So far, so good. Texas' season-opening win over Louisiana-Monroe pretty much checked all the boxes — but also against a clearly overmatched opponent. Still, the Horns are 1-0 heading into Alabama week and looked strong across the board. Thus their season-opening report card was a breeze, too. How the Longhorns graded out:

Quarterbacks: B

Things started out as a F, however. Quinn Ewers, making his first career start, didn't have the best first drive. Far from it, actually. He made a bad decision on third down and tried to force a pass to a not-open Xavier Worthy, and he was picked off on his second career pass. But the redshirt freshman bounced back. He had two fourth-down conversion completions to keep drives alive, completed eight straight passes at one point and, perhaps most encouraging, showed a real connection with Worthy and Ja'Tavion Sanders, both of whom look like they can be big-time weapons. Ewers has a powerful arm — too powerful at times, as he suffered a few overthrows, including some downfield shots to open receivers. Ewers (16 of 24 for 225 yards, 2 TDs, 1 interception) left with four minutes left in the third quarter and Texas up 45-3. Hudson Card and Charles Wright Jr. wrapped things up.

Go figure: The Longhorns passed for 249 yards against a team that went 4-8 last year and gave up 444 passing yards to Arkansas State, 419 to Kentucky, 320 to South Alabama, 319 to LSU and 311 to Troy.

Running backs: B

The carries were spread around — Bijan Robinson had 10 for 71 yards and a touchdown, Roschon Johnson had five for 34 yards and a touchdown, and Jonathon Brooks had six for 32 yards and a touchdown. Pretty balanced. Robinson (3-40-1) also got involved in the passing game; he finished with 13 touches for 111 yards and the two scores. But he definitely looked like he's ready for more workload, which he'll surely get as the season goes on.

Go figure: Robinson moved into a three-way tie with UT greats Ricky Williams and Cedric Benson by scoring a touchdown in his 11th straight game.

Wide receivers: C

It was a quiet night, statistically. Jordan Whittington had three fairly forgettable grabs for 26 yards and Worthy had two for 24. But if it looked like Worthy was all over the field, it's because he was. He stood out in his role as a punt returner and was targeted by Ewers six times, including a notable overthrow in the back of the end zone and what could have been a 30-yard gain on the first drive. Ewers missed Whittington in the end zone as well, but Whittington did make his mark as a blocker, springing Robinson on the back's 16-yard touchdown with a nice block. And Casey Cain flashed on a nice 43-yard quick pass and run made possible by wrong-footing his defender on his first move. But really, statistically, no receiver jumped out on the final stat sheet.

Go figure: A tight end and a running back combined for more targets than Worthy and Whittington.

Tight ends: A

We had heard throughout August (after hearing essentially the same thing for the past several Augusts) that the tight end position would indeed finally be utilized this season. After all, it's been awhile. Sanders, like Ewers also making his first start, had a breakout performance. The jewel of Texas' 2021 recruiting class converted two fourth-down catches for first downs and scored his first career touchdown on a 19-yard jaunt down the sideline. He led the team with six catches (on six targets) for 85 yards and the score. He also had a nice night as a blocker, too.

Go figure: In all, Texas tight ends finished with seven receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown.

Offensive line: B-

The offensive line should have been one of the biggest mismatches of the night — on paper, anyway. The average size of UT's starting O-line was 6-foot-5, 306 pounds while ULM's defensive front averaged 6-2, 284. And the Longhorns did indeed generally outmuscle the Warhawks up front and control things. There were two true freshmen in the starting lineup with left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. and right guard Cole Hutson. Both held their own. Banks was flagged for a false start on ULM's 10-yard line and then allowed a sack on the very next play. But he also helped spring Roschon Johnson's 16-yard touchdown run in the second quarter. Ewers was sacked three times, however, immediately begging the question: if ULM can get to Ewers three times, what will Alabama do? One positive: there wasn't a single holding penalty called up front.

Go figure: The running game averaged 4.6 yards per carry.

Defensive line: B

Keep an eye on Barryn Sorrell, who finished second on the team in tackles and added 1.5 sacks and two tackles for loss. ULM's run game never got going; the Warhawks averaged only 2.2 yards per carry. The defensive front stayed active throughout, plugging up the line to stuff ULM running backs. Keondre Coburn had a sack in addition to Sorrell's. The Warhawks' offensive front was outmatched by Texas' bigger, stronger, faster front.

Go figure: Texas finished with three sacks.

Linebackers: B

Texas' speedy linebackers were a perfect complement to the work Texas' defensive front was doing. But DeMarvion Overshown needed more help. He had eight tackles and two tackles for loss, but after that, things were pretty quiet. Diamo Tucker-Dorsey finished with four stops, Devin Richardson with four, and Ovie Oghoufo with half a tackle for loss. Jaylan Ford didn't figure into the final defensive stats sheet but nearly came up with an interception and a tackle for a loss in the first quarter. The Longhorns need him to be more active moving forward.

Go figure: Overshown led the team in tackles last year.

Secondary: A-

D'Shawn Jamison hit the season running. He blocked a punt that was returned for a touchdown and made an impressive tipped-pass interception that he returned 70 yards for a pick-six touchdown. Between defense and special teams, he has really become familiar with the end zone. Anthony Cook finished with three tackles and new cornerback Ryan Watts, the 6-foot-3 Ohio State transfer, made a couple of nice plays, defending a pass in the end zone and stopping a running back for a loss on an open-field tackle. Another defensive back who impressed was Jaylon Guilbeau, a freshman who finished with just one tackle, but also separated the ball from a receiver on a third down pass to force a punt and helped clear the way for Jamison's pick-six with some nice blocking at the end of the play. All in all, an encouraging start for the secondary.

Go figure: Jamison is the first player in UT history to return an interception, kickoff and punt for a touchdown in his career.

Special teams: A-

Granted, there were issues. It was a rough night for new punter Isaac Pearson, who mishandled a snap that led to a missed field goal and then bobbled a punt snap that gave ULM the ball near midfield in the second half. After that miscue, whether by coincidence, design or in-game decision, Daniel Trejo, the transfer punter from Texas Wesleyan, then got his turn. Bert Auburn was 1-for-2 on field goals, hitting from 41 yards out. But the star of the night was the punt unit. Jamison, who had been Texas' primary return man for the past couple of seasons, yielded those duties to Worthy, who looks like he'll break a big play or two. It was Jamison, rushing from right up the middle, who blocked the punt that Keilan Robinson scooped up for the opening touchdown. Special teams coach Jeff Banks moved his pieces around, too, lining Robinson on the edge for the blocked punt but later having him be the one to rush up the middle. Several UT starters and key backups were seen playing on special teams.

Go figure: Worthy's 21-yard punt return in the second quarter set his personal best, breaking it by one yard.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: How the Texas Longhorns graded out in their season opener