Texas spring football game: Preview, TV schedule, storylines to watch

How and what to watch as Texas kicks off the annual spring football game.

It was a pretty awful first year to kick off the Steve Sarkisian era, but Texas football is hoping to start anew as the Longhorns host the Orange-White Spring Game on Saturday.

Texas went 5-7 a year ago, including a home loss to Kansas, but put in some serious work this offseason, signing a top 5 recruiting haul and a top 10 transfer class.

A pair of former Alabama receivers join the Burnt Orange in tight end Jahleel Billingsley and wide receiver Agiye Hall. And of course, 5-star quarterback prospect Quinn Ewers returned home to the Lone Star State after a year with the Buckeyes.

Putting those pieces together means Texas should have a pretty decent offensive output, when considering star running back Bijan Robinson and wideout Xavier Worthy are both back for 2022. 

All good news when looking ahead to a massive Week 2 home date with Alabama, but there are still major questions to answer on this team, defensively and otherwise.

First up: getting a closer look at this roster during the spring game. Here's how you can do that, and what you should keep your eyes on this weekend.

Texas spring football game schedule

When: Sat., April 23

Time: 7 p.m. Eastern

TV: Longhorn Network

Live stream: ESPN+

2022 Texas spring football: Storylines to watch

1. Improvements at linebacker. Second-year defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski failed to develop a properly aggressive group behind the line. DeMarvion Overshown brings back some crucial experience after holding up the group last season, but Texas badly needs to find some other inputs here. Overshown and Jaylan Ford ran with the first team in practices this offseason, and the Longhorns want to see more from Devin Richardson and David Gbenda, too.

2. First look at Quinn Ewers. At last, the 5-star quarterback transfer will make his debut in a Texas football uniform. The former No. 1 overall recruit a year ago transferred from Ohio State this offseason hoping to get the starting job right away. But there's still a competition going on here between Ewers and Hudson Card, himself a quality prospect. Card earned the starting nod a year ago before getting benched and now goes up against a generational player who hasn't thrown a pass yet.

3. Offensive line makeover. Last season's front five unit seriously underperformed, getting out-manned and out-muscled, leading to turnovers, mistakes, and plays that went the wrong way. This year, no one is safe on this line with every position seemingly wide open. Texas should get an influx of young, promising talent on this group, but a lot of it won't be on the field just yet. That should give the Longhorns more opportunity to get a closer look at its depth situation.

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