Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas -- It is all about the family for Texas’ newest 2015 commit.

After receiving an offer from the Longhorns on Friday afternoon, defensive tackle Bryce English (DeSoto, Texas/DeSoto) wasted little time in committing to Texas. In doing so, he’ll eventually join a program coached by his godfather, Texas recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach Bruce Chambers.

“I’ve been wanting to be a Longhorn ever since middle school,” English said. “I’ve been throwing up 'Hook’em' forever. My dreams are finally coming true.”

English (5-foot-11, 312 pounds) is the second sophomore to commit to the Longhorns in less than a week. Offensive lineman Aaron Garza (Sherman, Texas/Sherman) committed during Texas’ sophomore day on Saturday.

The product of one of Texas’ top high school programs, English severely helps fill a position of need across the interior of the Longhorns’ defensive front. Texas missed out on its top defensive tackle target in 2013 – A’Shawn Robinson – and ended up not signing a signing a single defensive tackle.

But they’ve got one now, one the Longhorns can count on to hold true to his commitment over the next two years.

“Coach [Mack] Brown was telling me that they wanted to offer me and didn’t want me to go to any other schools,” English said. “When you commit you stay true to Texas. That’s what I’m going to do.”

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Texas kicked off on Monday what could be a fruitful final few weeks of 2013 recruiting by picking up its first verbal commit since October.

The Longhorns have landed pledge No. 14 from Contra Costa (Calif.) College offensive lineman Desmond Harrison.

The three-star prospect chose Texas over Arizona State, USC, Oklahoma and offers from more than 20 schools.

“This feels real good,” Harrison said. “I feel like I just made the best decision. It was a tight decision. It really boiled down to Arizona State and Texas, and they really made it difficult. It just felt like Texas was the best for me.”

Harrison had been leaning toward choosing Texas for a while, but the final decision was tougher than he’d expected.

“It was a last-minute decision,” he said. “Everything came down to the end. I was still thinking about it today."

A 6-foot-8, 310-pound lineman who is being recruited to play left tackle, Harrison took an official visit to Texas on Dec. 7 and is the program’s second junior college pledge, joining Butte (Calif.) College tight end signee Geoff Swaim.

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AUSTIN, Texas -- The deepest position on the Texas roster took a hit as defensive tackle Brandon Moore announced his intent to enter the NFL draft on Friday.

"I want to thank coach [Mack] Brown, [defensive line] coach [Bo] Davis and everyone at Texas," Moore said in a statement. "I enjoyed my time and really appreciate the opportunity I had to play for the Longhorns, but my life-long dream has been to play in the NFL and to have a chance to support my family. I'll definitely miss everyone at Texas and will always pull for the Longhorns, but I'm ready to put all of my energy into preparing for my future and getting ready to work out for NFL scouts."

The transfer from East Mississippi Community College started five games and had eight tackles for loss, two sacks and six quarterback pressure in his only season at Texas.

If there were a position Texas could afford to lose a player it was defensive tackle. The Longhorns used a five-man rotation last season and, prior to Moore’s declaration, were set to have all five players back. Moore’s departure should clear more room for rising sophomore Malcom Brown.

Brown’s playing time steadily increased throughout the year and it became clear he would be become and impact player in his sophomore season. Ashton Dorsey, Chris Whaley and Desmond Jackson will all vie for the starting spot opposite Brown.

While those four should garner most of the minutes, Paul Boyette Jr. may now have the opportunity to become part of the rotation. Boyette redshirted in 2012.

Overall the Texas defense will lose three starters from what was the worst defense in school history. Defensive end Alex Okafor and safety Kenny Vaccaro are expected to be selected within the first two rounds. Because of his potential and size (6-5, 320) Moore could also grab a spot in the first three rounds.

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Texas defense, which has suffered many blows in the past few weeks, just took another to the gut.

Jackson Jeffcoat is out. Gone for the season. He tore his pectoral muscle. This time it was the right one. Last year it was the left one. So much for Texas having the top two defensive ends in the Big 12. Instead Texas is just left with big questions at a time when it is searching for answers.

The foremost is: Can Cedric Reed or Reggie Wilson even come close to producing at Jeffcoat’s level? The answer is no. If they could, they would have had the starting spot.

Wilson showed a flash against Ole Miss when he jumped a diving blocker and sacked Bo Wallace.

Jeffcoat does stuff like that every game. The junior had four sacks, 11 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery for a touchdown already this season. Reed and Wilson have a combined five tackles for loss and one sack.

But Jeffcoat’s game went beyond stats. He, along with bookend Alex Okafor, was able to pin in quarterbacks and shrink their options. The reason Geno Smith was unable to roll the pocket and therefore roll Texas was because he had Jeffcoat to his left and Okafor to his right every time he dropped back. It was the combined pressure of the two that forced Smith to take four sacks and be stripped of the ball twice.

Without that type of pressure the Texas secondary, which already has issues in coverage, is susceptible to being picked apart by a quarterback like Baylor’s Nick Florence. Florence, the FBS leader in total offense, just so happens to be the next QB Texas faces.

