2015 Texas Longhorns football team

2015 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
2015 record 5–7 (4–5 Big 12)
Head coach Charlie Strong (2nd year)
Offensive coordinator Jay Norvell (2nd year)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford (2nd year)
Base defense 4–3
Home stadium Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 100,119)
2015 Big 12 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#5 Oklahoma $^   8 – 1         11 – 2  
#20 Oklahoma State   7 – 2         10 – 3  
#7 TCU   7 – 2         11 – 2  
#13 Baylor   6 – 3         10 – 3  
West Virginia   4 – 5         8 – 5  
Texas Tech   4 – 5         7 – 6  
Texas   4 – 5         5 – 7  
Kansas State   3 – 6         6 – 7  
Iowa State   2 – 7         3 – 9  
Kansas   0 – 9         0 – 12  
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2015 Texas Longhorns football team, known variously as "Texas", "UT", the "Longhorns", or the "Horns", was a collegiate American football team that represented the University of Texas at Austin as a member of the Big 12 Conference in the 2015 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team played its home games at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, where the team is based. The Longhorns were led by second-year head coach Charlie Strong. Shawn Watson and Joe Wickline ran the offense. Vance Bedford served as defensive coordinator. They finished the season 5–7, 4–5 in Big 12 play to finish in a three way tie for fifth place.

Preseason

In 2014, first-year head coach Charlie Strong led the Texas Longhorns to a 6–7 record, including a 5–4 record in conference play and a 7–31 loss against Arkansas in the 2014 Texas Bowl. In the aftermath of the bowl game, Strong described it as well as a 10–48 loss to TCU a month prior an "embarrassment to the program" and stated that a competition between players for the quarterback position as well as other positions was needed to improve the team as a whole after quarterback Tyrone Swoopes received heavy criticism following the game.[1] On December 31, 2014, then-tight ends coach Bruce Chambers and wide receivers coach Les Koenning were released from their coaching duties. Bruce Chambers had been the only coach to have been retained following Charlie Strong's hire earlier in 2014.[2] On January 16, 2015, the Longhorns hired former Oklahoma wide receivers coach Jay Norvell to the same position at Texas. Norvell had been fired from Oklahoma earlier that month following the fallout from the 2014 Russell Athletic Bowl.[3]

On February 6, less than two days after National Signing Day, defensive-line coach Chris Rumph left Texas to coach the same position at the Florida Gators after just one season with the Longhorns.[4] A week later, Texas hired Brick Haley and Jeff Traylor to fill the team's coaching vacancies at the defensive-line and tight end. Haley was the defensive-line coach at LSU at the time of hire and had previously coached the same position with the Chicago Bears, Mississippi State, and several other schools.[5] Traylor was previously a 15-year head coach at Gilmer High School, where he amassed three state championship titles.[6]

Recruiting

A total of 28 players pledged non-binding commitments to the 2015 Texas Longhorns football team during the 2015 recruiting cycle.[7] However, these players would not officially become part of the team until they signed their National Letter of Intent on National Signing Day, which occurred on February 4, 2015.[8] However, junior college recruits could sign earlier, and as a result all three of Texas' junior college prospects signed their letters of intent on December 17, 2014 and became the first recruits to sign on the Longhorns' 2015 recruiting class.[9] Six players joined the Longhorns as early enrollees, meaning that they would be able to train with the team during the spring of 2015.[8] One player did not sign with the team and instead elected to grayshirt, meaning that they would not be officially part of the team or receive financial aid from the athletic department until the spring semester of 2016 (on August 7, 2015, after more scholarships became available, Merrick was offered an immediate full scholarship).[10][11] The first player to commit was offensive guard Patrick Vahe, who committed on July 28, 2013. Three commits came from a players in either junior or community colleges, while the rest came from high schools.[7]

