Scouting Texas: Longhorn Defense Set to Contain Gators
After a bye week for the Gators, the Longhorns begin SEC play Saturday in Gainesville in what was originally thought to be one of the nation’s top games of the season.
No. 9 Texas (3-1) faces Florida (1-3) in The Swamp for the first time since 1940. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 3-0-1 after taking last year’s meeting 49-17. This game sits at a 6.5 point spread favoring Texas.
At the helm of the Texas program is coach Steve Sarkisian. Now in his fifth season with the Longhorns, he holds a 41-18 record, compared to Florida coach Billy Napier’s 20-22 record in his fourth season.
This is the first away game for Texas since its Week 1 loss against Ohio State (14-7). Sarkisian said in his press conference Monday that the environment in Florida will be similar to when his team was in Columbus, Ohio, despite a rocky start for the Gators.
“Obviously, a very difficult place to play,” Sarkisian said. “A place that has been known around the country as one of the more difficult places to play. They’ve been playing great defensive football all year, and they’ve got explosive playmakers on the offensive side of the ball. And they’ve just been off the mark a little bit offensively, but it’s not for lack of players and it’s not for lack of scheme.”
Loading ...Opposite of Gators quarterback DJ Lagway is sophomore Arch Manning, the nephew to Peyton and Eli. The starting quarterback for Texas’ first four games, he threw an interception in each of the first three, worrying Texas fans about the unproven hype around the young star.
However, Manning bounced back with 309 pass yards and an 85.7% completion rate in Texas’s 55-0 win over Sam Houston Sept. 20, with three passing touchdowns and three rushing touchdowns. He has the second-most rush yards on the team with 123, and he leads the Longhorns with five rushing touchdowns.
Sarkisian said that coaches should protect players like Manning who were put on a pedestal very quickly in this era of social media.
“I think one thing that came out of this weekend as well, and I’m looking around the country at the ‘high-profile players,’” Sarkisian said. “I don’t know if any of them are living up to what everybody said they were supposed to be.”
A big upside for the Longhorns is the possible return of running back Quintrevion Wisner, a junior who suffered a leg injury after starting against Ohio State. He recorded 80 rushing yards on 16 attempts and a 15-yard kick return. Sarkisian said Monday that he is headed in the right direction before the announcement that Wisner is officially questionable for Saturday on the weekly SEC injury report.
“He provides a great deal of confidence,” Sarkisian said. “He provides a great deal of toughness. As much as ‘Tre’ is not the biggest guy, he plays with a real sense of physicality in his approach to it.”
Running back Jerrick Gibson, Gainesville native, saw action in the last three games, recording one touchdown and leading the Longhorns with 155 rush yards while Wisner was down. Freshman James Simon and redshirt freshman Christian Clark follow with 117 and 115 rush yards, respectively.
Also listed as questionable is wide receiver Emmett Mosley V. The Stanford transfer has yet to play in the burnt orange, as he has been dealing with an undisclosed injury since coming to Austin this summer. In his freshman season last year, he recorded six receiving touchdowns and 525 yards on 48 receptions.
Redshirt freshman Parker Livingstone and sophomore Ryan Wingo, brother of former Bills running back Ronnie Wingo, each have three receiving touchdowns this year. Livingstone has a total of 232 yards on 11 catches, averaging 21.09 yards per reception. Wingo follows with 190 yards and 13 receptions.
After an injury kept him out of the UTEP game on Sept. 13, junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore came back with 79 receiving yards against Sam Houston. Tight ends Jack Endries and Jordan Washington round out the top receivers for the Longhorns with two and one touchdown, respectively.
Still unsteady on offense, Texas’ defense shines. Florida, also struggling with the ball, will likely have a difficult time against a defense that only allows 7.75 points per game.
Junior linebacker Liona Lefau and senior defensive back Michael Taffe lead the Longhorns with 25 total tackles each. Lefau also has one sack and three tackles for loss for 10 total yards.
Senior defensive lineman Hero Kanu and junior edge Brad Spence each have two tackles for loss. Kanu also leads the team in quarterback hurries, tying sophomore edge Colin Simmons with three.
After playing every game of his freshman season, linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith is back for year two, recording 12 solo tackles and 18 total. Against San Jose State on Sept 6, he tallied six tackles, one sack, one forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Defensive back Jelani McDonald has two interceptions this season and a fumble return of 24 yards.
Kickoff is at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN and 98.1-FM/AM-850 WRUF.
Category: College Football, Football, Gators Football, NCAA, SEC
