Texas Football: Tarik Black is a Perfect Scheme Fit for Texas

The Longhorns have turned tall, athletic receivers into starts in the past

With the graduation of starters Devin Duvernay and Collin Johnson (and to a lesser extent John Burt), Texas was probably always going to hit up the transfer portal to bring in experience for the wide receiver room.

The Longhorns needed leadership amongst their pass catchers to help develop a young receiving corps that includes Brennan Eagles, Marcus Washington, Al'Vonte Woodard, Kennedy Lewis, Troy Omeire and Kelvontay Dixon. 

But Black is not just an older face in the lineup or another body for the depth chart, the former U.S. Army All American possesses the potential to be the next great Texas receiver in the Longhorns power spread offense. 

Black burst on the scene at Michigan his freshman year, enrolling early and earning immediate playing time. He scored a touchdown in his first-ever college game against Florida in 2017, but a pair of injuries cost him most of his first two college seasons. He was finally able to get healthy last year, but had to compete with  Nico Collins, Donovan People-Jones and Ronnie Bell for opportunities. He finished last season with 25 catches for 323 yards and a score. 

Now a hungry Black sets his aim on the Forty Acres, eager to prove he can live up to the tremendous hype he had coming out of high school and make an impression on NFL scouts with his final year of eligibility. 

At 6-foot-3 and  216 pounds, Black may not be quite as big as guys like Collin Johnson or Lil'Jordan Humphrey were, but he's still going to tower over most of the guys on the other side of the ball. The Texas offense is built around physical receivers winning one-on-one matchups with cornerbacks and catching jump balls. It's probably not going to take long for quarterback Sam Ehlinger to put Black's length and athleticism to good use with some 50-50 balls his direction. It opens up everything else from the run game to electric plays in the slot from guys like Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington. 

Black isn't a guaranteed starter of course. Right now the smart money would be on Eagles taking the "X" job and Moore at the "Z" position with Smith and Whittington splitting time at the "H". But Black is big enough to be a starter at "X" and has the speed and route-running ability to make an impact at "Z" as well. His skill set could see him moving between the two positions as new receivers coach Andre Coleman continues to emphasize cross training for his pass-catchers. 

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