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AUSTIN – With Kris Boyd and Holton Hill showing no signs of relinquishing their starting cornerback jobs, Tom Herman and the Texas coaches can focus on filling out the depth chart.

Following Monday’s practice, Herman reiterated that the cornerback depth the Longhorns have isn’t great. The lone reserve Herman, defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and cornerbacks coach Jason Washington can count on right now, Davante Davis, is someone who has more to do before he finds himself on the same level with the two starters.

“Needs to continue to earn our trust,” Herman said.

Herman has said more times than one can count that Boyd, Davis and Hill are the three cornerbacks he’d feel comfortable putting in a game if the Longhorns had to play right now. True freshman Josh Thompson is close to being in that mix and John Bonney, who Orlando said on Monday is being trained a five-tool player having worked at safety and nickel in the spring and cornerback early in camp, can also give the Longhorns some quality reps.

Herman is looking at 6-foot-3-inch, 200-pound Davis to continue to work his way back from a forgettable sophomore season. Davis was said to have battled confidence issues during the preseason in 2016, a funk he never seemed to snap out of and resulted in him giving up big plays before he found his way to the bench as the season progressed.

While Davis appears to have moved beyond those struggles, the coaches haven't been shy about voicing their hope that Davis can emerge as a reliable player on the back end. Herman made it sound Monday like Davis is close to being one someone who can be relied upon to make plays.

Nevertheless, the Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington product needs to string together some consistent outings on the practice field for the staff to be able to trust him enough to put him in a prominent role.

“He’s physically able to do it,” Herman said. “He just has some breakdowns from time to time that can be costly, so he’s got to be more consistent.”

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