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There were plenty of reasons for Texas Longhorn football fans to be concerned about their team’s defense a year ago.
This defense was ranked 100th in the nation in 2021. It was ranked eighth in the Big 12, seventh in sacks, seventh in tackles for loss, and seventh in opponent third-down conversions. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian was worried about the linebacker position and searched for potential additions in the transfer portal. The defensive line had players who had not lived up to their potential. There were a lot of question marks in the secondary.
However, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s group exceeded the expectations of most Longhorn observers. Texas’ defense finished 54th in the country and second in the Big 12 last season. Texas was ranked fifth in sacks and fourth in tackles for loss. The only notable area of decline was opponent third-down conversions (eighth in 2022).
The conversations surrounding this defense are much different this spring. Sarkisian is cautiously optimistic about the defensive talent on this year’s team. The staff is not desperately searching for upgrades at multiple defensive positions. There are multiple reasons for optimism.
Let us discuss the early defensive winners of spring football.
Just for clarity, this is not an overreaction column. There have only been a handful of practices and position battle winners have not been declared. The players that will are mentioned in this column must continue to excel this spring and throughout the offseason. As Sarkisian always says, we have a long way to before the season opener against Rice on September 2.
Instead, these players stood out during winter conditioning and carried that momentum into spring practice.
Defensive tackle
Winner: Byron Murphy II
Comment: We entered last season wondering who would step up at that position. After the season ended, we wondered who would replace Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo. It did not take long for Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat to fill those shoes. I was told Murphy was one of the best players – overall – in winter conditioning. If Murphy continues to improve, this could be his most productive season as a Longhorn.
What we’ve heard: “I love Murph. I would say for a guy who wasn't a frontline starter, he was definitely impactful for us when he played. He's very disruptive, he's strong, he's powerful. The thing I'm seeing from him now is the leadership is starting to come out. All of sudden, two older guys leave, who else is stepping up? T’Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy, two guys that have kind of taken the bull by the horns there, and doing a nice job. Murphy, again, I think he's going to have a heck of a year for us. He's working hard. I think he's wired right. He's got a real mentality about him. He's tough. He's physical. He wants to be really good and he works at his craft.” – Sarkisian on Murphy
Edge
Winner: Ethan Burke
Comment: Before Texas played in the Alamo Bowl last year, Kwiatkowski said Burke was developing but needed to get stronger in the weight room. Burke checked in at 6-foot-6 and 250 pounds at the beginning of spring practice. He passes the eye test whenever I have seen him in practice. During a War Room in early March, I passed along the names of six players who stood out during winter conditioning, according to my sources. Those guys were defensive lineman Byron Murphy II, Edge Barryn Sorrell, defensive lineman Jaray Bledsoe, and linebacker Morice Blackwell Jr., while Ethan Burke and Terrance Brooks were trending upwards. Burke is trending in the right direction this spring.
What we’ve heard: "Finally, the most interesting thing we heard today is that "Ethan Burke was working with the starters" in team drills. We had reported from the scrimmage notes on Saturday that Burke reportedly had an excellent scrimmage, and this follow-up bit of buzz from practice is hard to ignore given the timing of it all. Whether Burke was just working in on Tuesday, or outright playing directly in front of Justice Finkley isn't something we can say definitively at this time. But, based on our sources, Burke played exclusively with the twos on Saturday at the practice open to all the high school coaches. The fact that he's getting any (and perhaps a good amount) of work with the ones at this point in spring ball shows that Ethan Burke is making moves." – Alex Dunlap’s post from this past Tuesday.
Jack
Winner: Barryn Sorrell
Comment: He was an honorable mention on the All-Big 12 Football Team last season after showing flashes of potential. Sorrell has continued to improve throughout this offseason. There has been nothing but positive winter conditioning and spring practice reports about Sorrell in 2023. At this moment, the most intriguing part of a conversation about Sorrell is figuring out who will be his backup this season.
What we’ve heard: “I think Barryn [Sorrell] has grown into it. He's really developed. I mean, you see what his body looks like today from when he got here. He's more explosive. He's faster. So, he's created some value for himself with his versatility. I think Justice Finkley has taken a step forward. I think J’Mond Tapp has taken a step forward. I think Ethan Burke looks like a different guy. We've got high expectations for Colton Vasek. I'm probably leaving some people out. That’s where Jaray Bledsoe has some position flex force as well.” – Sarkisian on the Edge position.
