Charlie Strong names Jay Norvell new Texas play-caller

The Longhorn’s offensive struggles have carried over from last year, so Charlie Strong is making changes.

After a rough outing in South Bend, the Longhorns are already making changes on offense.

Wide receiver’s coach Jay Norvell will take over play-calling duties from Shawn Watson. Norvell was formerly the co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach at Oklahoma before joining Strong’s staff in Austin this January.

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Another interesting development, according to NBC Sports, Texas may owe Oklahoma State money. Offensive line coach Joe Wickline was reportedly responsible for some of the play-calling duties, which would breach his former contract with Oklahoma State.

The Longhorns only produced 163 yards of total offense against Notre Dame on Saturday. The entire offense looked lost against the Irish; the offensive line couldn’t sustain their blocks, which didn’t help Tyrone Swoopes—who needs all the help he can get.

During the postgame press conference, Charlie Strong voiced his displeasure with the play calling.

Strong told CBS Sports, “Look at Johnathan Gray. He touched the ball eight times the other night. He’s a factor. The ball needs to be fed to him anywhere from 15 to 20 to 25 times. Our offense has to run through our running backs, and we have to run the football.”

The Longhorns clearly abandoned the run after they got behind early in the game.

Something obviously needed to change for the Longhorns. Many fans would argue it’s time to promote Jerrod Heard to starting quarterback, but I do not think that’s the direction Strong wants to go. Perhaps a new play-caller can put Swoopes in a position to succeed and the Longhorns can get back to winning. On the other hand, the Longhorns could be 0-8 with an interim head coach and a program in flux.

Strong’s second year has started off shaky after just one game, it will be interesting to see if the program can rebound.

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