Hornography

The 2014 Texas Longhorns will be remembered for having a solid defense and an identity crisis on offense. Their 6-6 record exudes mediocrity. That's okay; Charlie Strong was rebuilding a program from ground level. His team's record wasn't as important as how they got there, and Strong has done nothing but silence his critics on the way. But the regular season's over now. It's time for the real work to begin.

Charlie Strong's Texas tenure will be defined by the decisions he makes over the next 18 months at the quarterback position. Remember: Mack Brown's flameout got accelerated when his prized pig, Garrett Gilbert, wasn't able to perform at the level Brown had hoped for. As Gilbert struggled, the Horns were left without a quarterback; in turn, Brown was left without a future. If Strong wants to avoid the same mistakes that Brown made he will need to start planning for it now.

Strong has an untested true freshman in Jerrod Heard already on the roster. Heard was the top-ranked dual-threat QB in the nation out of high school. He's been rumored to run a 40-yard dash in the 4.3 range. As electrifying as his feet might be, he has struggled mightily with his accuracy, and reviews out of practice have been mixed. Texas also has a commitment from four-star recruit Zach Gentry, a big pocket passer out of New Mexico. Gentry's 6'7", weighs 237 lbs., and evidently's got a cannon for an arm. That's two promising young players who couldn't be any more different in terms of skill sets and the type of offense they would require Strong to install.

With Tyrone Swoopes, the most important position now has three potential occupants: the incumbent, although he's not particularly great – or dreadful – at either passing or running; Heard, who'll be a redshirt and one of the fastest players in the country, though he couldn't complete 65% of his passes to a WR corps consisting of the strongest stock of Shipleys; or roll the dice on the giant from the glowing sands of New Mexico, who would need a much more talented O-line in order to even think about moving beyond a five-step drop.

As boring as it might be, the right decision will be the one that puts the actual decision off for another year. Strong should stick with Swoopes in 2015 despite the limited upside. It would give Heard a second year of development and allow Strong to see what he's really got in Gentry. Either way, jumping into the post-Swoopes era will take a type of no-looking-back commitment at quarterback that will determine just how successful this Stronghorns era will be.