Multiple big plays by the Longhorns' special teams dominated the action during the team's first football scrimmage Saturday morning in front of several thousand fans at Royal-Memorial Stadium.
The early-morning scrimmage, which lasted 80 minutes, began with a decidedly specialized focus as junior Richmond McGee booted five high-arcing, angled kickoffs to open play.
Junior Selvin Young, who will return kicks and punts in the absence of Nathan Vasher, made the biggest play of the scrimmage. Young says that he is fully recovered from a nagging groin injury that plagued him last season, and he looked 100 percent while returning a punt 73 yards for the scrimmage's opening touchdown.
"I'm hoping to lead our team in the field possession game," said Young, who also scored an offensive touchdown by recovering his own fumble in the end zone during a stint at running back. "That's basically my role right now. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to show my skills a little bit in the running game."
The Longhorns' punt return team continued to shine when sophomore Tarell Brown found a crack in the line and sprinted in to block a punt by Greg Johnson, who was slow in getting rid of the ball.
Head Coach Mack Brown has stressed excellence in special teams over and over during the preseason, and he has made it a point to have as many of his starters on special teams as possible. Senior Derrick Johnson, a 2003 finalist for the Butkus Award given to the nation's top linebacker and virtual lock for this year's honor, said that he is excited about playing on special teams. Johnson blocked a 32-yard field-goal attempt by David Pino during the scrimmage.
On the first offensive play, Vince Young showed a glimpse of what fans hope to see against North Texas in two weeks. He took the shotgun snap and faked a handoff to Cedric Benson before darting through the right side for a 25-yard gain. The zone read, which consists of Young reading the pursuit of the defense before deciding whether to give up the ball or run with it in the opposite direction, was an added wrinkle to the Longhorns' offense last season and will be a staple this year. Young finished the scrimmage with five rushes for 37 yards.
Young also passed effectively, completing 6-of-8 passes for 107 yards, including a 29-yard touchdown to tight end David Thomas. He has shown marked improvement in his accuracy and decision making during the preseason.
But the biggest story offensively was the performance of the offensive line. The five-man unit of Jonathan Scott, Kasey Studdard, Jason Glynn, Will Allen and Justin Blalock consistently pushed the starting defensive line off the ball and created big holes for the running game. Cedric Benson didn't carry the ball much because coaches have seen all that they wanted and expected out of the Heisman candidate during the preseason. But Benson did show acceleration and quickness against the first-team defense.
The second-team offensive line was also effective in the ground game, and the chief beneficiary of the line's outstanding play was redshirt freshman Erik Hardeman, who led all rushers with 60 yards on 10 carries. Hardeman has only practiced with the team since Tuesday after reporting late due to personal reasons.
The primary focus of the scrimmage was on the players, not offensive or defensive schemes, and as has been a preseason trend, the first-team offense went up against the starting defense. The remainder of the depth chart was similarly matched.
"Today was a separation day, and the next scrimmage is a separation day," Brown said. "We don't get preseason games, and if we did, we would know a lot more about our team, but these have to be our preseason games for evaluation. That's why we ran 100 plays."
Several players did not participate in the scrimmage. Senior quarterback Chance Mock was held out of drills to protect his injured ankle, and freshman Jordan Shipley and sophomore Tully Janzsen were confined to the sidelines due to knee injuries. Redshirt freshman Erick Jackson (hamstring) and two wide-outs, Dustin Miksch and Dustin Bruce, were also held out of the scrimmage.
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