receiver are going to be the Longhorns' cage match of position battles. “Much like receiver, safety is going to be a battle, because you only have three positions (sometimes four when we’re in a our Lightning stuff),” Herman said. “But there’s some really good players who might merit a rotation of some sort. But usually with defensive players, you like to keep them on the field for most series. The same is going to be true at receiver. There’s going to be some really talented guys duking it out.” When asked about players who’ve done the best job reshaping their bodies since the end of last season, Herman listed the following players off the top of his head in order: Joseph Ossai, Daniel Carson, Jalen Green, Anthony Cook, Tope Imade, Reese Moore, Junior Angilau, Christian Jones, Sam Cosmi and Derek Kerstetter. We learned Herman isn’t talking about winning the Big 12 as the team’s primary goal at this point. “We’re focused on going 1-0 today and going 1-0 tomorrow,” Herman said. Perhaps, most importantly, we learned Herman feels good about where his program’s culture is heading into Year 3. “It’s really cool when you have an established culture in your program,” Herman said. “The young guys get immersed in it, and there’s nowhere to hide. You either love football and love to work or you’re going to figure it out real quick. It’s been nice to see the young guys assimilate as quickly as they have.”<doc-sep>Is Texas back? The Longhorns just might be. Coming off its best season in almost a decade, coach Tom Herman's bunch has big goals for 2019. Four-time defending Big 12 champ Oklahoma stands in the way. But with quarterback Sam Ehlinger returning to lead a team overflowing with blue-chip talent, the Longhorns could finally return to the pantheon of college football. 2018 record: 10-4 Spring practice start date: TBA Strength heading into spring: For the first time in 10 years, Texas will enter a season boasting one of the top quarterbacks in college football. After flashing moments of brilliance as a true freshman, Ehlinger took a major step forward as a sophomore, leading Texas to its first 10-win season since 2009. As one of the most effective dual-threat quarterbacks in the country, Ehlinger passed for 3,296 yards while completing 64.7 percent of his passes. He also tossed 25 touchdown passes to only five interceptions. On the ground, Ehlinger added 482 yards and another 16 touchdowns. And in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia, he controlled the game with three rushing touchdowns, connecting on 70.4 percent of his 27 passing attempts. Can Ehlinger elevate his game to yet another level in 2019? If so, Texas will have the goods to challenge Oklahoma for Big 12 supremacy -- and, perhaps, for a spot in the College Football Playoff, as well. Question mark heading into spring: After relying almost exclusively on Ehlinger at times to supply a consistent ground attack the past two years, the Longhorns desperately needed to bolster the rest of their running game -- from the offensive line to the running backs. Although a chunk of the offensive line is gone from last season, the Longhorns bring back a cornerstone in four-year starter Zach Shackelford. The spring will be critical in piecing together the rest of the group. Besides being a better run-blocking team, the Longhorns also need more dynamic playmaking from their running backs than they've gotten since losing 2016 Doak Walker Award winner D'Onta Foreman. Former ESPN 300 signee Keaontay Ingram should be given every opportunity to be the primary back after rushing for 708 yards as a freshman last season. The Longhorns, however, do have other options. Either way, Texas has to produce a more efficient running game to protect Ehlinger and open up a more balanced attack. Instant impact addition: With the upcoming graduations of Anthony Wheeler and Gary Johnson, the Longhorns will be light on experience at linebacker. Junior college transfer Caleb Johnson should help fill the gap after signing with the Longhorns in December. Rated the No. 2 junior college outside linebacker and No. 22 overall juco transfer, Johnson has the talent to start right away. Or at the very least provide quality depth for Todd Orlando's defense. 2019 game to get excited about now: Although the Oklahoma showdown on Oct. 12 will be massive, the Longhorns won't have to wait until then to play in the national spotlight. LSU visits Austin in Week 2 (Sept. 7) in a barometer test for both Tom Herman and the Big 12. Even though LSU won 10 games playing in the brutal SEC West last season, Texas could actually be the slight favorite with the game being in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Beat LSU, and Texas could head into the Red River Showdown ranked in the top five for the first time since 2008, when the Longhorns beat Oklahoma on the way to finishing third in the polls. Big 12 Freshman of the Year Caden Sterns hopes to lead a revitalization of the Longhorns' defense. Jay Biggerstaff/USA TODAY Sports Spring storyline to watch: After ranking third in the Big 12 in defensive efficiency last season, the Longhorns face the task of replacing eight starters, including All-Big 12 defensive end Charles Omenihu, cornerback Kris Boyd and Johnson. Still, talent remains for