Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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GAME PREVIEW: TEXAS fensive line decimated by injuries and suspensions. In fact, his numbers from 2013 (780 yards and 4.9 yards per carry) were actually more impressive, despite the fact he sat out the last four games of the season with an Achilles injury. In 2015, expect Gray to finish closer to his sopho- more numbers. "I think the offensive line has actu- ally performed better," Richardson said. "When I've seen them in camp, they've been pushing around the defensive line, and they've won a lot of those battles. They've become very aggressive — I've seen them actually starting fights with some of the defensive lineman — and this was a unit that got pushed around a lot last year. They were viewed as the weak link. "They seem to have taken exception to that and are playing a lot better, which that could help Gray become everything they thought he could be. "They're installing a new offense; a more up-tempo spread offense than before. Last year, they went to a more traditional run game, and they realized in the Big 12 you just can't operate like that. They also realize a majority of high schools run the spread." At Louisville, Strong turned the de- fense into one of the best in the country. In his final season with the Cardinals in 2013, they led the nation in total defense, allowing 251.6 yards per game. Texas is likely still a couple years away from approaching that level of success, but there's still some talent to begin building around. The secondary is young in a couple areas, although it certainly doesn't lack ability. Senior cornerback Duke Thomas was voted preseason first- team All-Big 12, and junior safety Dylan Haines is the team's leading returning tackler (86) coming off hon- orable mention All-Big 12 honors in 2014. The line looks to be Texas' most touted position group on defense, behind tack- les Hassan Ridgeway, a junior, and Des- mond Jackson, a senior, plus several de- Senior cornerback Duke Thomas intercepted three passes and led the Longhorns with 10 passes bro- ken up in 2014. PHOTO COURTESY TEXAS