Observations from the first Texas spring practice

The Horns opened spring practice on Tuesday morning at Frank Dennis Fields and the media was allowed to view several periods.

AUSTIN, Texas — Welcome to the Arch Manning era, y’all.

The redshirt sophomore quarterback went through his first spring practice as QB1 on the Forty Acres on Tuesday morning as the Texas Longhorns opened the spring at Frank Dennis Fields.

What follows are observations from the portion of practice made open to the media.

Predictably, Manning’s presence loomed large in a new-look Texas team that features a handful of new or promoted assistants and 27 new players, including 22 early enrollees and five transfers.

After a special teams period that included redshirt freshman wide receiver Aaron Butler and early enrollee wide receiver Daylan McCutcheon working on punt return, the quarterbacks worked on handoffs from under center and then threw some routes with the wide receivers and tight ends.

Early enrollee Michael Terry was working with the wide receivers and is a physical standout in the group, but had some freshman moments dropping a pass and showing room for improvement with the precision of his route running.

Fellow early enrollee Kaliq Lockett is listed at 6’2, 185 on the spring roster, but stands out for his remarkable length with a long wingspan and big hands.

Throwing to the new receivers, Manning looked comfortable on deep throws and accurate on the move.

Towards the end of the final period that media was allowed to watch, the quarterbacks and wide receivers struggled collectively with some poor route running leading to inaccurate passes, hardly surprising since it’s the first practice and there are so many inexperienced players at the position with junior DeAndre Moore Jr. still recovering from the toe injury that bothered him late in the season.

So there’s no need to take much from those moments that head coach Steve Sarkisian and his assistants will clean up during the spring.

At tight end, redshirt sophomore Spencer Shannon is moving much better in space than he did during his first year on the Forty Acres, but there’s still a gap between the team’s first-look in-line blocker and predecessors like Ja’Tavion Sanders and Gunnar Helm.

Redshirt freshman Jordan Washington is more powerful than Shannon and more fluid catching passes, but drew the ire of position coach Jeff Banks for an indecisive rep in a blocking drill before redoing it with better technique and drawing Banks’ praise.

Of that group, sophomore walk on Ridge Barker looks like he developed more physically than the scholarship players at the position — at 6’4, 250, he’s the best-looking walk-on tight end the Horns have had in perhaps a generation.

The offensive line worked on the field next to the Bubble, away from the rest of the team, but the absence of so many longtime starters was glaring just taking a look at the group while fetching a physical copy of the spring roster.

Defensively, the biggest revelation was the confirmation of position changes for senior Trey Moore, now listed at linebacker instead of Edge and working with that group on Tuesday, and redshirt sophomore Ryan Niblett, now at defensive back after playing wide receiver and running back.

Early enrollee Jonathon Cunningham, listed at 6’2, 190 pounds, was working with Niblett and two walk-on running backs during the early periods open to the media.

With numerous losses, the defensive tackle position added some real mass, though the group is a bit more squatty than it was last year with massive humans like Bill Norton and Alfred Collins, but early enrollee Myron Charles is 6’4, 327 and fellow early enrollee Josiah Sharma is 6’4, 365. Senior Penn State and Purdue transfer Cole Brevard is shorter, listed at 6’3, but now weighing in at 352 pounds.

Notably, early enrollee defensive lineman Justus Terry, listed at 275 pounds when he signed in December, is 6’5, 263 pounds on the spring roster, suggesting that he could play some defensive end in bigger packages as he continues to develop.

Perhaps the most comforting moment was seeing longtime defensive backs coach Duane Akina back coaching with the Longhorns. In open practices years ago, the former college quarterback would always throw passes to his defensive backs to work on their ball skills during drills, and having Akina back lobbing spirals to the secondary carried with it the warm embrace of a comfortable nostalgia.