Before the University of Texas opens fall camp on Wednesday, the Longhorns will hold a rare media availability with their three coordinators.
Kyle Flood, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Jeff Banks will speak to media on Tuesday morning, perhaps for the last time this season.
Under fourth-year head coach Steve Sarkisian, his three coordinators usually hold one media session before or during camp. During the regular season, coordinators and position coaches rarely meet with the media.
With Tuesday being the Longhorns’ lone regular-season opportunity, there is a lot to cover, so here is one question for each coordinator.
Offensive coordinator Kyle Flood
“What has been accomplished during the offseason to help alleviate the red zone woes from 2023?”
Flood is nominally the offensive coordinator (and offensive line coach), although Sarkisian calls the offensive plays.
Last season, Texas finished in the top 25 nationally in numerous offensive statistics, including total offense, passing offense, rushing offense, passing efficiency, and scoring offense, but
Longhorns were notoriously bad in the red zone. For those unfamiliar, the red zone is the region of the field between the 20-yard line and the goal line.
In 2023, the Longhorns converted 80.3% of their red zone opportunities, ranking 87th nationally and seventh in the 14-team Big 12. The 80.3% figure is based on 49 scores in 61 red zone visits. Texas scored 31 touchdowns on those 61 trips, or 50.8%, if field goals are excluded from the 49 points.
None of those figures are good enough, though one could argue that they were all obscured by the rest of the offensive ranks, not to mention the Longhorns’ 12-2 record and Big 12 championship.
Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski
“Which defensive player will have the coach-to-helmet communication?”
Much has been made of college football teams’ ability to use coach-to-helmet technology, which the NFL implemented in 1994.
On offense, the quarterback is always the coach-to-helmet recipient, thus third-year starting Quinn Ewers has that task for Texas. The Longhorns’ defensive performance has been somewhat of a mystery, as seen by Jahdae Barron’s statement during SEC Media Days that they had not yet widely deployed the technology.
For what it’s worth, sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. has long seemed like the most realistic candidate for the coach-to-helmet role.
Following an encouraging 2023 season that included many Freshman All-America honors, Hill Jr. is expected to play a much greater role in 2024, most likely at middle linebacker, with two-time All-Big 12 pick Jaylan Ford heading to the NFL.
Beyond that, there are two considerations to consider. One, early in spring practice, Sarkisian praised Hill Jr., citing his leadership and ease of communication. Two, when sixth-year linebacker David Gbenda spoke with the media during spring practice, he indicated Hill Jr. made the most sense for the helmet radio.
Jeff Bank, the special teams coordinator, “Who will be the primary punt returner? Xavier Worthy was Texas’ primary punt returner in 2023, but he is now a rookie with the Kansas City Chiefs, so this is now an under-the-radar camp question. In the early days of spring practice, Isaiah Bolden, Johntay Cook II, Matthew Golden, and early enrollee Aaron Butler all fielded punts. At the time in late March, it seemed rational to pencil Cook II in as the primary returner, and maybe it still is, but consider the fact that explosive slot receiver Silas Bolden had not yet arrived from Oregon State to enter the mix. Before talking to Banks on Tuesday, we project Bolden and Cook II as the main options at punt returner. Kickoff return duty is also available, as Keilan Robinson has left for the NFL. Bolden appears to be a viable option there, as does Golden, who returned 14 kickoffs for 437 yards and two scores over the last two seasons at Houston.
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