ESPN: The Longhorns first time following busiest fall
Texas football players donned full pads for the first time following the busiest fall practice day to date, which kicked off Week 2 of preseason camp on Monday. Head coach Steve Sarkisian continued to increase the intensity and speed of individual and team drills on Tuesday during fall practice.
Following the first session in full pads on Tuesday, there are a lot of updates regarding Texas football on both sides of the ball.
On Tuesday, there was an additional opportunity for the media to watch a significant part of the practice. This was the second time the media got a peek at the Longhorns practicing during team exercises, when they were more aggressive and their pads were bursting.
Typically, the level of intensity increases during the second week of preseason camp. The regular season opener for Texas, which takes place against Colorado State on August 31, is just a few weeks away. For the 2017 regular season, the Longhorns need to start figuring out their two-deep lineup on both sides of the ball.
Here are four things to remember from the Longhorns’ August 6 full-pad session, which marked the start of fall camp.
Competition for second-team overtime reps
Most of the major challenges this fall for second-team practice repetitions for Kyle Flood and the Longhorns are taking place around the offensive line depth chart for spot on the two-deep. Before preseason camp, the slots for offensive tackles on the second team were up for grabs, and it appears that some change in the depth chart may be imminent.
Early this week, true freshman Brandon Baker has been pushing sophomore right tackle Andre Cojoe for second-team offensive line reps. This information was supplied by Orangebloods’ Alex Dunlap (subscription material).
After the sessions started to become more rigorous over the weekend, Baker is said to have looked good in team drills for the third-team offensive line at the tackle position. It wouldn’t be shocking to see Flood offer Baker additional offensive tackle practice reps from the second team in order to increase his competition against the team’s second defensive line and edge rushers and provide him with crucial drill experience.
