Longhorns' 'Other Guys' Stepped Up With Xavier Worthy Double Covered
Last week against the Wyoming Cowboys, Texas Longhorns tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders did not have a reception.
Against the Baylor Bears Saturday, though, Sanders was Texas' leading receiver with five receptions and 110 yards. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian said that that wasn't the plan throughout the week and that the defense's coverage "dictates" where the ball will be thrown, adding that the multitude of weapons allows for anyone to shine on a week-to-week basis.
"The ball's getting spread around," Sarkisian said after Texas' 38-6 win. "Next week, I don't know who will be, what you want to call, the featured guy. What I do know is, we have a guy or two on our team, Xavier (Worthy) most notably, garners a lot of attention. When that happens, the other guys got to make those plays, and the quarterback's got to find those guys predicated off the coverage. I think that we're doing that well."
© Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman
Texas had eight different players catch a pass, five different players take a carry and three different players throw a pass, including Worthy's 35-yard connection to Sanders in the second quarter.
Tight end Gunnar Helm even got into the mix with two catches for 37 yards.
Worthy still leads the team in receptions despite only hauling in three passes against Baylor, but Sanders has taken over the receiving yardage lead. That's a byproduct of Worthy's skill.
Sarkisian noted the road games Texas has played against Alabama and Baylor really showcased the Longhorns' other weapons — a good problem Texas' head coach hoped would be the case coming into season.
"I was hoping coming into the season that we were going to have an array of players and an arsenal to where, if you really want to take No. 1 out of the game, these other guys can hurt you," Sarkisian said.
