2015 Texas Longhorns football team

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.

2015 Texas Longhorns football
ConferenceBig 12 Conference
2015 record5–7 (4–5 Big 12)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJoe Wickline (2nd season)
Co-offensive coordinatorJay Norvell (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorVance Bedford (2nd season)
Base defense3–3–5
Home stadiumDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
(Capacity: 100,119)
2015 Big 12 Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
No. 5 Oklahoma $^  8 1     11 2  
No. 20 Oklahoma State  7 2     10 3  
No. 7 TCU  7 2     11 2  
No. 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

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.#NameClass
WR 1 John Burt Fr
WR 3 Armanti Foreman So
WR 4 Daje Johnson Sr
WR 5 Lorenzo Joe So
WR 6 DeAndre McNeal Fr
WR 7 Marcus Johnson Sr
WR 8 Dorian Leonard So
QB 9 Josh Covey Fr
WR 11 Jacorey Warrick Jr
QB 13 Jerrod Heard  Fr
QB 14 Kai Locksley Fr
QB 15 Trey Holtz  Jr
QB 16 Logan Vinklarek  So
QB 17 Jimmy Greenwood So
WR 17 Ryan Newsome Fr
QB 18 Tyrone Swoopes Jr
QB 19 Matthew Merrick Fr
RB 25 Chris Warren III Fr
WR 27 Roderick Bernard So
WR 27 Connor Huffman  So
RB 28 Kirk Johnson Fr
WR 29 Hunter DeGroot  Jr
RB 30 Tim Yoder  Fr
RB 32 Johnathan Gray Sr
RB 33 D'Onta Foreman So
TE 36 Alex De La Torre Sr
RB 39 Gaston Davis  Jr
RB 40 Trenton Hafley  Fr
RB 41 Tristian Houston Fr
TE 42 Caleb Bluiett  Jr
TE 42 Jay Harper  Fr
TE 43 Logan Mills  Sr
TE 47 Andrew Beck So
FB 48 Dominic Cruciani  Sr
C 50 Jake Raulerson  So
OL 51 Terrell Cuney  Fr
OL 54 Garrett Graf So
OL 55 Connor Williams Fr
OL 57 Clark Orren Jr
OL 58 Brandon Hodges Jr
OL 59 Michael Welsh  Fr
OL 63 Alex Anderson  Fr
OL 65 Marcus Hutchins  Sr
OG 66 Sedrick Flowers  Sr
OL 68 Frank Lopez  So
OL 69 Austin Allsup  Fr
OL 70 Buck Major Fr
OL 72 Elijah Rodriguez  Fr
C, OG 74 Taylor Doyle  Sr
OT 75 Tristan Nickelson So
OG, OT 76 Kent Perkins Jr
OL 77 Patrick Vahe Fr
OL 79 Garrett Thomas Fr
TE 80 Blake Whiteley  So
WR 81 Ryan Roberts  So
WR 82 Michael Wilson  Fr
TE 83 Matt Center  So
WR 85 Philipp Moeller  Fr
WR 86 Jake Oliver  So
TE 87 Garrett Gray  Fr
WR 88 Ty Templin  Jr
TE 89 Chris Fehr  Fr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DE 1 Shiro Davis Sr
CB 2 Kris Boyd Fr
S 4 DeShon Elliott Fr
DB 5 Holton Hill Fr
DB 9 Davante Davis Fr
S 11 P. J. Locke Fr
S 14 Dylan Haines  Jr
CB 15 Bryson Echols  Jr
DB 16 Jermaine Roberts, Jr.  Fr
S 18 Kevin Vacarro  Jr
LB 19 Peter Jinkens Sr
CB 21 Duke Thomas Sr
DB 23 Jordan Strickland  Fr
CB 24 John Bonney  Fr
CB 25 Antwuan Davis  So
S 26 Adrian Colbert  Jr
CB 29 Sheroid Evans  Sr
LB 30 Timothy Cole  Jr
S 31 Jason Hall So
LB 35 Edwin Freeman  Fr
DB 36 Dillon Boldt  Jr
LB 37 Johnny Tseng Jr
DB 38 Tyler Lee Jr
DB 39 Tyler Marriott Sr
DE 40 Naashon Hughes  So
LB 43 Cameron Townsend Fr
LB 44 Breckyn Hager Fr
LB 45 Anthony Wheeler Fr
LB 46 Malik Jefferson Fr
LB 48 Trey Gonzales  Sr
DE 49 Derick Roberson Fr
LB 55 Dalton Santos Sr
DT 61 Alex Mercado Jr
DT 62 Patrick Ojeaga  Fr
DE 90 Charles Omenihu Fr
DE 91 Bryce Cottrell  Jr
DE 92 Quincy Vasser Jr
DT 93 Paul Boytette, Jr.  Jr
DT 94 Alex Norman  Jr
DT 95 Poona Ford So
DT 96 Jake McMillon  Fr
DT 97 Chris Nelson  Fr
DT 98 Hassan Ridgeway  Jr
DT 99 Desmond Jackson  Sr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 13 Michael Dickson Fr
PK 23 Nick Rose Sr
PK 28 Nick Jordan  Jr
PK 35 Jon Coppens Fr
PK 37 Evan Moore  Fr
P 38 Mitchell Becker  So
DS 41 Kyle Ashby  Jr
P 49 Matthew Sims So
DS 53 Jak 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

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
September 56:30 p.m.at No. 11 Notre Dame*NBCL 3–3880,795
September 127:00 p.m.Rice*LHNW 42–2886,458
September 197:30 p.m.California*
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
FOXL 44–4591,568
September 262:30 p.m.No. 24 Oklahoma State
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
ESPNL 27–3087,073
October 311:00 a.m.at No. 4 TCUABCL 7–5048,694
October 1011:00 a.m.vs. No. 10 OklahomaABCW 24–1791,546
October 2411:00 a.m.Kansas State
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
FS1W 23–988,283
October 316:00 p.m.at Iowa StateFS1L 0–2453,616
November 77:00 p.m.Kansas
  • Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium
  • Austin, TX
LHNW 59–2092,529
November 1411:00 a.m.at West VirginiaESPNUL 20–3856,736
November 266:30 p.m.Texas Tech
FS1L 45–4894,299
December 511:00 a.m.at No. 12 BaylorESPNW 23–1748,093
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game
  • All times are in Central time

Game summaries

at Notre Dame

Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner Sources
2–8 1996 #9 Notre Dame 24–27 [21][22]
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 [21][22]
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 [21][22]
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

PlayerRoundPickPositionNFL Club
Hassan Ridgeway4116Defensive tackleIndianapolis Colts

[23]

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. Archived from the original on January 19, 2015. 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. "2015 Texas Longhorns Recruiting Class". ESPN. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
  8. "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. 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. "All-Time Results". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  22. "All-Time Records vs. Opponents". University of Texas at Austin Department of Athletics. November 15, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  23. "2012 NFL Draft". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
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