NCAA Football Preview - Texas Longhorns

Aug 23, 2007, 17:38 GMT

OFFENSE: Only a couple of years removed from the Vince Young era, and Texas already has its next great quarterback. Colt McCoy etched his name into the Longhorns' annals in his first season, setting freshman records with 10 wins and 2,570 passing yards en route to earning national Freshman of the Year honors. His 29 touchdowns were more than any other quarterback in school history. So now, with a year under his belt and a few extra pounds on his frame, the sky is the limit for McCoy. It also helps that he has all of his wideouts back, led by one of the top pass catchers in the country, Limas Sweed (41 catches, 801 yards, 12 TDs). Sweed will be lining up alongside Billy Pittman (35 catches, four TDs) and Quan Cosby (45 catches, 525 yards). In the backfield, Jamaal Charles (831 yards, 5.3 yards per carry, seven TDs) has the potential to be one of the top backs in the conference. However, he will be running behind an offensive line that graduated three All-Big 12 selections. Tackles Tony Hills (6-6, 300) and Adam Ulatoski (6-8, 305) each have starting experience, as does guard Cedric Dockery (6-4, 320), although his season was cut short by a knee injury last year.

DEFENSE: The biggest hit to the defense is in the secondary, where the Longhorns must replace a pair of All-Americans and a three-year starter. Senior Marcus Griffin, who was second on the team with 90 tackles last year, leads the charge at free safety. Drew Kelson makes the move to safety from linebacker, while seniors Brandon Foster and Ryan Palmer may take over at cornerback. Also challenging at cornerback are sophomore Deon Beasley and freshman Chykie Brown, both of whom impressed the coaching staff in the spring. Up front, there are not as many question marks, as the Longhorns return a pair of defensive tackles and a trio of linebackers from a unit that ranked third in the nation against the run. Senior defensive tackles Frank Okam (6-6, 320) and Derek Lokey (6-2, 280) anchor the line. At linebacker, the team returns all three starters in Robert Killebrew, Rashad Bobino and Scott Derry.

SPECIAL TEAMS: After splitting time last year and going 6-for-6 in field-goal attempts, junior kicker Ryan Bailey is in line to take over the position full- time. The Longhorns have plenty of speedsters who are capable of stepping in and performing well in the return game, but Cosby will re-assume his position as kick returner after averaging 25.7 yards per return. It's up in the air as to who will join him back deep to return kicks. After returning a punt 55 yards for a touchdown a year ago, Cosby is penciled in to handle the punt return duties as well.

OUTLOOK: The Longhorns were the nation's sixth-best scoring offense last year, and that was with a freshman quarterback. Now that he feels more comfortable in the offense, there is no telling just how good McCoy can become. His supporting cast is chock full of talent, from Sweed and the receiving corps, to Charles in the backfield, so McCoy certainly won't have the whole offensive load on his shoulders. The biggest area of concern is likely in the defensive backfield. Even with a Thorpe Award winner, another All-American and a three- year starter, Texas ranked 99th in the nation against the pass. The Longhorns are stout against the run, but it will be up to the secondary to limit big plays in the passing game, otherwise the onus will be on McCoy and company to light up the scoreboard. Coach Brown doesn't win national championships by accident, so it's a safe bet he will have all the parts working in proper order by the first of September, which means the Longhorns could very well have another shot at the Promised Land.

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