The Longhorns might consider pulling the redshirt off someone like Shiro Davis in order to get more speed on the edge. But, as Texas has proven in the past two losses, it is very tough to play fast as a defensive player when you do not know where you are going.

Without Jeffcoat, Texas, a team that has allowed 111 points and more than 1,100 yards in the past two games, might be wondering where it is going.

Ash not ruled out
Texas has prepared itself since the spring to use two quarterbacks. Now the Longhorns might have to do just that.

While quarterback David Ash has not been ruled out with a bruise to his non-throwing wrist, he has not been cleared to play, either. That means Texas might once again be turning to backup Case McCoy.

The junior, who was 3-2 as a starter in 2011, lost out on the starting job after what was an eight-month competition. But the Texas coaches qualified their selection of Ash by stating, repeatedly, that they felt McCoy was more than an adequate backup and that they would not hesitate to play him.

Well, now the time might have come and it might be against Baylor, which happens to be the last team McCoy started against. In that game, McCoy was responsible for five turnovers. That, as much as anything, is what led to his demotion.

The coaching staff could not abide a quarterback who played fast and loose with the ball. They wanted a game manager. Ash better fit that role. McCoy, on the other hand, is much more of a draw-it-up-in-the-dirt player.

But McCoy has matured. He has added 15-20 pounds and put more zip on his intermediate throws as well as length on deep throws.

If he is the quarterback, it is almost a certainty that co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin will play it close to the vest and try to get McCoy to distribute the ball to playmakers such as Daje Johnson, Marquise Goodwin and Johnathan Gray. That has been when Texas is at its best. And to beat Baylor, a team that is No. 2 in total offense and No. 4 in scoring offense, Texas’ offense will have to be at its best.

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Texas coach Mack Brown was curious to see how his team reacted against a solid Big 12 team. In the first half, the answers were mixed. Offensively Texas was solid. Defensively the struggles from Ole Miss continued.

Stat of the half: After scoring a combined 35 points in the first quarter, all these two teams could only manage three points in the second quarter. Oklahoma State clearly struggles in second quarters. The Cowboys failed to score against Arizona in that loss and only scored three against Texas. This was the first time that Texas has failed to score in the second quarter.

Player of the half: Oklahoma State running back Joseph Randle has devastated Texas in the run game. The junior took his first handoff and went 69 yards for a touchdown. Randle had 103 yards in the first quarter and continued to carve up Texas in the second, finishing with 147 yards and a touchdown. Oklahoma State had 168 rushing yards in the first half.

What's working for Texas: David Ash has continued to play with poise. The sophomore has directed two scoring drives and been accurate on most of his downfield passes. Ash, who has two touchdown passes, should have had another, but a 40-yard toss was dropped by Mike Davis in the end zone.

What's not working for Texas: The Longhorns are once again failing to tackle. Both of Oklahoma State's first half touchdowns came as a result of missed tackles by safety Adrian Phillips. The first was the 69-yard run by Randle. Phillips had Randle wrapped up at the 48, released hum and watch him run the next 52 yards. On the next touchdown, Phillips hit receiver Josh Stewart at the 23 but bounced off, getting injured on the play. Stewart scooted into the end zone from there.

What Texas needs to do to stay ahead: Continue to get a rotation of fresh players in on defense. The Longhorns are down four potential starters on that side of the ball. Defensive tackle Brandon Moore (virus) and linebacker Jordan Hicks (hip) did not make the trip. Phillips was hurt in the game. Defensive tackle Desmond Jackson also was hurt. Texas has had to use true freshman Malcom Brown at defensive tackle and little-used junior Kyle Kreigel.

HornsNation's William Wilkerson hosted our weekly chat on Tuesday afternoon. Here's some of the best from Tuesday's chat:

Dave (MD): Is it just me, or did Malcolm Brown look a half step faster than he did last year? It was the first time I really thought he looked like a 5 star stud.

William Wilkerson: He did to me as well. I wouldn't say this was the first time I thought he looked like a 5-star recruit because I thought he showed glimpses of that last season. But he's healthy now, the offensive line is healthy. That makes a huge difference and it showed on Saturday.

Anthony Bailey (San Antonio): How much is Texas hype versus Texas good on this year's defense overall?

William Wilkerson: Good question. Look, there is plenty to like about this defense. Two stud DEs, at least three players in secondary that will play on Sundays and as athletic a group of LBs as Texas has had. But there are some concerns. For as athletic as the LBs are they are replacing two of the most productive LBs in Texas history in Acho and Robinson. That's a lot of ground to make up. And for as unpopular as Blake Gideon was around here he still started four years. That's a lot to lose. I think Texas underestimated Wyoming a bit in the early going. But I think it has a great chance of reaching its potential as the season progresses.

Adam (Ann Arbor): William,Does it mean anything that Desmond Jackson jumped up B. Moore on the depth chart, or does it even matter with how deep we our. Seems like his value will be measured more on how others do vs. his stats just based on the sheer amount of space he takes up.

William Wilkerson: You hit it dead on Adam. i wouldn't read too much into it. Jackson is called "Tank" for a reason and showed it with really solid play against Wyoming. He earned the nod over Moore for that reason. It really doesn't matter who starts on the line because they are so interchangeable.

Read the full chat transcript here.