Of Texas' 29 commitments, 14 were listed on the ESPN 300, which lists the 300 top recruiting prospects nationwide according to the network's metrics.[7] According to ESPN, Rivals.com, Scout.com, and 247Sports.com, linebacker Malik Jefferson was the Longhorns' highest rated prospect; Jefferson was considered the third best linebacker nationwide and fifth best prospect overall in Texas.[12] Three players announced their commitments to Texas at two nationally televised high school all-star games, including one at the 2015 Under Armour All-America Game held on January 2, 2015 and two from the 2015 US Army All-American Bowl held the following day.[13] Among Texas' recruits in 2015 were a group of five players from Florida who visited Texas in 2014 as they played West Virginia in Austin. Given the moniker of the "Florida Five", the five—Cecil Cherry, Devonaire Clarington, Davante Davis, Tim Irvin, and Gilbert Johnson—were heavily sought after during the recruiting process and were all eventually committed to Texas by January 4, 2015.[14] However, Tim Irvin would decommit from Texas on January 18[15] and Gilbert Johnson was unable to gain academic eligibility for The University of Texas.[16] Throughout the recruiting process, five players revoked their former Texas-commit status.[15][17][18][19] However, one recruit, John Burt, recommitted to Texas on January 26, 2015.[20]

Texas' 2015 recruiting class was ranked 9th, 12th, 7th, and 10th by ESPN, Rivals.com, Scout.com, and 247Sports.com, respectively. These rankings also placed Texas as having the best recruiting class in the Big 12 Conference.

