2010 Texas Longhorns Football: Depth Chart Preview

Out for the Rice game: Tray Allen (foot), DJ Grant (knee), Blaine Irby (knee), Paden Kelley (suspension), Vondrell McGee (suspension)

It's Monday of Rice game week and that means that Mack Brown will have his first gameweek press conference of the season and will reveal the first depth chart of 2010. The above is an attempt at guessing what that depth chart will look like. More on the actual depth chart after Brown releases it.

Major positional battles broken down after the jump...

Back-up quarterback -- Following the retirement of presumed back-up Sherrod Harris, one of the major storylines of fall practice has been the battle between Case McCoy and Connor Wood, both of whom are freshmen who enrolled early last spring. Wood has been the presumed leader for the position ever since enrollment, but the buzz from fall camp has had McCoy as the current leader due to his decision making. After participating in virtually every sport possible at 3A Graham in high school, McCoy has appeared to benefit from the strength and conditioning program at Texas, looking visibly stronger than he did as a prep star. Regardless, if Garrett Gilbert does down to injury, it's proably safe to say that the season is sunk.

Sub B (slot receiver) and flanker (Z) -- Besides defensive end, there probably isn't another position on the team that has as much depth as slot receiver. After struggling at flanker last season, John Chiles has moved inside, a position that Marquise Goodwin, James Kirkendoll, DeSean Hales, and Mike Davis can all play as well. The thought here is that Chiles remains the starter, while Goodwin and Kirkendoll are interchangeable at flanker, with the senior probably possessing the edge at this point due to Goodwin's hamstring injury. Then, the true freshman Davis, who opened with the ones in the empty set at the second open practice, and Hales, who looked to have a strong connection with Gilbert during the spring game, are competing for the back-up job and a spot in the rotation.

Tight end/H-back -- If the Longhorns open with a tight end and H-back on the field against Rice, as expected, in all likelihood EBS will be lined up on the LOS, while the versatile Matthews will play an H-back/fullback role. However, Matthews could well earn the tight end job in the 11 personnel set due to his versatility -- therefore, a strong case can be made for the Galena Park North Shore product to receive the nod atop the depth chart at tight end as well.

Tailback -- The running back position has been a source of endless debate since the departure of Jamaal Charles at the end of the 2007 season and that narrative coninutes into the 2010 season. Johnson has received a massive amount of love from the coaching staff this fall and looks poised to open with the ones against Rice, with Tre' Newton receiving a large number of snaps as well as playing on third downs. The Mythical Fozzy Creature will get some reps, too, but from the sound of things is behind the other two backs at this point.

Buck position -- Eddie Jones will probably play with his hand on the ground the majority of the time this season and there has been some murmurings about Alex Okafor playing inside at defensive tackle, so this is a tough position to project, although from all accounts Dravannti Johnson has had a strong camp, as has Jackson Jeffcoat. Reggie Wilson could also receive snaps at the Buck.

Defensive tackle -- The coaches would probably prefer that Calvin Howell take control of the starting three tech position opposite the entrenched Kheeston Randall, but that hasn't been the case. He's listed here as the co-starter with Tyrell Higgins, who is once again on scholarship. Both Sam Acho and Alex Okafor may also receive some time inside, in addition to youngsters like Tevin Mims and Kyle Kriegel.

Defensive back -- The Longhorns will probably open in the nickel package against Rice, with Aaron Williams lined up over the slot receiver. However, in a typical 4-3 alignment with two cornerbacks on the field, expect Chykie Brown to give way to Williams. In the big nickel package, Kenny Vaccaro would slid into the nickel and Williams would displace the inconsistent Brown at cornerback. Got it?