Texas football coach Charlie Strong did not say Tyrone Swoopes would start against Notre Dame.
He just heavily hinted it would probably occur.
Jerrod Heard and Swoopes continued their quarterback battle during the spring game in front of more than 20,000 fans on Saturday. Texas defeated the Horns, 27-16, with Swoopes completing 17-of-31 passes for 159 yards and one rushing touchdown for the winning team. Heard completed 20-of-29 passes, threw one interception, and had a rushing touchdown for the Horns.
After the game, Strong received a multitude of questions about the quarterback competition, as expected. Strong said positive things about both quarterbacks. He praised the competition battle between both guys. He liked what each person did during the spring.
Then, whether it was to build Swoopes' confidence or keep Heard hungry, Strong let everyone know the incumbent quarterback is still the guy.
Strong was asked if he would be afraid to start a redshirt freshman - code for Heard - against Notre Dame. Strong initially said it would not bother him.
"No, you know what it is," Strong said. "They had a chance this summer to work with that. I'll be fine with that. I won't be afraid. You at look at our offensive line, it's an experienced offensive line. You look at the wide receivers."
As Strong continued to speak, it became clear he is not scared to start Heard on opening day.
It just is not his preference.
"The thing about it is I hope I don't have to go in that game and start a redshirt freshman," Strong said. "I hope I don't."
Heard supporters, calm down for a moment.
You cannot blame Strong for not wanting Heard's first start to be in a hostile road environment. They spent last season trying to protect Heard by redshirting him. Quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson and Strong refused to play Heard, even if he could have done a better job than Swoopes, because they wanted this to be the year he excelled. Last season was all about getting Heard ready for 2015.
The confidence of a young quarterback can be affected if he plays poorly in his first start.
Strong's mindset makes sense.
However, Strong said he did not want to start a redshirt freshman in that game.
He did not say he was opposed to playing Heard if Swoopes struggles. Heck, Heard could take the second series against Notre Dame and never look back.
Strong just said he did not want to "start" a redshirt freshman.
For now, this is still Swoopes' team.
"I don't want to turn this into a quarterback controversy because people are going to say who's going to be your guy," Strong said. "When you look at it, Tyrone came into the spring as the starter. I don't know if Heard has done anything yet to just unseat him as the starter. I said he's closed the gap.
"You want to be where you have competition at the position where you have two guys. When you look at it as a year ago, what was unfortunate is we had (David) Ash and Tyrone, and Ash was our guy. Then he goes down and Tyrone is thrown into it. Now what we've been able to do is give Jerrod the number of reps that he's had, and now you feel pretty comfortable if something was to happen, at least you can go into it. Then you get (Kai) Locksley and you see where he is … Ty is still the number one guy at this point."
Strong's response begged for a follow-up question.
After what Longhorn fans witnessed against Arkansas and TCU, I asked Strong why is he unafraid of putting Swoopes back on the field?
"I see an improvement in the offensive line," Strong said. "I see an improvement at the wide receiver position. I see an offense now that gives him an opportunity to really show his skills. Coaches are making the checks for him. Whether it's Tyrone or Jerrod, a lot of calls are going to be made from the sideline, so they don't have to make a lot of reads. Just get the ball out of your hands and get it in the playmaker's hands."
It sounds simple enough.
Now it is just a matter of the playmakers making plays.
Longhorn receivers really struggled without Marcus Johnson on Saturday. Dorian Leonard struggled to catch the ball consistently. Daje Johnson fumbled the catch on a punt, plus he fumbled after a punishing hit by freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson. The performance by this group could open the doors for a lot incoming freshmen to play this season.
Strong was asked if Texas was still in the market for a transfer quarterback. He said nobody has contacted him yet.
Of course, if Braxton Miller called Strong on Saturday morning and said he was going to transfer, I am pretty sure Strong would not have said a word. Watson previously said they were no longer looking for a transfer quarterback, but you have to believe they are going to take calls from any quarterback who can compete right away. This is still something for Longhorn fans to monitor during the offseason.
For now, Swoopes still has the job.
Heard is still fighting.
Notre Dame is five months away.
Need To Know
- Strong said they are thin at the linebacker position, but is happy about the number of incoming freshmen who will arrive this summer. He said, "You talk about Malik and you talk about (Edwin) Freeman, two athletic linebackers. You took Freeman who is a safety and moved him to backer, so you watch him reach down. I told him I don't think I've see too many guys who can bend down and pick up that ball in one step and go for a touchdown. Malik is so athletic. He made a lot of plays. With Pete (Jinkens) and Tim Cole, they probably didn't have a lot of opportunities because of who they were playing behind, but it's still about those guys competing."
