A Texas Gal’s Guide to the 2013 Longhorn Football Roster

This post is part 1 of a new series called Friday Football Chat with Tori, where she will blog about everything from football stats to Game Day outfit necessities!  Tori is a Texas Ex, Longhorn Fan, Internet Marketing Specialist and most of all, a fabulous friend of mine! I am thrilled to have her guest post on the blog and even more excited that she broke down the roster for us all so we can all be ready to cheer LOUD in 29 days! 

Now, whether you’re seeking to impress a new beau, wreck stereotypes that girls can’t talk shop about football or embarrass a Sooner who’s trying to diss your team*, every Longhorn lady should know who the leading men on the football field are.

*my favorite Sooner come back is “Score-board” because the Red River Rivalry record is 59 Texas wins – 43 OU wins.

Key Offensive Positions:

Quarterback: #14, David Ash

Ash is poised to take the next step as the Longhorns' main man in charge (say what you want, haters gonna hate). He is set to have a breakout season under the tutelage of Longhorn legend and campus hunk Major Applewhite as one of just two starting QB's returning in the Big 12.  If he performs inconsistently, it’s likely #6 Case McCoy will jump in.

The QB is probably the most important player to know, and I’m not just saying that because I was a freshman when Vince Young scored the National Championship winning touchdown in the 2006 Rose Bowl game.  I’m saying that because 11 of the last 13 Heisman winners have been quarterbacks.  (*Universal Longhorn scowl to the 2005 Heisman selection committee for not choosing VY*)

Runningbacks: #32 Johnathan Gray, #28 Malcolm Brown, and #24 Joe Bergeron

If you’ve watched Texas the past few years, you heart Bergeron.  He scored 16 touchdowns last year, and won’t disappoint this year. Though he’ll probably be third string behind Gray and Brown, he'll likely do the majority of the TD scoring (because he can pummel through defense when we’re in the end zone) while Gray and Brown split most of the carries and yards. Gray is a baby (sophomore) and an electrifying speedster while Brown is the most well-rounded, all-purpose back (runningback), although he was hurt a lot of last season.

Runningbacks are the guys who get handed the ball from the QB and run straight through what looks like a line of defense on the opposing team.  If the offensive line is good, they hold off the defense and open up room for the RB to run through and advance the ball down the field, but sometimes <read: most of the time> these plays can sort of just look like a big clustered dog pile.

Wide Receivers: #1 Mike Davis, #8 Jaxon Shipley

You'll be hearing Shipley's name a lot, even though Ash (and not a McCoy like previous seasons) will be throwing it to him.  We love that Jaxon (like older brother Longhorn alum, Jordan) is a reliable WR. “Magic” Mike Davis is so good he almost went to the NFL last year but decided not to with the hopes of helping the Longhorns make a run at the Big 12 and National Championships this year.

Wide receivers are the players that get thrown the ball, unlike RBs who are handed the ball.  In my experience, they get the majority of my anger and/or praise (“omg, HOW COULD YOU DROP THAT? You had ONE job!” and/or “TOUCHDOWNNNNNN! I LOVE YOU SO MUCH JAXON”) but that comes with their position.

Offensive Line, “O Line”

#75 Trey Hopkins: Offensive Guard, #51 Donald Hawkins: Offensive Tackle, #72 Mason Walters: Offensive Guard, #78 Josh Cochran: Offensive Tackle, #55 Dom Espinosa: Center

These are the big boys standing in front of/protecting the QB; you may remember Michael Oher from The Blind Side – he was on the O line. They rarely get any glory because that isn’t their role on the field. However, if they suck, you’ll notice the QB is always getting sacked, RBs can’t seem to gain any yards, and we are generally sucking, yada yada… so they’re important.

Tight Ends:

This position doesn’t seem narrowed down by various reports; it’s very much up in the air. Keep an eye on M. J. McFarland, Greg Daniels, Geoff Swaim or John Harris in order of likelihood. They'll be doing their best to catch Ash's passes when needed and help the O line block for the running backs.

A tight end is a really flexible player, typically bigger than wide receivers because part of their role is to help the O Line block and defend the QB.  However, they are also fast and agile and can run out and catch passes like a WR.  So, they can really act like an additional member of the O Line or another WR.

Notable Coaches:

While there are more specialized coaches for the ‘horns who aren’t listed below, these are the main three making calls:

·         Mack Brown - Head Coach

·         Major Applewhite - Offensive Coordinator, former UT football player

·         Manny Diaz - Defensive Coordinator

I know this isn’t completely comprehensive, it completely ignored the Texas defense (no hard feelings, bros), and is pretty straight forward… BUT, for those of us who didn’t know all the players or positions, it’ll give us more incentive to cheer, bleed orange and wear Longhorn Fashions in just a month!

Hook ‘em horns!

Tori

Don't forget to look out for more guest blogs every first Friday of the month from Tori! Follow Tori on twitter @toritica, on instagram @toriklem and on Google Plus!

Also a thank you to @joelpwright for editing the stat portion of the blog. If you don't agree with any of them, find him on twitter and let him know ;-). JK, Joel!