Some TFB commentary on a few of the less talked about players
LB Marcus Tillman – Tillman was one of the lower rated recruits in the class and comes to UT from Orlando, Florida without much fanfare. Tillman isn’t tall, but his entire body looks like a muscle and is one of the fastest LBs on the roster as a converted High School Safety. I expect to see #13 a lot on Special Teams this season, but it will be very interesting to see what he looks like going against the first-team offense.
RB Kirk Johnson – Longhorn fans have not seen Kirk Johnson carry a football since the 2015 season. The play that sticks in everyone’s mind was his 32-yard burst against Texas Tech where he showed a gear and acceleration that has been sorely lacking in the Texas backfield for quite some time. Johnson appeared in 10 games last season, all on Special Teams. Johnson, by all accounts, is a quality individual and every person involved with the program is rooting for a triumphant return. He has been a full participant (before a minor injury last week) and made some splash plays this spring. There is tempered optimism that this can be the season that he finally makes it back full-time. I can’t wait to see him in action on Saturday.
DE/LB Byron Vaughns – Vaughns is still a pup and everyone knew that his development and learning curve would be steep with him coming from Fort Worth ISD. If the official school roster is to be believed, Vaughns is up to 240 lbs. That is an exciting development considering that he was athletic enough to run near sub-50 seconds in the 400m dash in high school. All of the tools are there, I’m excited to see how he is progressing this weekend as #50 gets some reps against the first-team offense.
DE Jacoby Jones – Jones was one of the top-rated JUCO Defensive Linemen in the nation for 2019 class that was a late flip from Oklahoma to Texas. Because they are on borrowed time, JUCO players don’t choose schools where they don’t feel like they can make an immediate impact. Jones has drawn praise this spring as a guy that will for sure be in the rotation when the fall season arrives. Texas hit a home-run with Gary Johnson two years ago from the JUCO ranks, if they can hit on Jones this year, it could provide a big boost to the defense. Jones will get a ton of action of Saturday and I’m going to be watching him closely.
Open Post | Weekend, April 12th - 14th - The Football Brainiacs - UT Edition