Longhorns Country

Spring Game or Not, Texas Offense Proved Its Big-Play Capability

The Longhorns gave fans a show during Saturday night’s Orange-White Spring Game

Zach Dimmitt

There’s never been any doubt of the talent level that the Texas Longhorns offense possesses headed into year two under Steve Sarkisian, but Saturday’s Orange-White Spring Game was the group’s first chance to prove its capability. 

And with both Hudson Card and Quinn Ewers getting an equal opportunity in front of 40,000-plus fans, there’s a lot to be excited about for Longhorn Nation. 

"I wanted to make sure that I gave enough people opportunities to make plays," Sarkisian said. "This was not about scheme in this game."

Isaiah Neyor

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Will Gallagher, Inside Texas

The receivers and quarterbacks complimented each other out of the gates. Though Sarkisian hasn’t named a QB1, Card got the start and connected with Xavier Worthy and Wyoming transfer Isaiah Neyor on the first two plays of the night. When Ewers got his shot, he wasted little time letting the deep ball fly.

If there’s one thing Ewers can effortlessly bring to the offense that Card can’t, it’s the ability to take the roof off the defense with the long pass. His first attempt of the day was a deep shot to receiver Dajon Harrison that was a bit long, but Ewers certainly showed the crowd at DKR that he’s always got his eyes on six points.

Quinn Ewers

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Aaron E. Martinez, Austin American-Statesman

And on his next drive, he did just that. In what was one of the most memorable plays of the day, Ewers delivered a bomb to Neyor in stride behind the secondary for a 63-yard score. Both newcomers quickly made a statement in front of the Texas faithful.

“I think we all saw the big post for the touchdown,” Sarkisian said. “That was a heck of a throw to Neyor.”

Texas receiver Jordan Whittington, who was limited for cautionary reasons, still made a handful of nice catches from the slot. But did he accidentally give some insight on Ewers' chances of being named QB1?

Xavier Worthy

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Aaron E. Martinez, Austin American-Statesman

“That’s one of many, many touchdowns by them two,” Whittington said on the Ewers-Neyor connection. 

The offensive production helped overshadow the absence of star running back Bijan Robinson, who Sarkisian said would be limited with an ankle injury, but never ended up seeing the field.

Roschon Johnson took things into his own hands with a pair of early touchdowns in the first handful of drives. He arguably stole Neyor's shine away with his second score, which came after plowing through the defensive line and breaking tackles en route to another 50-plus yard score.

Roschon Johnson

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Aaron E. Martinez, Austin American-Statesman

It might have gone unnoticed considering all there was to pay attention to, but the offense saw some nice production from running back Keilan Robinson as a receiver out of the backfield. It's long been said that Robinson should get a few more reps at receiver, but it was never quite something that came to light last season. 

Isaiah Neyor (left) and Xavier Worthy

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Bijan Robinson is a do-it-all back, but having Keilan in as a third-down guy to compliment Johnson could help catch defenses sleeping. It's something that showed potential on Saturday, as the former Alabama transfer caught a few passes out of the backfield. On one catch-and-run, Robinson glided his way down the sideline with unmatched speed for a 20-yard gain.

In an offense filled with proven playmakers, Robinson might be the biggest play waiting to happen - and he's still the third running back on the depth chart. But it remains to be seen if Sarkisian gives his fellow ball carrier, Bijan, the same type of workload from last season. 

Texas football

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It wasn't a long spring game by any means. Orchestrated by Sarkisian, the offense moved at a fast pace in a short amount of time. And still, the offense found a way to produce nice chunk plays while putting the cherry on top with a few big hitters. 

It's just a spring game after all. But Texas is certainly moving in an exciting new direction.

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Zach Dimmitt
ZACH DIMMITT

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