the Longhorns to be stingier in 2019. Safety Caden Sterns is a big reason why. Sterns was the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and a first-team All-Big 12 performer. He is also flanked by a host of talented underclassmen in the secondary, including B.J. Foster, Anthony Cook and DeMarvion Overshown. Up front, Malcolm Roach leads the way after returning for his senior year. The Longhorns are banking that Roach could have the breakout final season that Omenihu delivered in 2018 on the way to being named the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year. Joseph Ossai could be in for a big season as well after starring in the Sugar Bowl. With so much inexperience elsewhere, the Longhorns could have some bumpy moments early on. But this group has the potential to emerge into one of the Big 12's best defenses by season's end.<doc-sep>Texas football made its anticipated return to the gridiron Monday morning as the Longhorns officially kicked off spring practice under third-year head coach Tom Herman and his staff. The Longhorns enter Year 3 of the Herman era with some added momentum after last year's 10-4 record, which was capped with a win over Georgia in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. But the Longhorns have areas of concern on the team, including veteran leadership. Texas will use the next 15 practices to figure out what guys are ready to take the next step as the Longhorns progress towards the 2019 season. “Spring ball is about competing and going and winning your job," Herman said to his team, as seen and heard in the above video. "We don’t coach effort here; we demand it. How we train is going to be how we win games. Every freaking snap at practice is fourth and inches, every play. You have 15 opportunities to go win a job, so go as hard as you can. Iron sharpens iron and we make each other stronger by competing every day.” Texas will look to continue its momentum gained from the 2018 season this year and have been among the talks of being in a prime spot early to potentially contend for a Big 12 title in 2019. But the Longhorns' focus is on each practice, and not what the goal is for the team in 2019. "We're going 1-0 today, we're going 1-0 tomorrow," Herman said in response to if he puts a Big 12 title at the top of the team's goal chart at this point of the year. "When it's time, we'll worry about Louisiana Tech." Watch the above video to see highlights of Day 1 of Texas spring practice.<doc-sep>
AUSTIN, Texas — The flowers are in bloom around the Forty Acres and the Texas Longhorns football team was back on the practice field for the first time since the Sugar Bowl victory. With practice open to the media for three periods, there was an opportunity for a few takeaways, though the team was limited in the type of work it could get in due to NCAA rules mandating that the first two practices are without pads. The goal for the coaches is basically to use the time as productively as possible without actually being able to real football things. — The first several periods were spent on special teams work, with senior running back Kirk Johnson, sophomore wide receiver Joshua Moore, and sophomore running back Keaontay Ingram working with one set of returners, likely kickoff return, while freshman running back Jordan Whittington and sophomore cornerback D’Shawn Jamison worked with another group on returns, likely punt returns. — The starting offensive line for went, from left to right, redshirt sophomore Sam Cosmi, redshirt junior Tope Imade, senior Zach Shackelford, junior Derek Kerstetter, and redshirt junior Denzel Okafor. Freshman Tyler Johnson worked with the second team at center, while redshirt freshman Christian Jones worked at right tackle with the second team. As a group, the linemen looked lean, as none of the players are carrying excessive extra weight. Even Imade, who is listed at 345 pounds. Seeing Jones at right tackle was especially heartening, as the biggest question facing him this spring is whether he can play outside and hold up in pass protection. — Freshman Roschon Johnson looks like he has already put on about 10 pounds of muscle since arriving, as he’s noticeably thicker in his upper body. — The quarterbacks spent some time in what looked like it was basically a run-pass option drill. The quarterback would first hand off to a running back, then a snap from a coach and fire the ball out quickly. — Freshman wide receiver Bru McCoy primarily took reps at the Z receiver position during the open portion of practice, as seniors John Burt and Devin Duvernay, the two most experienced players at the position, were not in attendance. In the wide receiver group, McCoy already stands out physically. — Sophomore DeMarvion Overshown was working with the safeties and is listed as a defensive back on the roster after spending some time at linebacker last season. — The defensive backs worked in drills focused on staying low in their backpedal, then flipping their hips and running, while the defensive line worked on the shooting their hands on the sleds. — Several players were wearing no-contact jerseys, including freshman linebacker De’Gabriel Floyd (unknown), sophomore linebacker Caleb Johnson (shoulder), and junior defensive lineman Marqez Bimage (shoulder).