Recruits

Personnel

Roster

2015 Texas Longhorns football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 1 Burt, JohnJohn Burt Fr
WR 3 Foreman, ArmantiArmanti Foreman So
WR 4 Johnson, DajeDaje Johnson Sr
WR 5 Joe, LorenzoLorenzo Joe So
WR 6 McNeal, DeAndreDeAndre McNeal Fr
WR 7 Johnson, MarcusMarcus Johnson Sr
WR 8 Leonard, DorianDorian Leonard So
QB 9 Covey, JoshJosh Covey Fr
WR 11 Warrick, JacoreyJacorey Warrick Jr
QB 13 Heard, JerrodJerrod Heard  Fr
QB 14 Locksley, KaiKai Locksley Fr
QB 15 Holtz, TreyTrey Holtz  Jr
QB 16 Vinklarek, LoganLogan Vinklarek  So
QB 17 Greenwood, JimmyJimmy Greenwood So
WR 17 Newsome, RyanRyan Newsome Fr
QB 18 Swoopes, TyroneTyrone Swoopes Jr
QB 19 Merrick, MatthewMatthew Merrick Fr
RB 25 Warren III, ChrisChris Warren III Fr
WR 27 Bernard, RoderickRoderick Bernard So
WR 27 Huffman, ConnorConnor Huffman  So
RB 28 Johnson, KirkKirk Johnson Fr
WR 29 DeGroot, HunterHunter DeGroot  Jr
RB 30 Yoder, TimTim Yoder  Fr
RB 32 Gray, JohnathanJohnathan Gray Sr
RB 33 Foreman, D'OntaD'Onta Foreman So
TE 36 De La Torre, AlexAlex De La Torre Sr
RB 39 Davis, GastonGaston Davis  Jr
RB 40 Hafley, TrentonTrenton Hafley  Fr
RB 41 Houston, TristianTristian Houston Fr
TE 42 Bluiett, CalebCaleb Bluiett  Jr
TE 42 Harper, JayJay Harper  Fr
TE 43 Mills, LoganLogan Mills  Sr
TE 47 Beck, AndrewAndrew Beck So
FB 48 Cruciani, DominicDominic Cruciani  Sr
C 50 Raulerson, JakeJake Raulerson  So
OL 51 Cuney, TerrellTerrell Cuney  Fr
OL 54 Graf, GarrettGarrett Graf So
OL 55 Williams, ConnorConnor Williams Fr
OL 57 Orren, ClarkClark Orren Jr
OL 58 Hodges, BrandonBrandon Hodges Jr
OL 59 Welsh, MichaelMichael Welsh  Fr
OL 63 Anderson, AlexAlex Anderson  Fr
OL 65 Hutchins, MarcusMarcus Hutchins  Sr
OG 66 Flowers, SedrickSedrick Flowers  Sr
OL 68 Lopez, FrankFrank Lopez  So
OL 69 Allsup, AustinAustin Allsup  Fr
OL 70 Major, BuckBuck Major Fr
OL 72 Rodriguez, ElijahElijah Rodriguez  Fr
C, OG 74 Doyle, TaylorTaylor Doyle  Sr
OT 75 Nickelson, TristanTristan Nickelson So
OG, OT 76 Perkins, KentKent Perkins Jr
OL 77 Vahe, PatrickPatrick Vahe Fr
OL 79 Thomas, GarrettGarrett Thomas Fr
TE 80 Whiteley, BlakeBlake Whiteley  So
WR 81 Roberts, RyanRyan Roberts  So
WR 82 Wilson, MichaelMichael Wilson  Fr
TE 83 Center, MattMatt Center  So
WR 85 Moeller, PhilippPhilipp Moeller  Fr
WR 86 Oliver, JakeJake Oliver  So
TE 87 Gray, GarrettGarrett Gray  Fr
WR 88 Templin, TyTy Templin  Jr
TE 89 Fehr, ChrisChris Fehr  Fr
 Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 1 Davis, ShiroShiro Davis Sr
CB 2 Boyd, KrisKris Boyd Fr
S 4 Elliott, DeShonDeShon Elliott Fr
DB 5 Hill, HoltonHolton Hill Fr
DB 9 Davis, DavanteDavante Davis Fr
S 11 Locke III, P. J.P. J. Locke III Fr
S 14 Haines, DylanDylan Haines  Jr
CB 15 Echols, BrysonBryson Echols  Jr
DB 16 Roberts, Jr., JermaineJermaine Roberts, Jr.  Fr
S 18 Vacarro, KevinKevin Vacarro  Jr
LB 19 Jinkens, PeterPeter Jinkens Sr
CB 21 Thomas, DukeDuke Thomas Sr
DB 23 Strickland, JordanJordan Strickland  Fr
CB 24 Bonney, JohnJohn Bonney  Fr
CB 25 Davis, AntwuanAntwuan Davis  So
S 26 Colbert, AdrianAdrian Colbert  Jr
CB 29 Evans, SheroidSheroid Evans  Sr
LB 30 Cole, TimothyTimothy Cole  Jr
S 31 Hall, JasonJason Hall So
LB 35 Freeman, EdwinEdwin Freeman  Fr
DB 36 Boldt, DillonDillon Boldt  Jr
LB 37 Tseng, JohnnyJohnny Tseng Jr
DB 38 Lee, TylerTyler Lee Jr
DB 39 Marriott, TylerTyler Marriott Sr
DE 40 Hughes, NaashonNaashon Hughes  So
LB 43 Townsend, CameronCameron Townsend Fr
LB 44 Hager, BreckynBreckyn Hager Fr
LB 45 Wheeler, AnthonyAnthony Wheeler Fr
LB 46 Jefferson, MalikMalik Jefferson Fr
LB 48 Gonzales, TreyTrey Gonzales  Sr
DE 49 Roberson, DerickDerick Roberson Fr
LB 55 Santos, DaltonDalton Santos Sr
DT 61 Mercado, AlexAlex Mercado Jr
DT 62 Ojeaga, PatrickPatrick Ojeaga  Fr
DE 90 Omenihu, CharlesCharles Omenihu Fr
DE 91 Cottrell, BryceBryce Cottrell  Jr
DE 92 Vasser, QuincyQuincy Vasser Jr
DT 93 Boytette, Jr., PaulPaul Boytette, Jr.  Jr
DT 94 Norman, AlexAlex Norman  Jr
DT 95 Ford, PoonaPoona Ford So
DT 96 McMillon, JakeJake McMillon  Fr
DT 97 Nelson, ChrisChris Nelson  Fr
DT 98 Ridgeway, HassanHassan Ridgeway  Jr
DT 99 Jackson, DesmondDesmond Jackson  Sr
 Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 13 Dickson, MichaelMichael Dickson Fr
PK 23 Rose, NickNick Rose Sr
PK 28 Jordan, NickNick Jordan  Jr
PK 35 Coppens, JonJon Coppens Fr
PK 37 Moore, EvanEvan Moore  Fr
P 38 Becker, MitchellMitchell Becker  So
DS 41 Ashby, KyleKyle Ashby  Jr
P 49 Sims, MatthewMatthew Sims So
DS 53 Holbrook, JakJak Holbrook  Fr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Vance Bedford (2nd year defensive coordinator/secondary)
  • Brick Haley (1st year defensive line)
  • Brian Jean-Mary (2nd year linebackers coach/recruiting coordinator)
  • Jay Norvell (1st year wide receivers coach)
  • Tommie Robinson (2nd year running backs coach)
  • Jeff Traylor (1st year tight ends/special teams coordinator)
  • Chris Vaughn (2nd year defensive backs coach)
  • Shawn Watson (2nd year assistant head for offense/quarterbacks coach)
  • Joe Wickline (2nd year offensive coordinator/offensive line coach)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: September 23, 2015

