True Freshmen Report: A look back at the Texas season finale

First, apologies for the delay on this. I know the game has come and gone for the Texas Longhorns, and a lot has happened since then.

Also, I’ll compile a report for the entire season as well some time in the next week or so. In that post, we’ll discuss overall performances from the season and take a look at some redshirt situations moving forward.

Freshmen who played against TCU (13)

• QB Shane Buechele — 16/39 (41%), 218 yds, 1 INT
• RB Kyle Porter — 3 car, 14 yds, 4.7 YPC
• WR Devin Duvernay — 3 rec, 73 yds
• WR Collin Johnson — 4 rec, 51 yds
• RB/WR Lil’Jordan Humphrey — special teams
• OL Denzel Okafor — reserve OL
• Fox Malcolm Roach — starting Fox end, 3 tackles, 1 TFL
• LB Jeffrey McCulloch — no stats
• Fox/LB Erick Fowler — no stats
• S Brandon Jones — 1 tackle
• DL Jordan Elliott — 2 tackles
• NT Gerald WIlbon — starting NT, no stats
• DT D’Andre Christmas — 1 tackle

I’ll compile a separate post recapping the total season contributions from the freshmen in the next week or so.

— This was somewhat a game of firsts for Shane Buechele as a collegiate quarterback, and not in a good way.

For the first time as a Longhorn, Buechele failed to throw a passing touchdown and he did not complete more than 50 percent of his passes.

It was not a disaster of a performance by any means. But ironically, the one game he performed most like a freshman was the last game of the season. Credit Gary Patterson and TCU for their own defensive performance against Buechele as well.

All in all, it was more than a solid season for the true freshman quarterback. We’ll get into that more in the season recap.

— The three carries Kyle Porter had went for two yards, four yards, and eight yards, respectively.

— Both Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson made their presence felt with a combined effort of seven receptions for 124 yards. Both of these receivers should absolutely be starters when next season kicks off.

— It looks like Lil’Jordan Humphrey was mainly a special teams contributor once again. He’s another player we’ll talk more about in the recap of the season.

— Both Malcolm Roach and Gerald WIlbon started on defense, though Roach was the only freshmen of the two starters to record any stats.

— Yes, Jordan Elliott did play and also recorded a couple tackles. If I’m not mistaken, this was his first game back since his injury against Iowa State six games ago.

— D’Andre Christmas, Brandon Jones, and Erick Fowler combined for two tackles.

— By the end of it, on a day where the seniors were honored before the last game of the season at home, 13 true freshmen got in on the action. Comparatively, 13 seniors got on the field as well.

Freshmen who redshirted (12)

• WR Davion Curtis
• WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps
• TE Peyton Aucoin
• OL Tope Imade
• OL J.P. Uriquidez
• OL Patrick Hudson
• DL Marcel Southall
• DL Chris Daniels
• DE Andrew Fitzgerald
• LB Demarco Boyd
• DB Chris Brown
• DB Eric Cuffee

Once again, this game and season was a reminder of the transition that is continuing to take place on this roster.

This senior class was small to begin with. Add in how many first and second year players this team has had to rely on these past two seasons, and it tells part of the story as to why Texas has failed to end with a winning record since the 8-4 season during Mack Brown’s final year as the head coach.