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Thursday, February 21, 2013
 How will Texas' new offense operate?
By Brent Sobleski
Texas' transition to an up-tempo offense has been well documented. But how exactly will it work once the Longhorns are the field facing actual opponents? It may not be as different as some suspect.

“We want to run a similar offense, but do it from no-huddle and try to keep the same personnel on the field,” Brown told Jimmy Burch of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “We changed so much personnel over the last couple of years that we felt like it gave defenses a chance to match with us in packages. So we’re trying to get a group on the field and keep them on the field and run a lot of different plays and formations from the same personnel so the defense cannot rest.”

Burch added, "...only the team’s tempo is expected to change, not its focus on a physical ground game that is expected to incorporate more carries from quarterback David Ash to complement the efforts of running backs Johnathan Gray, Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron."

Texas will simply have to walk the fine line of spreading carries among those in its talented backfield:

Carter Strickland
Is Texas' running game going to change?
"Some. It won't be all Johnathan Gray all the time. But Gray will get the majority of the opportunities in the new spread offense. He has too much talent and is too good in space not to get the ball at least 15 times per game. Malcolm Brown is still going to play. And he should play a lot, because he too has talent that will allow Texas to keep a defense on its heels. But his injuries the past two years have not allowed him to become a dominant back. Now Texas feels it has a dominant back in Gray, and the Longhorns are going to give him every chance to succeed."