Schedule

Texas is set to play twelve games during the regular season; of these twelve, six are set to be played at home in Austin, while five are set to be road games. The Red River Showdown against Oklahoma on October 10 will be played at the Cotton Bowl, a neutral site in Dallas, following tradition.[21] However, the game is considered a road game for Texas as the Longhorns claim the title of the "home team" in even-numbered years.[22] While nine games will be played against teams from the Big 12 Conference in round-robin format, three games at the start of the season will be played against teams outside the Big 12. The September 5 matchup between Texas and Notre Dame will be the two teams' first since 1996 and stems from agreement between the schools in 2010 to play four games beginning in 2015.[23][24] The Big 12 released its conference schedules on November 19.[25] Like most teams in the NCAA Division 1 FBS, Texas will play the majority of its games on consecutive Saturdays. However, the Longhorns will not play on the weeks of October 17 and November 21; these weeks are considered bye weeks. In addition, Texas will play Texas Tech on Thanksgiving Thursday.

Date Time Opponent Site TV Result Attendance
September 5 6:30 p.m. at No. 9 Notre Dame* Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN NBC L 3–38   80,795
September 12 7:00 p.m. Rice* Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX (Rivalry) LHN W 42–28   86,458
September 19 7:30 p.m. California* Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX FOX L 44–45   91,568
September 26 2:30 p.m. No. 20 Oklahoma State Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX ESPN L 27–30   87,073
October 3 11:00 a.m. at No. 2 TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ABC L 7–50   48,694
October 10 11:00 a.m. vs. No. 19 Oklahoma Cotton Bowl • Dallas, TX (Red River Showdown) ABC W 24–17   91,546
October 24 11:00 a.m. Kansas State Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX FS1 W 23–9   88,283
October 31 6:00 p.m. at Iowa State Jack Trice Stadium • Ames, IA FS1 L 0–24   53,616
November 7 7:00 p.m. Kansasdagger Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX LHN W 59–20   92,529
November 14 11:00 a.m. at West Virginia Mountaineer Field • Morgantown, WV ESPNU L 20–38   56,736
November 26 6:30 p.m. Texas Tech Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX (Chancellor's Spurs) FS1 L 45–48   94,299
December 5 11:00 a.m. at No. 7 Baylor McLane Stadium • Waco, TX ESPN W 23–17   48,093
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Central Time.

National radio

A number of Texas games will be carried on national radio. The following games are slated for national distribution.

Game notes

at Notre Dame

Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner Sources
2–8 1996 #9 Notre Dame 24–27 [24][26]
Texas at Notre Dame
1 234Total
Longhorns 0 030 3
• #11 Fighting Irish 14 3147 38
  • Date: September 5
  • Location: Notre Dame Stadium
    Notre Dame, Indiana
  • Game start: 6:30 PM CST
  • Elapsed time: 3:11
  • Game attendance: 80,795
  • Game weather: 82°F • Wind: E 3 MPH • Weather: Clear & Humid
  • Referee: Mike Defee
  • TV announcers (NBC): Dan Hicks and Doug Flutie

vs. Rice

Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner Sources
71–21–1 2011 #24 Texas 34–9 [24][26]
Rice at Texas
1 234Total
Owls 0 14014 28
• Longhorns 21 0210 42
  • Date: September 12
  • Location: Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
    Austin, Texas
  • Game start: 7:00 PM CST
  • Television network: LHN

