2016 Texas Longhorns football team

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2016 Texas Longhorns football
The logo for the Texas Longhorns athletic programs. Designed to denote the head of a longhorn, the logo generally takes the shape of a horizontally elongated "y", with two tusks and two ears; the logo is a monochromatic dark orange.
Conference Big 12 Conference
2016 record 0–0 (0–0 Big 12)
Head coach Charlie Strong (3rd year)
Offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert (1st year)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford (3rd year)
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 100,119)
Seasons
« 2015 2017 »
2016 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Baylor   0 0         0 0  
Iowa State   0 0         0 0  
Kansas   0 0         0 0  
Kansas State   0 0         0 0  
Oklahoma   0 0         0 0  
Oklahoma State   0 0         0 0  
TCU   0 0         0 0  
Texas   0 0         0 0  
Texas Tech   0 0         0 0  
West Virginia   0 0         0 0  
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2016 Texas Longhorns football team, known variously as "Texas", "UT", the "Longhorns", or the "Horns", is a collegiate American football team that will represent the University of Texas at Austin as a member of the Big 12 Conference in the 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Longhorns are led by third-year head coach Charlie Strong with Sterlin Gilbert as the team's offensive coordinator and Vance Bedford as the team's defensive coordinator. The team will play its home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, where the team is based.

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Preseason

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The Texas Longhorns finished the previous season with an overall record of 5–7, with a 3–5 record in Big 12 play; this placed Texas at seventh in the conference. Although select 5–7 football teams, namely those with the highest Academic Progress Rates (APR), filled several bowl games as an inadequate number of teams finished with the six wins traditionally required for bowl eligibility,[1] Texas did not have a high enough APR;[2] thus, the season ended with a regular season upset win over the Baylor Bears.[3]

Towards the end of the 2015 season, Texas' administration reportedly began showing interest in hiring then TCU co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie to serve as an offensive coordinator for the Longhorns in 2016.[4] This interest culminated in several meetings and an eventual offer by Charlie Strong in early December 2015; Cumbie eventually turned down the offer.[5] Concurrently, the Longhorns administration expressed interest in Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert for the same job at Texas, among other candidates. Despite media reports suggesting that Gilbert took the Texas job on December 11, later reports from the same day indicated that Gilbert had also turned down the coaching offer.[6] Allegedly, inconsistencies with the exact terms of the offer led to Gilbert's initial refusal. However, further negotiations between Texas and Gilbert resulted in the official announcement of Texas' hiring of the former Tulsa offensive coordinator, along with Gilbert's offensive line coach, Matt Mattox, on December 12, 2015. Consequently, offensive coordinator Shawn Watson and offensive line coach Joe Wickline, who had remained a part of the Texas coaching staff since 2014, were released.[7]

Concurrent with Texas' search for a new offensive coordinator, Missouri reportedly showed interest in Texas special teams and tight end coach Jeff Traylor. On December 16, Traylor was offered and accepted a pay raise from the Longhorns, suggesting that Traylor's scheduled interview with the Missouri Tigers was eventually cancelled.[8] Traylor later interviewed for the vacant head coach position at Texas State in January 2016, though Texas State would eventually hire Everett Withers as head coach.[9] Traylor's son, Jordan Traylor, became a graduate assistant for the Longhorns on January 8 after finishing his collegiate football career at Texas A&M.[10] On January 18, Texas running backs coach Tommie Robinson announced his departure from Austin to join the University of Southern California (USC) coaching staff for the same position, meaning that none of initial offensive staff hires made by Charlie Strong at the beginning of his first year at Texas will be set to coach the Longhorns in 2016.[11] On February 11, Texas defensive backs coach Chris Vaughn was dismissed from the team after he was implicated in an ongoing NCAA investigation of the Ole Miss Rebels football team.[12] The same day, wide receivers coach Jay Norvell left the University of Texas to coach at the same position at Arizona State, resulting in a total of three significant coaching vacancies at Texas by mid-February.[13]

