What's next for the Longhorns? Make sure you're in the loop by signing up for our FREE Texas newsletter!

AUSTIN – The way Tom Herman sees it, by the time the Texas Longhorns conclude their scrimmage next Saturday it will be time to turn the page.

“Camp is over and then it’s [time to] get ready to win a ballgame,” Herman said in regards to where the team will be when the next six practices wrap up.

Saturday’s scrimmage, which the defense won thanks to a late surge on the final two-minute drive of the day and one final goal line stop by DeShon Elliott, means there’s only one week remaining until the Longhorns begin preparations for the Sept. 2 season opener against Maryland. Once the work for the Terrapins gets underway the depth chart will be set for the most part and Herman will begin throttle down a tad as the focus shifts to getting ready for an opponent as opposed to building the team’s identity or developing toughness.

Those things, Herman said, will be established by the time the Longhorns leave Whitaker Fields next weekend. Herman wants the two weeks that will remain until their Big Ten foe comes to town to be spent on recovery and making sure his players have their legs back in time for kickoff.

“You’ve got to get them back physically those last two weeks.“The pounding and the length of time on the field, all of that’s going to decrease significantly after this week.”

Getting healthy is critical for the Longhorns, who have had some key bodies missing from the last few on-field sessions.

Texas should get three starters back next week as running back Kyle Porter (shoulder sprain), defensive end Malcolm Roach (toe) and safety Brandon Jones (neck strain) are expected to return to practice on Monday. Those three missed Saturday’s scrimmage, as did cornerbacks John Bonney (knee) and Josh Thompson (lower leg strain), but there’s no current timetable on when Bonney and/or Thompson will return.

Aside from overall team health, the biggest issue left for Herman and the staff to sort out, especially now that installations on offense and defense with the exception of opponent-specific tweaks are done, is the depth chart.

Herman said following the scrimmage that the Longhorns are rotating wide receivers frequently since “there’s a lot of different wideouts showing up each day,” Herman said. The No. 1 group for the majority of camp has been Collin Johnson (X), Jerrod Heard (Z) and Devin Duvernay (H), but Reggie Hemphill-Mapps and Lil'Jordan Humphrey are among those on the perimeter who’ve had strong camps.

Elijah Rodriguez having to undergo ankle surgery has made the competition at right tackle a battle between Denzel Okafor and Tristan Nickelson, both of whom worked with the first offense on Saturday.Defensive end (Roach vs. Charles Omenihu) and B-backer (Naashon Hughes vs. Jeffrey McCulloch) are two spots on defense where things could get interesting beginning on Monday when it comes to determining who will trot out for the first defensive snap of the Herman era.

Then there’s the quarterback spot, a position battle that Herman has yet to call. Herman indicated on Saturday that’s due to Sam Ehlinger making strides in what’s been a strong week of practice for the true freshman, not that Shane Buechele has regressed (which he hasn’t, according to Herman, and the job still appears to very much be his to lose).

If the quarterback race, or other position battles for that matter, are too close to call, Herman will have no choice but to let the competition continue. The depth chart could change beyond the third scrimmage, but the identity of Herman’s first team and how tough the Longhorns will be in 2017 are things the head coach feels he’ll likely know by this time next week.

“By the next scrimmage on Saturday we should know a lot about our team and there will be a lot of things, whether you like it not, we’re going to be who we are,” Herman said. “That’s who we are.”

Want free VIP access to Horns247? Click here and take advantage of this offer!