ATLANTA – I learned something during Texas Media Day on Monday that will be of huge interest to Longhorn fans.
The Longhorns currently have five players from the 2025 recruiting class (including the transfer portal) participating in practice as the team prepares for the Peach Bowl. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian told me that defensive lineman Justus Terry, receiver Michael Terry III, and defensive end Lance Jackson recently joined the team and participated in practice.
In addition, former Purdue defensive lineman Cole Brevard and Arkansas linebacker Brad Spence have joined the team and are practicing.
Sarkisian said Justus Terry and Brevard have participated in two practices, while Michael Terry III and Jackson have participated in four (he did not mention the number of practices Spence has been in).
“They have to complete graduation first of all to be eligible to do it,” Sarkisian said. “Then they have to get cleared through us from an academic standpoint. They have to get cleared through us from a medical standpoint. Once they get all that clearance done, then they start their acclimatization like you have to do in training camp. They gotta wear helmets for two days, and then half pads. It's a bit of a process, but as long as we as long as we get to practice, they get to practice.”
However, they are not eligible to play in any postseason games this season.
Sarkisian said Terry is working at receiver now and described him as long and versatile.
I asked Sarkisian if Terry is too big to play receiver in his system since he typically utilizes smaller receivers with speed. Sarkisian revealed a new recruiting philosophy worth noting.
“We adjusted a little in this recruiting cycle,” Sarkisian said. “If you look at Kaliq [Lockett] and Jaime [Ffrench], Michael [Terry III], and then Daylan [McCutcheon], but those first three guys, I felt a little bit like going through this first cycle in the SEC, we probably needed a little bit more size. We value a lot of the perimeter blocking and that advantage is big for us. We shifted a little bit that way. Now, I love speed, don't get me wrong. You never want to sacrifice that, but there was a little bit of a different shift in kind of a philosophical approach where I think we're going to need to go to have sustainability in this.”
In addition, Texas defensive line coach Kenny Baker had high praise for Justus Terry.
“He's ultra-talented,” Baker said. “He's big, he's explosive, he can run, all the stuff you want in a defensive lineman. But the thing I like about him, and really all those guys, is the mental approach. You get to talking to me in recruiting, there's life, there's family, I care about all that, but do you love ball? Are they obsessed with getting better? It's been really cool, especially these last two days.
“He'll always go towards the end of the line, and he'll be watching. He'll be watching. He'll ask a question. When it's his turn to go, I'm not correcting some of the big things, it’s the little things. That's really good for a guy that just got there. For me, he’s got all the ability in the world. We just got to push him to where he wants to be.”
The Longhorns currently have five players from the 2025 recruiting class (including the transfer portal) participating in practice as the team prepares for the Peach Bowl. Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian told me that defensive lineman Justus Terry, receiver Michael Terry III, and defensive end Lance Jackson recently joined the team and participated in practice.
In addition, former Purdue defensive lineman Cole Brevard and Arkansas linebacker Brad Spence have joined the team and are practicing.
Sarkisian said Justus Terry and Brevard have participated in two practices, while Michael Terry III and Jackson have participated in four (he did not mention the number of practices Spence has been in).
“They have to complete graduation first of all to be eligible to do it,” Sarkisian said. “Then they have to get cleared through us from an academic standpoint. They have to get cleared through us from a medical standpoint. Once they get all that clearance done, then they start their acclimatization like you have to do in training camp. They gotta wear helmets for two days, and then half pads. It's a bit of a process, but as long as we as long as we get to practice, they get to practice.”
However, they are not eligible to play in any postseason games this season.
Sarkisian said Terry is working at receiver now and described him as long and versatile.
I asked Sarkisian if Terry is too big to play receiver in his system since he typically utilizes smaller receivers with speed. Sarkisian revealed a new recruiting philosophy worth noting.
“We adjusted a little in this recruiting cycle,” Sarkisian said. “If you look at Kaliq [Lockett] and Jaime [Ffrench], Michael [Terry III], and then Daylan [McCutcheon], but those first three guys, I felt a little bit like going through this first cycle in the SEC, we probably needed a little bit more size. We value a lot of the perimeter blocking and that advantage is big for us. We shifted a little bit that way. Now, I love speed, don't get me wrong. You never want to sacrifice that, but there was a little bit of a different shift in kind of a philosophical approach where I think we're going to need to go to have sustainability in this.”
In addition, Texas defensive line coach Kenny Baker had high praise for Justus Terry.
“He's ultra-talented,” Baker said. “He's big, he's explosive, he can run, all the stuff you want in a defensive lineman. But the thing I like about him, and really all those guys, is the mental approach. You get to talking to me in recruiting, there's life, there's family, I care about all that, but do you love ball? Are they obsessed with getting better? It's been really cool, especially these last two days.
“He'll always go towards the end of the line, and he'll be watching. He'll be watching. He'll ask a question. When it's his turn to go, I'm not correcting some of the big things, it’s the little things. That's really good for a guy that just got there. For me, he’s got all the ability in the world. We just got to push him to where he wants to be.”
