It’s perhaps the understatement of the year that the Texas Longhorns defense is going to look significantly different in 2024.
Losing either the conference Defensive Player of the Year or the Defensive Lineman of the Year would be a massive hit to any defensive unit. Losing both in the same year, a pair that anchored one of the best run defenses in the country, means that Pete Kwiatkowski and new defensive line coach Kenny Baker.
While T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy were great players in 2022, their ascension to elite defenders in 2023 came as a bonus to helm the defense. Texas was one of the top rush defenses in the Big 12, leading in line yards, stuff rate, and success rate, which created a ton of advantage for the Longhorns by making most opponents one-dimensionally reliant on the passing game. After coming to campus in 2020 with high expectations, the pair of Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton will need to have a similar level up to produce anything resembling the same impact.
A pair of top-200 defensive ends committed to Oscar Giles, both have shown flashes of what evaluators and coaches saw as they fought for their services years ago, but neither has truly lived up to the potential from four years ago. However, one of the biggest changes that has come to Texas under Steve Sarkisian’s tenure has been improved development on both sides of the ball. That development from the interior lineman came under Bo Davis, who left for the LSU Tigers to coach his son, so Baker — who has shown an ability to develop both in college and the NFL — will be called upon to show his value early.
Bolstering the talent of those two is Arizona Wildcats transfer Tiaoalii Savea, who joined the Longhorns this offseason alongside former Arizona defensive coordinator Johnny Nansen.
