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How Tarik Black fits on the Texas depth chart

Expect for Black to compete for a starting job at flanker, but Joshua Moore may have the initial edge at the position.

Michigan State v Michigan Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images

With the addition of former Michigan Wolverines graduate transfer wide receiver Tarik Black on Tuesday, the Texas Longhorns will now have a senior pass catcher on the roster for the 2020 football season.

In fact, Black and junior Brennan Eagles are the only two upperclassmen among the nine wide receivers, so Black provides some much-needed experience on the outside after Collin Johnson and Devin Duvernay both exhausted their eligibility with the Alamo Bowl victory.

So, how does Black fit into the Texas depth chart? Here goes.

2020 Texas depth chart

11 Name No. Name No. Name No. Name No. Name No.
11 Name No. Name No. Name No. Name No. Name No.
QB Sam Ehlinger 11 Casey Thompson 8 Hudson Card * Ja'Quinden Jackson *
RB Keaontay Ingram 26 Roschon Johnson 8 Bijan Robinson * Daniel Young *
XWR Brennan Eagles 13 Marcus Washington 15 Al'Vonte Woodard 83 Troy Omeire *
HWR Jake Smith 16 Jordan Whittington 21 Dajon Harrison *
ZWR Josh Moore 14 Tarik Black 7 Kennedy Lewis 84 Kelvontay Dixon *
YTE Cade Brewer 80 Malcolm Epps 85 Jared Wiley 18 Brayden Liebrock 89 Jaden Hullaby *
LT Sam Cosmi 52 Reese Moore 76 Isaiah Hookfin 65 Andrej Karic *
LG Tyler Johnson 72 Tope Imade 73
C Derek Kerstetter 68 Rafiti Ghirmai 74 Jake Majors *
RG Junior Angilau 75 Willie Tyler 55 Logan Parr *
RT Denzel Okafor 78 Christian Jones 70 Jaylen Garth *
Defense
DE Moro Ojomo 98 Marqez Bimage 42 Jacoby Jones 36 Vernon Broughton * Alfred Collins *
NT Keondre Coburn 99 T'Vondre Sweat 93
DT Ta'Quon Graham 49 Daniel Carson 88 Myron Warren 92 Sawyer Goram-Welch *
JACK Joseph Ossai 46 Byron Vaughns 50 Reese Leitao 81 Prince Dorbah *
MLB Juwan Mitchell 6 Ayodele Adeoye 40 Cort Jaquess 57 Jaylan Ford *
WILL DeMarvion Overshown 31 David Gbenda 33 Marcus Tillman, Jr. 13
CB D'Shawn Jamison 5 Josh Thompson 29 Kobe Boyce 38
S Caden Sterns 7 Montrell Estell 39 Xavion Alford *
S BJ Foster 25 Chris Brown 15 Tyler Owens 44 Jerrin Thompson *
CB Jalen Green 3 Kenyatta Watson II 2 Marques Caldwell 24 Kitan Crawford *
SPUR Anthony Cook 4 Chris Adimora 11
Special Teams
PK Cameron Dicker 17
P Ryan Bucjevski 8 Cameron Dicker 17
H Ryan Bucjevski 8 Zach Edwards 43
DS Justin Mader 54 Zach Edwards 43
KR D'Shawn Jamison 5 Jake Smith 16 Montrell Estell 39 Jordan Whittington 21
PR D'Shawn Jamison 5 Jake Smith 16
Injured Peter Mpagi 45 heart
Derrian Brown 24 stroke

Since the No. 7 is open on offense for the Horns and Black wore that number with the Wolverines, that’s the guess for now on the number he will wear in burnt orange and white.

The more important question, of course, is whether he’ll be able to win a starting job. Or, if not, how he’ll fit into the rotation for wide receivers coach Andre Coleman in Coleman’s first season in that role on the Forty Acres.

With some significant buzz coming out of the program about sophomore wide receiver Joshua Moore following his suspension last season as a result of a gun charge, the guess here is that Moore will be ahead of Black initially — there will be an adjustment when preseason camp starts for the Michigan transfer.

However, Black does have more experience and he’s also listed as 46 pounds heavier than Moore, who apparently never put on that 10 pounds of muscle last year that was indicated on the roster. So if Coleman and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich want a more physical blocker at the Z position in the wide receiver screen game or someone with more experience and strength to get off press coverage, Black presumably has a significant advantage in those areas.

Black could also slide over to the X position at times to back up Eagles or just switch positions with him if Yurcich and his staff believe that Eagles has a better match up at Z.

And even though Moore is a supremely twitched-up athlete, Black tested well in high school, too, posting an elite 4.08 shuttle at about 10 pounds less than his current playing weight of 216 pounds, as well as a 36.4-inch vertical leap. Make no mistake — Black was such a highly-considered recruit out of Connecticut in no small part because of that athleticism.

As a result, however Black is used by the Longhorns, it’s clear that he fills a need at the wide receiver position and the staff deserves credit for landing Black despite the fact that he was never able to take a visit to Austin.