 "Photo: Stephen Durda")
A new stadium expansion. A new defense. And Vince Young in attendance for his jersey retirement ceremony?
It all gives defensive tackle Roy Miller fits.
“I can’t even think about it right now,” Miller said. “My kidneys would give off too much adrenaline. I don’t want to overwork my organs.”
While it might not send them into kidney failure, Texas fans shouldn’t expect much of anything to be that familiar when the Longhorns kick off against Florida Atlantic on Saturday at 6:15 p.m.
From the unveiling of defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s hard-nosed defense to the debut of the north end zone expansion (complete with Starbucks), this year’s season opener should be a bit more eventful and revealing than others.
In some senses, even the coaches don’t know what to expect.
The first game will be a proving ground for a bounty of young players looking to earn starting jobs.
From safety to running back to even the punters, a number of spots are in close contention.
Running backs Vondrell Mc- Gee, Chris Ogbonnaya and Fozzy Whittaker are all expected to share playing time in the first game until one of them separates from the crowd to emerge as the go-to back. That might not happen until the middle of the season, if at all.
The punters and kickers are in a dead heat, too. Ryan Bailey and Hunter Lawrence are all competing to kick field goals while Justin Tucker, Trevor Gerland and John Gold are in the
running to kick punts.
Mack Brown said that a decision won’t be made until right before the game.
“That’s still a problem,” Brown said. “We’re trying to stretch them, and we’re trying to make
sure we put them in as many pressure situations just to see. We’ve charted every kick for the 20-something practices and every punt.”
And Texas has to choose between five safeties, all of whom are freshmen. Blake Gideon and Ishie Oduegwu have been named starters tentatively, but all five are expected to see playing time throughout the game.
In order to make defensive play-calling easier on the freshmen, coaches simplified the roles of the safeties, designating a right and left safety instead of a strong or free safety.
“We can simplify what they do back there much easier,” Brown said.
Still, don’t be surprised if bulletthrowing Florida Atlantic quarterback Rusty Smith takes advantage of the young secondary and makes a few long passes.
The Owls run a pro-style offense that protects Smith and gives him plenty of time to sit in
the pocket and pick his targets.
“He completes 60 percent of his passes,” defensive coordinator Will Muschamp said. “He
does a great job of moving in the pocket. They’re going to make sure they don’t give up sacks. You have to pick your points to pressure.”
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