vs. California

Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner Sources
5–0 2011 Texas 21–10 [24][26]
Cal at Texas
1 234Total
• Golden Bears 7 17210 45
Longhorns 7 17020 44
  • Date: September 19
  • Location: Darren K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
    Austin, Texas
  • Game start: 6:30 PM CST
  • Television network: FOX

vs. Oklahoma State

Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner Sources
23-6 2014 W 28-7 {{{Notes}}}
Oklahoma State v. Texas
1 234Total
• Cowboys 14 376 30
Longhorns 6 1470 27
  • Date: September 26
  • Location: Darren K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
    Austin, Texas
  • Game start: 2:30 PM CST
  • Game attendance: 87073
  • Referee: Names Withheld

2016 NFL draftees

Main article: 2016 NFL Draft
Player Round Pick Position NFL Club
Hassan Ridgeway 4 116 Defensive tackle Indianapolis Colts

[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Arkansas quotes". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. December 30, 2014. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  2. ↑ Burton, Bobby (December 31, 2014). "Strong Makes Coaching Moves". 247 Sports. Retrieved December 31, 2014.
  3. ↑ Autullo, Ryan (January 16, 2015). "Texas Hires Former Oklahoma Assistant Jay Norvell to Coach Receivers". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved January 16, 2015.
  4. ↑ Hinnen, Jerry (February 6, 2015). "Texas DL Coach Chris Rumph Heads to Florida, Longhorn Signees Unhappy". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Haley Named Defensive Line Coach at Texas". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Traylor Named Tight Ends and Special Teams Coach at Texas". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
  7. 1 2 3 "2015 Texas Longhorns Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  8. 1 2 "Football Announces 2015 Recruiting Class on National Signing Day". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. February 4, 2015. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  9. ↑ Wilkerson, William V.; Higdon, Jason (December 17, 2014). "Longhorns Ink Three JUCO Players". Scout.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  10. ↑ Hooper, A. J. (February 4, 2015). "QB Matthew Merrick Will Grayshirt with the Texas Longhorns in 2015". SB Nation. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ Eberts, Wescott (August 7, 2015). "Texas Awards QB Matthew Merrick a Scholarship for 2015 Season". SB Nation. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Malik Jefferson". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  13. ↑ Johnson, Chris (January 5, 2015). "Breaking Down Every Commitment from High School All-America Games". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  14. ↑ Eberts, Wescott (January 2, 2015). "Texas Longhorns Recruiting: Florida Five About to Rid". SB Nation. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  15. 1 2 Eberts, Wescott (January 18, 2015). "US Army All-American S Tim Irvin flips from Texas to Auburn". SB Nation. Vox Media, Inc. Retrieved January 25, 2015.
  16. ↑ Hummer, Chris (August 6, 2015). "Texas Signee Gilbert Johnson Will Not Enroll at Texas in 2015". 247 Sports. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  17. ↑ Donahue, John (December 10, 2014). "Jordan Stevenson Decommits from Texas: What's Next for Longhorns, 4-Star RB?". Bleacher Report. Retrieved January 8, 2015.
  18. ↑ Smith, James (December 16, 2015). "Texas OL Toby Weathersby Has LSU in His Top 3, Report Says". The Times-Picayune. New Orleans: NOLA Media Group. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  19. ↑ Sinor, Wesley (January 7, 2015). "John Burt, Auburn's Top Wide Receiver Target, Decommits from Texas". The Huntsville Times. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
  20. ↑ Sinor, Wesley (January 26, 2015). "Auburn Misses on Elite WR John Burt Again". The Huntsville Times. Alabama Media Group. Retrieved January 26, 2015.
  21. ↑ "Red River Showdown history". Dallas, Texas: Friends of Fair Park. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  22. ↑ "Future Schedules". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. July 27, 2013. Retrieved November 22, 2014.
  23. ↑ "Texas, Notre Dame to Play". ESPN. August 6, 2010. Retrieved September 14, 2015.
  24. 1 2 3 4 "All-Time Results". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  25. ↑ "2015 Football Schedule Announced". Big 12 Conference. November 19, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  26. 1 2 3 "All-Time Records vs. Opponents". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  27. ↑ "2012 NFL Draft". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
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