On February 12, Texas was set to reportedly hire Purdue defensive backs coach Taver Johnson;[14] however, Texas would eventually hire Arkansas defensive backs coach Clay Jennings on February 17 to fill the same vacant position at Texas.[15] Concurrently, the Longhorns hired two other coaches to fill Texas coaching vacancies, including former Toledo Rockets co-offensive coordinator Anthony Johnson as a running backs coach on February 13 and former Indianapolis Colts running backs coach Charlie Williams as a wide receivers coach on February 15.[16] Around the same time, Texas A&M pitched an offer to Longhorns defensive line coach Brick Haley, though Haley decided to stay with the Longhorns.[17]

In mid-February, Johnathan Blue, a trustee at the University of Louisville, requested Texas head coach Charlie Strong to provide a statement for Blue's wife, Tracy Blue, at court as part of an ongoing divorce case in Kentucky. In addition, any communication between Strong and Blue was requested;[18] however, the divorce was settled on February 25 without Strong needing to testify.[19]

Spring practice

The Longhorns began spring practice on March 7, which subsequent practices interspersed over the following weeks.[20] Charlie Strong noted that the top three priorities for spring practice were to develop Texas' defensive linemen, wide receivers, and quarterbacks. Spring practices began utilizing shoulder pads on March 11.[21] On March 29, Jerrod Heard, who had served as the starting quarterback for Texas during several games in 2015, suffered a shoulder injury during practice. Although no timetable for his return to practice was set, the university indicated the injury was a minor sprain of his throwing shoulder.[22] By April 5, the Longhorns had completed ten spring practice sessions.[23]

Spring game

2016 Orange and White Spring Game
1 2 Total
Horns 7 0 7
• Texas 7 14 21
  • Date: April 16, 2016
  • Location: Austin, Texas
  • Game start: 1:04 p.m. CST
  • Elapsed time: 1:44
  • Game weather: Overcast with light rain, 71 °F (22 °C), winds from the south at 5–10 mph (8.0–16.1 km/h)
  • Television network: LHN
  • Source:

Texas' annual Orange-White spring game was set for April 16 at the Longhorns' home field in Austin, Texas;[24] this placed the game 141 days before Texas' first official game against Notre Dame. Although the game was scheduled to play out over four quarters, inclement weather forced the spring game to end after halftime. Throughout the game, the 'Texas' team represented the first-team, while the 'Horns' represented the second-team. The spring game featured the hurry-up offensive scheme introduced by new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert.[25]

The Texas side of the game began with the football to start the game, and were eventually stopped by the Horns defense to a punt following a three-and-out. Quarterback Shane Buechele threw a 27-yard pass to Armanti Foreman on the ensuing drive to score a touchdown for the Horns; running back Chris Warren III would run a 51-yard touchdown on the following drive roughly a minute later for Texas, tying the game at 7–7 to end the first quarter. The five subsequent drives ended without any scores, though one drive ended in a failed 46-yard field goal attempt from Mitchel Becker. In the second quarter, Texas would score two additional touchdowns on a run from D'Onta Foreman and a long pass from Shane Buechele to John Burt; following the last touchdown of the game, both teams turned the ball over via an interception and a fumble. At halftime, Charlie Strong ended the spring game due to worsening weather conditions, concluding a 21–7 victory for the Texas team.[25]

Recruiting

File:2016 Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl Coin Toss.jpg
Three of Texas' eventual recruits played at the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl on January 9, 2016

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Following the 2016 recruiting cycle, a total of 24 players signed their National Letter of Intent to become a part of the 2016 Texas Longhorns football team. Prior to National Signing Day on February 3, 2016, 17 players had pledged their commitments to the Longhorns,[26] while four of these players became early enrollees at the beginning of the 2015-16 spring semester.[27] Of the 24 recruited players, all are from high schools in the United States, with none originating from other countries or from junior colleges.[26] Of Texas' recruits, 19 were from Texas, 4 were from Louisiana, and 1 was from California.[28] Collin Johnson committed to the Longhorns on April 17, 2014, becoming the first player to announce their commitment to the team. As the final previously-uncommitted Texas recruit to submit his letter of intent on National Signing Day, Jordan Elliot became the final recruit of the 2016 class on February 3, 2016. Two players announced their commitments in 2014, while ten did so in 2015. Five additional players committed to Texas in 2016 prior to National Signing Day.[26] Ten of Texas' recruits primarily served as offensive players, while thirteen others primarily served as defensive players. An additional recruit, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, was recruited as a general purpose athlete.[26]