Linebacker
Winner: David Gbenda
Comment: Remember, I said we were discussing early winners, not projected starters. Gbenda has a long way to go before the season opener. We are not going to act like Anthony Hill Jr. may need to sit and learn this season. However, we cannot ignore that Gbenda has been running with 1s this spring. Even if Gbenda losses his spot in the fall, it is still an early victory for the senior linebacker.
What we’ve heard: “David Gbenda had the best offseason he's had since we've been here, and it showed up in his play, not only on defense but on special teams.” – Sarkisian.
“Speaking of the defensive depth chart and groupings, we did see some front-seven pursuit-type drills on Tuesday which gave a pretty good idea of how things are stacking up right now on the depth chart with the first three units. The inside linebackers appear to be pretty much the same as you'd expect (although one interesting note from today on that end was J'Mond Tapp working with both the edge guys and the inside linebackers as depth). Jaylan Ford and David Gbenda are always the first guys out, while the second group almost always includes Morice Blackwell with a mix of Jett Bush and Anthony Hill.” – practice report from Alex Dunlap on March 21.
Cornerback
Winner: Gavin Holmes
Comment: There are plenty of talented defensive backs in the room. We already know what Ryan Watts and Jahdae Barron bring to the table. Watts and Barron are future NFL players. When Holmes decided to transfer from Wake Forest to Texas, it was difficult to determine if he would add depth to the room or have an impact. So far, Holmes has been the latter. I was recently told Holmes is improving each week and is a name to keep an eye on this spring. For a player who has only been on campus since January and entered a strong DB room, Holmes’ ability to make an impression this soon is a win for him.
What we’ve heard: “The other one who impressed me was a bit of a shock: CB transfer Gavin Holmes. I know I've been talking about how small he is, but he really does bring a "DGAF"-mode into contact. He doesn't care or seem worried when going full steam against bigger dudes and his tackling form is impressive. He's been growing on me through three practices, although I'm still not sure how the starting defensive backfield will shake out.” – Alex Dunlap’s practice note on March 10.
Safety
Winner: Kitan Crawford
Comment: He played in 13 games last season with one start. However, Crawford has been a pleasant surprise this offseason. He is currently starting at safety, along with Jerrin Thompson. Crawford has emerged into a player to watch this spring – and props to him.
What we’ve heard: “I think one guy that stands out to me right now is Kiatan Crawford, who was a tremendous special teams player for us a year ago. I think he was Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Year. This guy was fantastic. He's playing really well at safety for us right now. He's communicating at a high level. He's making plays on the ball. He's playing fast. He's definitely maturing. He's one guy that definitely stands out to me.”
If you missed last week’s column, here is what I wrote about the offense.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Guaranteed laughter (bad language alert)
This man’s heart nearly jumped out of his body
Talk about supporting your child’s dreams
Happy for the kids but this classroom seems stressful
Sports On A Dime
1. Sarkisian’s response when asked if there has been an emphasis on creating more chemistry to create more explosive passing plays this season: “Without question. Our offense doesn't quite work the way it's supposed to work if we don't hit some of those plays. I don't expect us to be 100%. Anytime you throw a ball beyond 15, (or) 20 yards, the percentage is naturally going to drop. But we try to create those opportunities down the field, and then find that rapport on the deep ball, whether it's a post, a go, deep crossers, whatever they are, and how it complements themselves with the run game. Then the intermediate passing game, it's all critical to our success as an offense and ultimately as a team. So, that aspect of the game, as I've been touching on before spring ball, is a huge point of emphasis of ours. I think that we're starting to see the benefits of it as we're getting into some of these live settings and the way we're throwing the ball and the way we're catching the ball down the field.”
