Writeup by Pete Fiutak
Who is Michael Huff? ... It's never a bad thing to have too many athletic defensive backs, and it's even better when you have defensive backs versatile enough to play several positions. That's what the Texas coaching staff likes to do with its DBs giving the stars some time at safety first before putting them on the corner island to face everyone's top receivers. San Diego Charger millionaire Quentin Jammer was the best example becoming an All-America corner after spending time as a big hitting safety.
The transition isn't going to be so easy for 6-1, 200-pound junior Michael Huff. Handling the corner job isn't the issue, but moving him from safety, where he's so valuable, is. Playing strong safety last year, he made 66 tackles and two interceptions showing the strength by becoming an intimidating hitter and the speed and athleticism to be deadly in coverage. When he gets the ball in his hands, it's all over as all four of his career interceptions have been returned for touchdowns.
A few years ago it was Jammer who was star of the secondary. Last year it was Nathan Vasher. Now it'll be Huff's time to shine as an All-Big XII caliber player no matter where he ends up. If he plays safety, he'll combine with budding star Phillip Geiggar to form one of the nation's deadliest tandems. If he plays corner, his size and speed will take out just about everyone's number one receiver. No matter where he plays, it'll be every quarterback's first priority to make sure they know where number seven is first.
Huff's best game so far was ... in the 2002 50-20 win over Texas A&M. Huff solidified his place on Freshman All-America teams with his best game of the year making a career-high 11 tackles with a tackle for loss against the Aggies. He also picked off a pass and took it for a touchdown.
Why you should care about Michael Huff ... He hasn't received a ton of press, but he has as much talent and ability as any defensive back in the country. While Phillip Geiggar is certainly a strong player, Huff is going to have to be a leader of a relatively young Longhorn secondary. If he comes through with another big season, he'll have the option to leave early and become very rich at either corner or safety at the next level.
Positives about Huff ... Obviously his versatility. It's a luxury to have a player as big as Huff is at corner much less to have one that athletic at safety. He's a good one-on-one open-field hitter able make the big stick when needed. It's always scary for opposing offensive coordinators when they have to think about a defensive back that scored on all four career interceptions. He's fast running a 10.46 in the 100 meters in high school.
Negatives about Huff ... Is he a jack-of-all-trades, master of none? There are some players that are natural corners and others who need time to learn the job. Quentin Jammer was able to simply outslug his way against college receivers, but he struggled out of the gate in the NFL when he was going up against players as physical as he was. Huff was a bit more comfortable right away at corner playing mostly there as a redshirt freshman, but pro scouts are going to wonder where to play him and where he fits in best.
A cool thing about Huff that you probably didn't know ... His nickname is Huff Daddy.
Career statistics
2003: 66 tackles, four tackles for loss, six broken up passes, two interceptions, two touchdowns
2002: 70 tackles, ten tackles for loss, ten broken up passes, two interceptions, two touchdowns
Thanks to Texas for all the tidbits