On January 2, 2016, offensive tackle prospect Jean Delance of Mesquite, Texas announced his commitment to the Longhorns during the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game.[29] On the weekend of January 16–17, Texas hosted 19 prospective and committed players on official visits to the campus;[30] of the 19 propsects, the Longhorns would eventually sign 15 recruits.[31] Shortly afterwards, former longtime Kansas State commit Zach Shackelford, an offensive linesmen, flipped his commitment to the Longhorns.[30] Two days later, Shackelford, along with three other Longhorns recruits, became early enrollees as Texas for the school year's spring semester; as a result, all four were eligible for spring practice with the Longhorns football team in 2016.[27] On January 24, former cornerback prospect Obi Eboh dropped his commitment to Texas,[32] instead opting to sign with Stanford.[33] On National Signing Day, seven players announced their commitment to the Texas football team and faxed their letters of intent. According to ESPN's metrics, Texas' recruiting class had climbed over 20 spots to hold a top 10 ranking following the prolific recruiting day. Among these recruits was runningback Erick Fowler, who had been committed to Louisiana State (LSU) up until National Signing Day.[34] Texas' 2016 recruiting class was ranked as the 13th, 10th, 13th, and 8th best in the country by 247Sports.com, ESPN, Rivals.com, and Scout.com, respectively. All four recruiting services listed Texas as having the best 2016 recruiting class in the Big 12 Conference.[26][35][36][37]

Both 247Sports.com and Scout.com listed safety Brandon Jones of Nacogdoches High School as Texas' highest rated recruit;[26][28] both services considered Jones to be the best safety prospect in the United States for 2016.[38][39] According to ESPN, Texas' highest rated recruit was linebacker prospect Jeffrey McCulloch; twelve of Texas' twenty-four recruits, including McCulloch, were listed on the ESPN 300, which listed the 300 top recruiting prospects nationwide according to the network's metrics.[40] Rivals.com listed linebacker and former LSU-commit Erick Fowler as Texas' top recruit for 2016.[26] Several Texas recruits received various accolades during the 2016 recruiting cycle. Quarterback Shane Buechele was one of 18 quarterbacks who participated in the 2016 Elite 11 quarterback competition;[41] Buechele also participated in Nike's The Opening alongside future Texas recruits Eric Cuffee, Erick Fowler, and Jeffrey McCulloch.[42] Three players formed a part of the 2016 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, [43] while four participated in the 2016 Under Armour All-America Game;[44] another three recruits played in the 2016 Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl.[45]

Recruits

Personnel

A search for a new Texas offensive coordinator in December 2015 concluded with the official hiring of former Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert on December 12, 2015 as both an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks' coach. As part of the negotiations, Matt Mattox, the former Tulsa offensive line coach, was also named to the same position at Texas. Both coaches were given three-year coaching contracts, with Gilbert and Mattox awarded $850,000 and $550,000 annual salaries, respectively.[7] The move implicated the release of Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline, who had occupied the newly changed coaching positions since 2014.[7] Jay Norvell, who had served as a co-offensive coordinator for much of the 2015 season, became solely a wide receivers' coach following the coaching changes.[46]

On December 26, 2015, Texas defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway declared for the 2016 NFL Draft, thus forgoing his fourth year as part of the Longhorns football team.[47] Jermaine Roberts, a cornerback recruit for Texas in 2014, announced his transfer from the Texas football team in February 2016;[48] former Longhorns defensive backs Adrian Colbert and Bryson Echols similarly announced to transfer from the university in February.[49]

Roster

Returning starters

Texas' 2016 team will feature seven offensive players and ten defensive players that started games for the team in 2015, as well as punter Michael Dickson. In addition, fifteen other players that saw substantial playing time in 2015 are set to return as part of the Longhorns in 2016.[50] According to ESPN, the total number of combined starts among Texas players returning in 2016 was 310, with 111 of those starts from returning offensive players and 119 from defensive players; Texas' 310 combined starts ranked third among teams in the Big 12.[51]


Schedule

Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium, where Texas plays its home games

