Check out our other 2009 college football previews.
Preseason Ranking: No. 2 in AP Top 25; No. 2 in USA Today Poll.
Key Returning Players: Colt McCoy (QB); Jordan Shipley (WR); Brandon Collins (WR); Vondrell McGee (RB); Adam Ulatoski (OT); Roddrick Muckelroy (LB); Sergio Kindle (LB); Jared Norton (LB); Earl Thomas (S); Deon Beasley (CB); Curtis Brown (CB); Cody Johnson.
Key Losses: Brian Orakpo (DE); Rashad Bobino (LB); Henry Melton (DE); Roy Miller (DT); Ryan Palmer (CB); Quan Cosby (WR); Cedric Dockery (G); Chris Ogbonnaya (RB).
Player to Watch: Colt McCoy, QB.
Who else? After completing 76.7 percent of his passes, throwing for 3,859 yards, rushing for 561 yards and totaling 45 touchdowns (34 passing, 11 rushing) in 2008, is there anything McCoy can’t do? He could usher people to his seats before the game and sell concessions at halftime and still compile 400 total yards and five touchdowns. McCoy is once again a legitimate Heisman candidate and only has one mission after deciding to return for his senior year: Win a national championship.
Team Strength: Outside of what McCoy brings to the table, the back seven on defense will be a major strength for the Longhorns this season. The defensive line lost a ton of talent with the departures of Brian Orakpo, Henry Melton and Roy Miller, but the linebacker corps should be one of the best in the nation with the return of Roddrick Muckelroy, Sergio Kindle and Jared Norton. The secondary, which ranked seventh in the Big 12 last year in pass defense, returns solid corners Deon Beasley, Curtis Brown and Chykie Brown, as well as quality safeties Blake Gideon and Earl Thomas. As long as the line can get consistent pressure on the quarterback, Texas will be fine defensively…
Potential Weakness: …but if it can’t, the effectiveness of the back seven could be negated. The Longhorns led the nation in sacks last year, but they lost an elite pass rusher in Orakpo (who was drafted in April), as well as former starters Melton and Miller. Kindle is being tried at a defensive end and given the pass-rushing ability he displayed from the linebacker position last year, Texas could wind up being fine in that department. But Mack Brown better hope that’s the case, because teams don’t survive in the Big 12 without a consistent pass rush.
Outlook: Texas will go as far as McCoy takes them. While the senior signal caller certainly has enough talent around him in Jordan Shipley, Vondrell McGee, Malcolm Williams and James Kirkendoll not to have to win games on his own, McCoy is the key to whether or not the Longhorns will play in the national title game this season. While questions remain about the line, the defense is in good shape and won’t hold the Longhorns back. The non-conference schedule is also favorable, as Louisiana-Monroe, Wyoming, UTEP and UCF shouldn’t pose too much of a threat. (As opposed to BYU and Miami, two teams on Big 12 rival Oklahoma’s non-conference schedule.)
Given the return of McCoy, the weapons they have on offense, the defensive back seven and their favorable schedule, the Longhorns are set up to make a championship run. Now it’s just a matter of putting it all together.
