Ketch's 10 Thoughts From The Weekend (A Whole Lotta Qs)

Questions, questions and more questions.

Depending on who you're talking with, the amount of questions about the 2024 Texas Longhorns going into the spring might range from minimal to ... well ... my list.

I've always got questions. I can't help it. I'm a natural question-asker. Most of them aren't of the major variety. A lot of them exist because I'm just so damn nosey.

Let's just go through 20 of them.

1. Will Quinn Ewers start rounding third base from very good player to great player in the next month?

I'm not sure this is something that we'll learn in the next month or so, but it's the question that follows the most important player in the program. As Ewers works on building chemistry with mostly an entirely new set of weapons, it will be impossible not to wonder if he's taking the big step that Vince Young took from 2004 to 2005 or the one that Colt McCoy took from 2007 to 2008. But, if the Longhorns are going to have the seasons they want to have in year one of the SEC, such a step needs to occur. A very good Ewers could limit the program in 2024 to very good.

2. Can Arch Manning close the distance on Ewers?

No matter how hard the national media wants there to be a quarterback competition, it's not going to happen. Yet, it doesn't mean that the Longhorns don't need Manning to get closer and closer to the levels needed to be the starter. If the improvement is there, my guess is that we'll definitely hear about it.

3. What is the running back pecking order after CJ Baxter and Jaydon Blue?

There's a pile of players (Savion Red, Tre Wisner, Jerrick Gibson and Christian Clark) behind the top two guys and I'm not sure what the pecking order will look like in a few weeks. Can Red hold off the young bucks? Can Wisner hold off the young bucks? Who emerges as the lead guy among the true freshmen? Like I said ... I've got questions.

4. Will it become obvious who the No. 1 receiver in the offense this year will be?

Johntay Cook and Isaiah Bond would appear to be the obvious possible answers, but it hasn't happened yet. Will it be answered before the players head into the summer?

5. What will the pecking order at wide receiver look like beyond Cook and Bond?

There's so much talent at wide receiver and no one really knows at what stage of development most of it currently rests in? Is Matthew Golden a definite starter? Will either of the young second-year slot receivers give the coaching staff a lot to think about? Are any of the true freshmen ready to play ... now?

6. Is true freshman Jordan Washington the No. 3 tight end?

The Longhorns have two tight ends from the Class of 2023 that did so little to assert themselves as future starting-level players for this program in year one that it's pretty easy to jump right to the player from the 2024 class that could give this position more options beyond Amari Niblack and Gunnar Helm. Also, is Malik Agbo a full-time big blocking tight end?

6. Just how good are Cam Williams and Trevor Goosby?

Is Williams truly ready to be the starter at right tackle and is Goosby anywhere close to being ready to possibly challenge him?

7. Are any of the offensive linemen from the Class of 2023 (outside of Goosby) going to push for a spot on the two-deep?

At this point, the answer seems to be that the rest of that five-man class is going to be fighting for reps on the scout team in 2024.

8. Is Alfred Collins ready?

There's a lot riding on him emerging as an alpha/All-SEC player in this year's defensive tackle rotation. Nothing about his career thus far suggests he's ready to be the guy that replaces two of the best the school has seen in the last two decades. Can he be 70% of those two? 60%? What does it mean if it's only 50%?

9. Is Vernon Broughton ready?

To be a plus-player? Someone that the coaches can count on for 300 snaps? I have doubts.

10. Are any of the other defensive tackles ready?

Honestly, the "Are they ready?" question mark is one that we could apply to every single interior defensive lineman on the roster.

11. Is Ethan Burke going to get reps at Jack?

There's a question mark about how the Longhorns are able to get all of the defensive end talent on campus on the field and moving Burke to the spot that Barryn Sorrell possesses would open up the pathway for Trey Moore and Colin Simmons. If that doesn't happen, are there enough reps to go around?

12. Just how good are Trey Moore and Colin Simmons?

I'd pay a service fee to be able to watch a dedicated stream of just those two guys working out all spring.

13. Is there more to Justice Finkley and J'Mond Tapp going into their third season?

Both have shown some flashes, but not enough at this point. With young players breathing down their neck, can they take the next step?

14. What does Johnny Nansen have planned for Anthony Hill?

Speaking of players that I'd pay to be able to watch for the next month-plus ...

15. What the hell are we supposed to think about the rest of the linebacker position?

I don't quite know what to think of Kendrick Blackshire, David Gbenda or any of the second-year players that didn't so much as make a dent on the depth chart in 2023.

16. Is Jahdae Barron going to play outside of the slot?

Whatever happens with Barron will have a very big trickle-down impact to the rest of the secondary.

17. What kind of players are Jelani McDonald and Colton Vasek?

I have no idea what to expect from either of the super blue-chip prospects going into their second years.

18. Which of the true freshmen are ready to play right away?

Of the nearly 20 true freshmen that arrived in January, which are ready to make a dent? Will there be any surprises? Top 5 classes tend to bring some dudes that are ready.

19. What's the pecking order in the return game?

Just curious.

20. Who punts?

Are the coaches really going to rely on a true freshman that isn't even on campus yet?

Like I said, when it comes to questions, I've got enough for all of us.

No. 2 - The next big-thing ...

The commitment of Lance Jackson to the Longhorns nearly 2 months ago ...

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