Texas will play its first three games against teams outside the Big 12; two of these will be at home and one will be played away. The opening game against Notre Dame will be the second consecutive year in which the two teams have played as part of a scheduling agreement made in 2010.[52] Although the game was initially scheduled on September 3, in April 2016 the game was moved to the following day to maximize national coverage.[53] Similarly, a deal made in 2009 pits Texas and California Golden Bears football in a non-conference game, while the game between Texas and the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) replaces an initially scheduled home-and-home series between Texas and Minnesota.[54] On November 24, 2015, the Big 12 released its tentative schedule for intra-conference games, occupying the remaining nine games on Texas' schedule; four of these games are to be played at home, four away, and one game, the Red River Showdown, will be played in Dallas, Texas. Although the Red River Showdown is set to take place on a team-neutral field, Oklahoma is designated as the home team on even-numbered years; thus, Texas will serve as the away team during the 2016 edition of the rivalry game.[55] Conference games are set to be played in a round-robin format, and thus all Big 12 teams will face all other teams within the conference.[56]

The Longhorns will play on consecutive weeks from September 3 to November 24 with the exception of the weeks of September 17 and September 24, which serve as bye weeks. In addition, Texas will not play a game on the week of December 3 in contrast to six other Big 12 teams. All games will be played on Saturday except for the game against Notre Dame, which will be played on Sunday, and the game against TCU, which will be played on a Friday.[56] The game between Texas and TCU was initially scheduled for Thanksgiving, but was rescheduled for November 25 in February 2016;[57] Texas had switched between playing TCU or Texas Tech on Thanksgiving after Texas A&M left the Big 12 for the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in 2012.[58][59]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
September 4 6:30 p.m. Notre Dame* Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial StadiumAustin, TX ABC      
September 10 6:00 p.m. UTEP* Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX LHN      
September 17 9:30 p.m. at California* California Memorial StadiumBerkeley, CA ESPN or ESPN2      
October 1 at Oklahoma State Boone Pickens StadiumStillwater, OK      
October 8 vs. Oklahoma Cotton BowlDallas, TX (Red River Showdown) FS1      
October 15 Iowa State Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX LHN      
October 22 at Kansas State Bill Snyder Family Football StadiumManhattan      
October 29 Baylor Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX      
November 5 at Texas Tech Jones AT&T StadiumLubbock (Chancellor's Spurs)      
November 12 West Virginia Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX      
November 19 at Kansas Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS      
November 25 2:30 p.m. TCU Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX FOX or FS1      
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

Media affiliates

Texas' flagship radio station is KTXX-FM ("The Horn", 104.9 FM) based in Austin, Texas. Fourteen other FM stations and twenty-one AM stations cover UT's football games around Texas, while a pair of FM and AM stations based in Austin cover Texas games in Spanish. Texas Longhorns football games are broadcast via satellite radio on Sirius channel 117, XM channel 202, and SiriusXM channel 969.[60]

Games Notes

Notre Dame

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1 2 3 4 Total
Fighting Irish 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–9 2015 ND, 38–3

UTEP

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1 2 3 4 Total
Miners 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
4–0 2009 TEX, 64–7

at California

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1 2 3 4 Total
Longhorns 0
Golden Bears 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
5–1 2015 CAL, 45–44

at Oklahoma State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Longhorns 0
Cowboys 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
24–6 2015 OSU, 30–27

vs Oklahoma

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1 2 3 4 Total
Sooners 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
61–44–5 2015 TEX, 24–17

Iowa State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Cyclones 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
11–2 2015 ISU, 24–0

at Kansas State

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1 2 3 4 Total
Longhorns 0
Wildcats 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
7–9 2015 TEX, 23–9

Baylor

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1 2 3 4 Total
Bears 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
75–26–4 2015 TEX, 23–17

at Texas Tech

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1 2 3 4 Total
Longhorns 0
Red Raiders 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
49–16 2015 TTU, 48–45

West Virginia

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1 2 3 4 Total
Mountaineers 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
2–3 2015 WVU, 38–20

at Kansas

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1 2 3 4 Total
Longhorns 0
Jayhawks 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
13–2 2015 TEX, 59–20

TCU

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1 2 3 4 Total
Horned Frogs 0
Longhorns 0
Overall record Last meeting Result
62–23–1 2015 TCU, 50–7


References

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External links