The Texas Longhorns will take on the Sam Houston State Bearkats on Saturday in Austin. While the Longhorns should make quick work of the 0-3 Huntsville, TX school, SHSU does bring in some talented player Texas Football will have to account for.
RB Elijah Green – Sam Houston State
This is the most dynamic playmaker on this team. The QB position has been a bit of musical chairs with some injuries there early in the season, which makes a guy like Elijah Green more important. Not only is he the most consistently used RB in the run game, but this is the leading receiver for the Bearkats. Green is someone Anthony Hill Jr and the other Texas LBs will have to worry about consistently on Saturday, and they will have to be up to challenge in coverage. You will see plenty of #21 on Saturday, the bigger question is who is standing next to him.
WR Malik Phillips – Sam Houston State
The top WR on this team is Malik Phillips, with only six catches and 60 yards on the year. Grady O’Neill, the other top WR, is out with an injury, and Phillips will be forced to play a bigger role in this offense. At 5 '9”, 170 lbs, he should be an easier guard, physically than others, but he is plenty shifty. This is a run-first team, particularly with the QB run game, but they’ve been able to create some explosives in the past game this year. They will need Phillips to step up, which means the Texas defense needs to know where #11 is at all times, and be able to keep him from making big plays.
DBEmon Allen – Sam Houston State
This is one of, if not the leader of this defense and football team. 18 tackles, 1 PD, 1 FF, 2 INTs and a TD already on the season, and he is as versatile as they come at the safety position. Allen will be tasked with handling a lot of the deep overs and posts that Texas loves to through the middle of the field. Can he do what other safeties have been able to this year, or can Texas finally find consistent openings in the pass game? Allen will be the guy Arch Manning needs to find before every play, because if he loses him, #7 could be going the other way for 6 points.
LB Antavious Fish – Sam Houston State
This is the other veteran leader on this defense, and someone that holds down the middle of the defense for the Bearkats. Fish is someone that will be waiting for a chance to jump in the backfield and make a play. He plays fast, with tons of energy, which is a great thing, but also something Texas and Sarkisian can take advantage of. If they can get #6 to over commit on running lanes, you can Christian Clark and Jerrick Gibson loose in the secondary. If they can neutralize Fish in this game, the Texas offense will not only be able to pass all over the field, but win the ground game comfortably as well.
This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Emon Allen, Malik Phillips leads Sam Houston into Austin this weekend
