Texas Football: Projecting the Sprint Football Depth Chart

With signing day over, a few injury updates and some position changes announced last week, now is a good time to take inventory on the Texas football roster and see who fits in where.

In the first part of our series, we have a look a the safeties.

There was a ton of turmoil surrounding the position a year ago. Injuries wreaked havoc with the starting lineup.

Last year's problem has quickly become this season's benefit. The Longhorns not only expecting nearly everyone back from injury by the time the season rolls around but will have a wealth of experienced depth at nearly every position after shuffling so many players in and out a year ago.

Nickel - 1) Anthony Cook 2) Chris Adimora

Cook's move to nickel shows a little of what will be expected from the position in Ash's scheme. Look for the nickel position to be a more cover-centric spot this year as opposed to the hybrid linebacker position it's been in the past for Texas. Cook's cover skills fit in well with this direction.

Chris Adimora was more than serviceable in a relief role last year and could very well challenge Cook for some playing time.

Free safety - 1) Caden Sterns 2) Montrell Estell 3) Xavion Alford

Sterns was a Freshman All American two years ago and should be back 100 percent from injury for spring football. He has All American potential.

Estell was another one of those guys who thrived when given a chance last year due to injuries. While the defense is always going to be better with Sterns in the game, Estell's abilities make him more than capible of playing some quality snaps and providing a real second option.

Alford is just the latest in a long line of highly-regarded recruits at safety. Many see him as the replacement for Sterns as the bell cow in this secondary one day, but even as an early enrollee Texas is hoping he'll get at least a year to learn the ropes before he is needed in that role. This doesn't mean we won't see Alford get some playing time, especially on special teams going into 2020.

Strong safety - 1) B.J. Foster (injured) 2) Chris Brown 3) Tyler Owens

Foster will be the guy once the regular season rolls around, but he's missing spring practice due to a shoulder injury. Brown should be next in line here, though his skillset more likely fits the free safety position, he's probably going to be the first guy up if either Foster or Sterns go down during the season.

Behind them, Owens was forced into service as a true freshman. He has massive upside but could be a year away from making a huge impact anywhere but special teams.