2. Sarkisian’s response when asked if there was anything he learned from watching the men’s basketball team advance to the Elite 8 that he could apply to his football team: “I think something that team had this year, which I was really impressed with, A, they had a lot of maturity. They were an older team kind of in general. I never felt like they got out of whack where the moment got too big or adversity was too much for them to handle. You could feel, as we like to say around here, a player-led mentality and you could feel that. Even in that game when things weren't great late, you can feel the veteran presence. You can feel those guys communicating and talking. It was really good communication amongst the players and the coaches and then player-to-player on the court. Those are all the things that you look for because adversity is going to strike. As much as we want to be on the field with our guys, a lot of times they have to solve some of those issues on their own on the field. I thought that our basketball team did a really nice job of that throughout the year in a very tough conference and to be Big 12 tournament champs the way they did it and to and to go through kind of the gauntlet of our season and then to make the run that they made in the tournament, they got faced with adversity on and off the court. But I think the veteran leadership they had shone through and I thought that was something definitely to take away from their season this year.”
3. Sarkisian on what he has seen from his young offensive line this season: “I feel a lot better about the depth on the offensive line. Just sheer numbers alone. In the last two years, we signed 12 offensive linemen. Just from a sheer numbers perspective, definitely feel more comfortable there. I think it is a talented group. They're obviously big. The one thing that they're going through is the growing pains of being young players and learning the fundamentals, the techniques, to go along with the scheme and then trying to block good players on the other side of the ball. As they're working themselves through it, you take the small victories and then you try to build off of those small victories and keep getting better and better and better. Again, we're returning five starters. With Cole [Hutson] being out this spring, it's created some opportunities for some other players. But you look at a Neto [Umeozulu], who to me is showing growth throughout spring. You look at a Malik Agbo, who's showing growth throughout spring. Looking at some of the younger players that have just arrived, whether it's a Connor Stroh, Andre Cojoe, Payton Kirkland, and some of these other younger players that are in here now too, and I hate leaving all these guys out. They’re all making progress. The key to the drill is trying to find ways where they can continue to build their confidence because if we're just throwing it all on them, and throw them out there and they don't ever have any success, that could ultimately start to affect the psyche. But from a sheer number standpoint, definitely, definitely feel much better about it.”
4. Sarkisian on the growth of Kelvin Banks: “Kelvin has always been a really mature young man. He's very serious about what he does, whether it's on the field or off the field, and this spring has been no different. He brings a workman-like mentality, he strives to get better. He's a highly competitive young guy that when it doesn't go right for whatever the reason is, he wants to get it fixed and compete at a higher level. He obviously had a heck of a year last year as a true freshman to do what he did at left tackle. But I think he knows there's room for growth to get better. I think he and Coach [Kyle] Flood have kind of laid that out this spring of areas for improvement of where he can go, and he goes for it. Kelvin really goes for it. You started as a true freshman, you’re a freshman All-American, and you got a pretty good career ahead of you. How far can he take it? We'll see. But, clearly, I don't know if he could get off to a better start than what he did in his college career. Again, he's not satisfied with that. I think that's one of the beautiful things about Kelvin. He's hungry, he wants to be special, he wants to be great, and he works at it every day.”
5. The Johntay Cook hype is real
6. Georgia’s non-conference opponents in 2023 are UT Martin, Ball State, and UAB. Once again, UT needs to get through the tough non-conference opponents on its future schedule (Alabama, Ohio State, Michigan) and start scheduling easier teams. Texas needs a consistent dose of Rice, UTEP, North Texas, and any other opponent it can defeat by a sizable margin, every year. The last time Texas began a season 3-0 was in 2012. When Texas enters the SEC, there is no longer a need to schedule tough non-conference opponents.
7. Texas A&M believes teaching players how to catch and secure a rugby ball will help the team have success in football? The longer I am here, the more I understand why you guys make fun of those Aggies.
8. Here is a blast from the past. Before Charlie Strong’s last season at Texas, Longhorn administrators had to convince Tulsa co-offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert the head coach had job security. Texas agreed to give Gilbert a three-year deal worth $850,000 annually. In addition, Texas agreed to give Gilbert’s close friend, Matt Mattox, a three-year deal worth $550,000 annually as an offensive line coach. Strong’s staff was fired after the 2016 season. A few years later, Mattox is exiting from coaching.
9. Give me UConn over San Diego State in the championship game
10. Flag football as an Olympic sport? Count me in.
