Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

I wonder if Texas fans were prepared for the rollercoaster that was 2006 at this time last year. It started with a home loss to Ohio State, then it was a two-point win at Nebraska, that wild game was directly followed by a four-point win at Texas Tech. To finish up the regular season, UT lost at Kansas State, where Colt McCoy injured himself on a touchdown run early on, but he came back to throw three INTs against Texas A&M to blow a trip to the Big XII title game.

Longhorn fans are praying for some stability this year and could get it in the form of an experienced, and healthy, Colt McCoy. After a sensational freshman year that sent competing quarterback Jevan Snead packing to Ole Miss, the expectations are through the roof for the now-sophomore McCoy.

Like last year, it shouldn't be too difficult to shed some of the weight. Handing the ball off to Jamaal Charles and throwing to Limas Sweed will make life in Austin much easier for No. 12.

At 6'5, Sweed is one of the best talents at receiver in the country. He's been extremely reliable for Mack Brown, starting 33 straight games, but he really needs his corps members to step up and take some of the attention away from him. Sweed had no problem shredding Nebraska's defense last season, but had a combined six catches against Ohio State, Oklahoma and Texas A&M. If Quan Cosby continues to emerge and blossom into more than just a possession receiver, it could spell extreme success for Sweed. Just watch the video: It's one amazing play after the next.

At running back, Charles lost his top two backups and should put up big numbers in his junior campaign. Last year, he and Selvin Young pretty much split carries 50-50, so if he gets another 90-100 carries this year, he could have a 1,300-yard, 15-touchdown season. Just expect Brent Musberger to give his signature "Jamaaaal Charles!" about 10 times this season when he breaks 'em off on ABC.

Up front, the 'Horns retain both starting tackles from last year, but lose a fantastic pair of guards. Sophomores Charlie Tanner and Chris Hall really have their work cut out for them as Texas prepares to face some smashmouth defenses.

Texas' defense was very sound last year, especially against the run. If defensive tackles Frank Okam and Roy Miller aren't the best tandem in the country, they're second behind LSU's pair of earth movers. Okam had a great shot at being a Top 10 pick in last year's draft, but he's back in Austin to keep offensive coordinators up late at night. Flanking the tackles are new starters, but there shouldn't be much drop off, especially with Brian Orakpo coming off the edge. On the other edge is Aaron Lewis, but he's not the singer from Staind.
*Note: After mixing it up with some fine Texas football followers, they told me Derek Lokey will line up along side Okam, and is quite the talent. Lokey is coming off a year spent on the sidelines due to injury, but is a name we all need to know going into the season.

The linebacking corps has a ton of experience (all returning starters) and some outstanding depth. When I wrote my first cut on Texas a few weeks ago, I gushed over true sophomore Sergio Kindle. The guy is a freak athlete just waiting to explode on the scene, but this weekend was arrested for suspicion of DWI. As a true freshman, Kindle was a contributor and was expected to be a role player this year. But he can't be making the newspapers for these kinds of things. The man who should be making the right kind of headlines this fall is senior Robert Killebrew. He hasn't been the kind of guy to get you 120 tackles in a season, but what he is great at is making the job of his 10 teammates about 100 times easier.

It'll be interesting to see how Texas fares against the pass this season. Last year, Mack's unit was awful against the pass, ranking No. 99 in the country. What's most strange about this is that the unit featured three now-NFLers, two of which were selected in the first round of the draft (Michael Griffin and Aaron Ross). I can't imagine this year's unit can be one of the country's worst against the pass. Drew Kelson and Marcus Griffin will roam free and lead a unit that will be stronger (but likely weaker in run support).

With no Ohio State on the schedule and Nebraska visiting Austin, Texas' toughest road trip will be to College Station for Texas A&M and Stillwater for Oklahoma State. I'm curious to see how the A&M game will turn out, I would think anyone wearing orange at last year's game has to be salty about McCoy getting knocked out of the game, dirty or not (I didn't think Bennett's was bad, but Heard's was ridiculous - he was unstrapping his helmet). Anyway, there's no reason Texas should miss either of the trips to New Orleans in January, especially the second one for the bigger game. It's cliché, but they are their biggest enemy.

Player I would shred you with in NCAA Football 2008: Limas Sweed

80s theme song: "Hungry Like The Wolf" - Duran Duran (1982) … To borrow one from the city of Pittsburgh, the Longhorns are really hungry to get one for the thumb.

Save the date: Oct. 27 vs. Nebraska ... This has the potential to be one of the best games of the year.