- Swoopes threw a ball out of bounds, and it hit a kid in the face who was not paying attention. Strong made Swoopes go over to the young kid and apologize. After the game, Swoopes said he felt bad about hurting the child.
- It was just a spring game, but Texas' defense had seven sacks overall.
- D'Onta Foreman finished with 66 rushing yards and one touchdown during the spring game.
- Strong said Daje Johnson did not get a lot of work this spring as a punt returner, so he was not upset with the muffed catch.
- Sheroid Evans' knee will get checked this week, Dalton Santos will be back in mid-July, while Caleb Bluiett will be back this summer. Strong said none of his injured players have long-term injuries.
Postgame Quotes
Tyrone Swoopes
(On the offense suiting his skills)
"Like I said, last year I was thinking too much. Just going fast and not thinking and reacting to everything I see. It's helped me out a lot."
(On his improvement)
"I feel like as a whole offense we've improved. Getting a lot more protection. Receivers running good routes, and the running backs running the ball real well. I feel like it's not just me, it's everybody."
(On his confidence after the Texas Bowl)
"With him telling me that (he's still the starter), it gave me a lot of confidence. I might not have played my best game, but I feel like he knows what's inside of me and what I've still got. I feel like I'm still confident in myself."
Jerrod Heard
On trying to win the quarterback competition
"Right now, just doing my job for the team. I think we're all enjoying it. Right now, it's some good comradery on the field. Right now, we're having fun out there."
(On the light coming on two weeks ago)
"I think Shawn (Watson) makes that decision, according to how I was feeling on the field, and my progress on the field. I think he noticed it, too, where I started to click. I spent more time in the playbook and the film room. It was fun."
(On what he needs to do to win the job)
"Right now, I'm still learning. I think game is still getting faster to me. Right now, I'm just trying to learn the ropes, and still have my game with an edge."
Up Next: Swoopes said he plans to organize offseason workouts with the team. He intends to have 7-on-7 games in order to prepare for training camp, which will likely begin in early August.
This post was edited on 4/18 6:26 PM by Suchomel
He just heavily hinted it would probably occur.
Jerrod Heard and Swoopes continued their quarterback battle during the spring game in front of more than 20,000 fans on Saturday. Texas defeated the Horns, 27-16, with Swoopes completing 17-of-31 passes for 159 yards and one rushing touchdown for the winning team. Heard completed 20-of-29 passes, threw one interception, and had a rushing touchdown for the Horns.
After the game, Strong received a multitude of questions about the quarterback competition, as expected. Strong said positive things about both quarterbacks. He praised the competition battle between both guys. He liked what each person did during the spring.
Then, whether it was to build Swoopes' confidence or keep Heard hungry, Strong let everyone know the incumbent quarterback is still the guy.
Strong was asked if he would be afraid to start a redshirt freshman - code for Heard - against Notre Dame. Strong initially said it would not bother him.
"No, you know what it is," Strong said. "They had a chance this summer to work with that. I'll be fine with that. I won't be afraid. You at look at our offensive line, it's an experienced offensive line. You look at the wide receivers."
As Strong continued to speak, it became clear he is not scared to start Heard on opening day.
It just is not his preference.
"The thing about it is I hope I don't have to go in that game and start a redshirt freshman," Strong said. "I hope I don't."
Heard supporters, calm down for a moment.
You cannot blame Strong for not wanting Heard's first start to be in a hostile road environment. They spent last season trying to protect Heard by redshirting him. Quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson and Strong refused to play Heard, even if he could have done a better job than Swoopes, because they wanted this to be the year he excelled. Last season was all about getting Heard ready for 2015.
The confidence of a young quarterback can be affected if he plays poorly in his first start.
Strong's mindset makes sense.
However, Strong said he did not want to start a redshirt freshman in that game.
He did not say he was opposed to playing Heard if Swoopes struggles. Heck, Heard could take the second series against Notre Dame and never look back.
Strong just said he did not want to "start" a redshirt freshman.
For now, this is still Swoopes' team.
"I don't want to turn this into a quarterback controversy because people are going to say who's going to be your guy," Strong said. "When you look at it, Tyrone came into the spring as the starter. I don't know if Heard has done anything yet to just unseat him as the starter. I said he's closed the gap.
