Bohls: Texas' secondary needs a healthy Ryan Watts to come to the rescue
Ryan Watts for team MVP.
Such a proclamation might come as a shock to Longhorn Nation because the Texas cornerback hasn’t been seen in the past three weeks since getting injured in the Wyoming game.
Of course, that’s exactly the point. He’s been greatly missed.
So has safety Jalen Catalon, who’s so physical he could hire out as a car crash dummy for insurance companies. Sure, there are more obvious candidates for the award as the most valuable Longhorn in this 6-1 season.
Jonathon Brooks comes to mind since the junior tailback ranks fourth nationally in rushing — first among all Power Five running backs — and has made people forget Bijan Robinson. OK, forget is too strong. But the easy rider from Hallettsville, who has already had his jersey retired by his high school, has prevented any drop-off and averages 118 yards a game and an impressive 6.45 yards a carry. He’s been spectacular.
Xavier Worthy’s another prime candidate. He’s been Texas’ leading receiver in four of the six wins and missed out by 3 yards to fellow wideout Adonai Mitchell in the Alabama game, in part because he draws double coverage everywhere he goes. He’s good.
Quinn Ewers was playing at a high, high level until he sprained his right shoulder against Houston to put him on the shelf for several weeks in all likelihood. Through seven games, he ranks 24th nationally — 16th-best Power Five quarterback — with 274 yards passing a game to go with 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions. He’s really good.
May even be irreplaceable. We’ll learn more Saturday when Texas plays BYU without him and turns to Maalik Murphy and possibly Arch Manning.
More: Bohls: Texas' struggling defense has to prove itself to the Longhorns and everyone else
Up front, T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II are playing as well in the defensive interior as anyone and have big-time help from Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins. They rarely get budged.
Not sure why teams would try to run inside against these guys, especially BYU, which averages just 79 yards on the ground and has rushed for 91 yards or fewer five times. The Cougars eked out a scant 9 yards on the ground against Kansas but ran for 150 yards in a beatdown of Texas Tech last week.
Coming back just in the nick of time
Apparently Watts is the most essential Longhorn of them all because since the starting boundary cornerback went out with a leg injury and then Catalon got banged up against Oklahoma, the battered Texas secondary hasn’t been the same.
The 6-foot-3 Watts has the length to go up against taller receivers and the experience and instincts to play with anyone. He’s got a big future. He has been practicing since last week but hasn’t returned to the field since the Wyoming game. He is greatly missed.
"Having him back is a big component for our team," Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday. "He provides depth. He provides experience. He's physical with receivers, and he can take on the perimeter."
There’d be no more opportune time for Watts to return to action than Saturday, when a BYU quarterback who has made 44 collegiate starts for three different programs and thrown for more than 11,400 yards and 80 touchdowns comes to town.
This isn’t to say he was a one-man defense when he was playing. Just a pivotal piece.
For starters, Watts is essential to the Longhorns
No one is more physical than Catalon, the sledgehammer safety who's on loan from Arkansas, and he’s been out since the Sooners game. He’s a collision waiting to happen, but not a great cover guy. None of Texas’ safeties is.
Remove these two starters from the secondary, however, and it’s little wonder that the defensive backfield has had a rough time of it. It hasn’t helped that, since they feasted on backup quarterbacks such as Kansas’ Jason Bean and Wyoming’s Evan Svoboda, more established quarterbacks are making Texas' young secondary pay.
More: On Second Thought: ESPN's Luginbill on Maalik Murphy's first start, Manning Watch
A triumvirate of Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, OU's Dillon Gabriel and Houston’s Donovan Smith carved up the Longhorns for 918 yards and six touchdowns even though Texas beat two of them and came within 15 seconds of making it a clean sweep.
In the other four games, in which they faced No. 2 quarterbacks against Wyoming, Baylor and Kansas and Rice starter J.T. Daniels, those offenses averaged a meager 181 yards and had just two touchdowns through the air. Huge differential.
Now, let’s point out that playing defense is very hard these days. The rule changes emphasizing safety make it even more difficult as every team tries to get the ball to athletes in space. Texas has to up its pass rush game, having just 17 sacks on the year and four in the past three games. Only one of those four came from an edge rusher, Ethan Burke.
Houston murdered Texas with one crossing pattern after another, often relying on pick plays that were never called for penalties, although every team runs some. The Cougars have an array of talented receivers such as Matthew Golden, Joseph Manjack IV, Samuel Brown and even walk-on Dalton Carnes. Finding talented receivers for the Big 12 was a point of emphasis with Houston in the transfer portal.
“The crossing routes hurt us,” Sarkisian acknowledged. “It’s difficult when they’re picking the guy. They did a heck of a job picking us, and they didn’t get called for it. We’ll see a ton of crosses this week because that’s one of the staples for BYU.”
Of course, if the refs aren’t flagging it, what’s to stop Texas from doing the same offensively because the Longhorns receivers had trouble getting separation on Saturday and didn’t present much of a vertical threat as a result?
More: Texas safety Michael Taaffe followed dream, found home with Longhorns football
The Cougars had Texas staring at a second straight loss before veteran nickel back Jahdae Barron filled in at cornerback for three plays and knocked the ball away on Houston’s final play to salt away the victory.
Barron was expected to rest the entire game with an injury, but he was needed.
I’d say put Barron at corner opposite Watts if the latter is ready.
“The versatility of Jahdae is one of his strengths,” Sarkisian said. “He has such a high football IQ. He’s good on the perimeter on screens, and his recognition of plays that are coming is huge. He is more than capable to play cornerback and safety, so we’ll assess that.”
It’s what a team has to do if it’s not 100%. Sophomore Jalen Guilbeau, too, did yeoman work and had two tackles while freshmen Malik Muhammad and Derek Williams Jr. combined for nine stops in the secondary. That’s a young bunch learning on the job.
“It was big for Guilbeau to play as much as he did,” Sarkisian said. “We’re monitoring Gavin Holmes, and Terrance Brooks got nicked up. We’re more than hopeful we’ll get Watts back, but we’ll put the best five out there.”
More: What one word describes Texas football's Steve Sarkisian as a BYU quarterback?
Barron’s the old hand in the defensive backfield, and Texas will rely on his expertise as much as it can.
“You have to really hone in on the game plan and try not to do too much,” Barron said. “Just try to be as perfect as you can. For me, they allow me to kind of play freely and do different stuff.”
Just as valuable was sophomore safety Michael Taaffe, a former walk-on from state champion Westlake who’s been known for making plays his entire career. He not only intercepted a pass in the end zone to deny Houston a score in the red zone, but he led the team with eight tackles.
While Taaffe might not have been a five-star prospect, he plays with an attitude and instincts that serve him well. Never mind that only a bunch of Ivy League schools wanted his services.
“From Day One, he never took a backseat to anyone,” Sarkisian said. “He wanted to be in front of the line, and he found a way to make a play.”
More: Golden: Why Sarkisian won't allow Maalik Murphy to fail against BYU
Certainly more was expected of this secondary, of course.
It was rated the best in the Big 12 by Phil Steele’s College Football Preview but hasn’t lived up to that billing yet. Texas ranks 77th in pass defense and will have the kitchen sink thrown at it at Royal-Memorial Stadium this weekend. There’s little doubt that BYU will come out throwing the ball.
And while the focus will largely gravitate to the Longhorns quarterbacks, Sarkisian will focus just as heavily on who is going to quarterback his own secondary and pray that Watts is that man.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas' Watts, Catalon needed back on the field
