One Lingering Question Facing Texas Longhorns After Spring Football

Texas could have one glaring weakness in 2024.

Nov 24, 2023; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive backs Terrance Brooks (8) and Derek / Scott Wachter-USA TODAY Sports

The expectations for the Texas Longhorns are through the roof heading into the 2024 season.

Not only are they a favorite to compete for the SEC in the first season in the conference, but they are also looking like a sure best to head to the College Football Playoff and compete for a national title.

However, if they are going to do that, they still have a few questions that need to be answered, including those surrounding the loss of a good portion of their 2023 production on offense.

However, the most pressing question facing the Horns might lie on the other side of the ball, specifically in the secondary, where ESPN wonders if the Longhorns' secondary can turn it around after a tough 2023 season.

"A highlight of the Texas spring game was the big performances from quarterbacks Arch Manning and Trey Owens as they each threw three touchdown passes, with Manning throwing for more than 350 yards," ESPN writes. "However, there's also the matter of the secondary, which finished 113th in passing yards allowed last season at 254.4 yards per game, allowing all those big plays once again. The fallout from the game was quick, as junior cornerback Terrance Brooks, who started 13 games last fall, entered the transfer portal three days later. Texas did get a commitment this week from San Jose State corner Jay'Vion Cole, who had seven interceptions in the past two seasons."

To be fair, if the Longhorns had one weakness last season, it was most certainly on the back end. And the loss of starting corner Terrance Brooks leaving via the transfer portal was a major punch in the gut as well.

That said, they also made some serious moves this offseason to help address those issues, bringing in transfer safety Andrew Mukuba from Clemson, and San Jose State transfer corner Jay'Vion Cole - both of whom were two of the most coveted players in the portal.

They also signed a stellar goup of freshman with Xavier Filsaime and Jordon Johnson-Rubell at safety, and Kobe Black, Wardell Mack and Santana Wilson at corner.

Not to mention the return of Jahdae Barron, who very well could have gone to the NFL.

So if the Longhorns can take advantage of all the new additions, as well as the return of Barron, alongside players like Malik Muhammad and Derek Williams taking a step forward, they could be in good shape.

In fact, if you ask head coach Steve Sarkisian, it might be the best secondary the Horns have had in quite some time.

"We're going to be just fine in the secondary," Sarkisian said at the Houston Touchdown Club last month. "I think we've got a lot of versatility back there... Our defensive backfield is probably the most versatile as we've had in my time here and probably the most talented defensive backfield that we've had in our time here."