The 50 most important college players in Texas in 2016 — No. 28: Texas' Shane Buechele

[caption id="attachment_23523" align="alignright" width="193"]SR1_3115 Photo by John Hamilton[/caption] The importance of a player is not always defined by their skill. The most important player on a team is not always the best player on a team. This list is designed to breakdown the 50 most important players in Texas college football for the 2016 season. It is not a ranking of the 50 best college football players in the state. Importance can be defined by position, need, skill or leadership. We’ll count down the list through the summer, all the way to No. 1.Previously — 29: Texas Tech RB Justin Stockton // 30: Baylor LB Taylor Young //  31: TCU RB Shaun Nixon // 32: Texas A&M WR Christian Kirk // 33: Houston WR Chance Allen // 34: UTSA QB Jared Johnson // 35: ACU LB Sam Denmark // 36: Houston Baptist RB Terrance Peters // 37: Rice DE Graysen Schantz // 38: UTEP DE Alvin Jones // 39: SMU RB Xavier Jones // 40: Sam Houston RB Corey Avery // 41: Prairie View A&M DE DeVohn Reed // 42: Texas State WR Demun Mercer // 43: UTEP S Devin Cockrell // 44: UNT DT Bryce English // 45: Texas OL Connor Williams // 46: Texas Tech DT Breiden Fehoko // 47: Houston DT B.J. Singleton // 48: Texas A&M DT Daylon Mack // 49: TCU S Denzel Johnson  // 50: Baylor S Chance WazNo. 28 – Shane BuecheleThe History A two-time All-State selection in his three-year prep career, Buechele enrolled earlier this year at the University of Texas and is already making waves to start as the program’s quarterback in 2016. At Arlington Lamar, Buechele passed for 6,379 yards and 73 touchdowns, adding 1,805 yards and 21 touchdowns with his legs. It was an impressive three-year span that included all-district honors each season under head coach Laban DeLay. His game took another step forward as a senior, bringing him attention from most P5 schools. Buechele was a four-star prospect by most services and ranked nationally by the likes of Rivals, Scout and ESPN. He was also named to the “2016 Texas’ Best” by Dave Campbell’s Texas Football. As a senior, Buechele threw for 2,498 yards with a 64.6 percent completion rate. He accounted for 38 total touchdowns and threw only six interceptions. Buechele entered the spring as at least the third quarterback on the depth chart. By the end of the spring game, however, Buechele firmly cemented his place in the conversation for the starting job. He outplayed incumbent Tyrone Swoopes in the spring game and impressed fans with his ability to throw accurately and move around in the pocket. The Skillset Scouts fall in love with height, frame and arm strength. Buechele isn’t the prototype for any of those traits and it kept him from becoming a can’t-miss, five-star prospect in the eyes of recruiters and recruiting services. All Buechele does well is play quarterback. His short to intermediate passes don’t speed past defensive backs towards receivers. He can’t effortlessly throw a deep ball 60 yards. Buechele finds a way to get the ball, on time, to the right receiver. Texas hasn’t had a quarterback do that on a consistent basis since Colt McCoy. Buechele is a technician. He’s only 6-foot-1, yet he does a good job of finding throwing lanes between big bodies to avoid deflections. He’s not ultra-fast, but he does enough with his feet to hurt opponents and keep defenses honest. His best skill, without question, is his accuracy. Buechele’s football IQ is off the charts and the football rarely ends up in a place he didn’t want. The Impact Texas is improving at running back, wide receiver, offensive line and on defense under Charlie Strong. The missing piece is a quarterback. Anyone who watches Texas Longhorn football knows what Tyrone Swoopes can do or can’t do. The same is mostly true for Jerrod Heard, who missed a better part of spring practice with an injury. Buechele is the most complete and accurate quarterback on the roster as a true freshman. He’s yet to be officially anointed as the starter at quarterback, but the writing appeared to be smeared all over the wall at the spring game. Strong is moving the program in his direction, and Buechele might be the driving force to make the Longhorns a contender in the Big 12 for years to come.

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