"You want to be where you have competition at the position where you have two guys. When you look at it as a year ago, what was unfortunate is we had (David) Ash and Tyrone, and Ash was our guy. Then he goes down and Tyrone is thrown into it. Now what we've been able to do is give Jerrod the number of reps that he's had, and now you feel pretty comfortable if something was to happen, at least you can go into it. Then you get (Kai) Locksley and you see where he is … Ty is still the number one guy at this point."
Strong's response begged for a follow-up question.
After what Longhorn fans witnessed against Arkansas and TCU, I asked Strong why is he unafraid of putting Swoopes back on the field?
"I see an improvement in the offensive line," Strong said. "I see an improvement at the wide receiver position. I see an offense now that gives him an opportunity to really show his skills. Coaches are making the checks for him. Whether it's Tyrone or Jerrod, a lot of calls are going to be made from the sideline, so they don't have to make a lot of reads. Just get the ball out of your hands and get it in the playmaker's hands."
It sounds simple enough.
Now it is just a matter of the playmakers making plays.
Longhorn receivers really struggled without Marcus Johnson on Saturday. Dorian Leonard struggled to catch the ball consistently. Daje Johnson fumbled the catch on a punt, plus he fumbled after a punishing hit by freshman linebacker Malik Jefferson. The performance by this group could open the doors for a lot incoming freshmen to play this season.
Strong was asked if Texas was still in the market for a transfer quarterback. He said nobody has contacted him yet.
Of course, if Braxton Miller called Strong on Saturday morning and said he was going to transfer, I am pretty sure Strong would not have said a word. Watson previously said they were no longer looking for a transfer quarterback, but you have to believe they are going to take calls from any quarterback who can compete right away. This is still something for Longhorn fans to monitor during the offseason.
For now, Swoopes still has the job.
Heard is still fighting.
Notre Dame is five months away.
Need To Know
- Strong said they are thin at the linebacker position, but is happy about the number of incoming freshmen who will arrive this summer. He said, "You talk about Malik and you talk about (Edwin) Freeman, two athletic linebackers. You took Freeman who is a safety and moved him to backer, so you watch him reach down. I told him I don't think I've see too many guys who can bend down and pick up that ball in one step and go for a touchdown. Malik is so athletic. He made a lot of plays. With Pete (Jinkens) and Tim Cole, they probably didn't have a lot of opportunities because of who they were playing behind, but it's still about those guys competing."
- Swoopes threw a ball out of bounds, and it hit a kid in the face who was not paying attention. Strong made Swoopes go over to the young kid and apologize. After the game, Swoopes said he felt bad about hurting the child.
- It was just a spring game, but Texas' defense had seven sacks overall.
- D'Onta Foreman finished with 66 rushing yards and one touchdown during the spring game.
- Strong said Daje Johnson did not get a lot of work this spring as a punt returner, so he was not upset with the muffed catch.
- Sheroid Evans' knee will get checked this week, Dalton Santos will be back in mid-July, while Caleb Bluiett will be back this summer. Strong said none of his injured players have long-term injuries.
Postgame Quotes
Tyrone Swoopes
(On the offense suiting his skills)
"Like I said, last year I was thinking too much. Just going fast and not thinking and reacting to everything I see. It's helped me out a lot."
(On his improvement)
"I feel like as a whole offense we've improved. Getting a lot more protection. Receivers running good routes, and the running backs running the ball real well. I feel like it's not just me, it's everybody."
(On his confidence after the Texas Bowl)
"With him telling me that (he's still the starter), it gave me a lot of confidence. I might not have played my best game, but I feel like he knows what's inside of me and what I've still got. I feel like I'm still confident in myself."
Jerrod Heard
On trying to win the quarterback competition
"Right now, just doing my job for the team. I think we're all enjoying it. Right now, it's some good comradery on the field. Right now, we're having fun out there."
(On the light coming on two weeks ago)
"I think Shawn (Watson) makes that decision, according to how I was feeling on the field, and my progress on the field. I think he noticed it, too, where I started to click. I spent more time in the playbook and the film room. It was fun."
(On what he needs to do to win the job)
"Right now, I'm still learning. I think game is still getting faster to me. Right now, I'm just trying to learn the ropes, and still have my game with an edge."
Up Next: Swoopes said he plans to organize offseason workouts with the team. He intends to have 7-on-7 games in order to prepare for training camp, which will likely begin in early August.
This post was edited on 4/18 6:26 PM by Suchomel
