Texas has a pretty star-studded and deep roster thanks to the coaching staff’s high school and portal recruiting efforts as well as player development. And now, heading into Steve Sarkisian‘s fourth season, the staff has had time to fully build out the roster in a more organic way. They’ve reached the reload rather than rebuild stage of roster management.
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Given these factors, some players who will play a key role on a title contending team are getting lost in the shuffle to the “bigger” names or more exciting new additions.
Here are four who come to mind.
CJ Baxter, SO, RB
He arrived in Austin with all the fanfare of the ‘next big thing’ at running back for Texas but his freshman season came equipped with plenty of adversity, including early season injuries that cost him his starting job to the more decisive Jonathon Brooks. Baxter could never quite get comfortable and fully transition from high school to college. He didn’t look out of place but he ran timid for much of the season. We figured it would take a while to adapt — recall, he never ran zone in high school — and the injuries certainly didn’t help. Still, he flashed the ability that led to his ranking on a handful of occasions.
Baxter started to hit his stride toward the end of spring ball and he’s poised to receive a large portion of carries. All eyes are justifiably on Jaydon Blue but Baxter will play a major role on this offense. You know Sark loves to grind defenses down in the fourth quarter.
DeAndre Moore, SO, WR
There might not be a de facto leader in the receiver room yet but Moore has emerged as the top candidate for that role. He played well this spring and provides the vertical element from the slot the staff is looking to add to the quiver this season.
Regardless of what Silas Bolden and Johntay Cook bring to the table I expect to see a good amount of Moore. We know he’s fast and we know Sark loves speed at the position.
Morice Blackwell, SR, LB
There’s a ton of talk about Anthony Hill and then a decent amount regarding David Gbenda. I hardly ever hear anything about Mr. Energy, Morice Blackwell.
The once-undersized linebacker is up over 220 pounds and is now looking the part. He already punched above his weight. Spring intel pointed to him being more comfortable on the field than ever before.
I expect Blackwell to play a lot at both Will and Sam this season.
Jaylon Guilbeau, JR, DB
We heard a lot about Guilbeau as a freshman, both good and bad. The good was certainly enticing as true nickels/Stars aren’t the easiest players to find. Then, he went into the abyss to the point Sark joked it was “good to have him back” this spring. Honestly, I thought he might portal during the winter window so the spring breakout was quite the pleasant surprise.
Something lit a fire under Guilbeau, perhaps the understanding that his reps would increase with Jahdae Barron playing corner more often this season. All of a sudden Guilbeau finds himself in an important role. If he plays well this season he’ll have a lock on Star going into 2025 and a shot at the NFL.
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This is a position where you want experience and by now Guilbeau has a good amount.
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