Yesterday, it was announced that after a year hiatus, the Texas spring game is back. It’s news many hope to see around the country and likely will because of the change to the transfer portal windows. Now, it’s been well-documented that spring games are not the most informative practices for the coaches, but I do believe there are a number of people that benefit from the game.
5. The True Freshmen/Portal Class
This is something that I believe is more important than we give it credit for. The Longhorns have 43 new faces on the roster between the freshmen coming in and the portal class added. Now, not every one of those players will be on campus before summer, namely Laurence Seymore, who is finishing his degree at Western Kentucky. However for the majority, it’s a chance to shine in front of your new fanbase, feel what DKR is in front of fans and hopefully create some connections with the fanbase during the other festivities.
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4. Depth Quarterbacks
This is a group that obviously will be watched closely during spring practice. It’s assumed KJ Lacey will be the backup, MJ Morris will be 3rd-string to make sure Dia Bell can preserve his redshirt, but that’s up for debate. This game should give them plenty of reps because I do not expect to see much of Arch Manning. This will give the unit overall a chance to feel out what a gameday at Texas can be like. On top of all that, it’s a chance for them to connect with the fanbase, particularly Morris and Bell, being the new faces on campus.
3. Blake Gideon & Mark Orphey
I imagine the conversations between Gideon and Orphey have been incredibly fun over the last few weeks. The depth and versatility among the secondary players is truly incredible. Graceson Littleton, Bo Mascoe, Jelani McDonald, Wardell Mack and others can play at least two positions on the backend. Every spot in the secondary is two-deep with experienced, talented players with just one player new to Texas. This will be just another chance to work out the rotations and combinations they want to play on the backend. It’ll also give fans a (very small) peak into how certain position battles have shaken out.
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2. Will Muschamp
This should be a fun day for Muschamp. It’ll be his chance to reengage with the fanbase in a real way, coach a “game” in DKR for the first time in 16 years and I’m sure get a hero’s welcome. Not to mention it’s another practice style venue to get more reps at the Muschamp defense. It will be really interesting to see the differences between Muschamp’s approach and Kwiatkowski’s for the first time live as well. More than anything, it’ll be a day where the Longhorn fans get to welcome a Longhorn legend back to the 40 Acres.
1. The Longhorn Fans
This is what it’s about. It’s understood the coaches will not learn anything new on April 18th they didn’t know before. For the fans, it’s a chance to see the team they love, free of charge. It’s something I know Longhorn fans missed this time last year and are incredibly happy to be back this time around.
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In today’s college football, one of the largest complaints among fanbases is they don’t feel a connection to the players on the field. Days like this can (begin) to fix that issue. It gives a chance to the Longhorn nation to meet guys like Cam Coleman, Raleek Brown, Hollywood Smother, Rasheem Biles and more that will give them that connection.
Spring games are about the fans and I’m sure Longhorn nation will be out in droves on April 18th to take it all in.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Will Muschamp, the fans benefit most from the spring game returning
