Previewing Michigan Vs. Texas With A Longhorns Insider

By Clayton Sayfie

TheWolverine.com caught up with Texas writer Joe Cook of Inside Texas for insight on the third-ranked Longhorns ahead of their matchup with No. 10 Michigan Wolverines football. Cook broke down what to expect from Texas and made a final score prediction. We begin with the projected starting lineup for the Longhorns:

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Texas projected starters on offense

• #3 – Junior QB Quinn Ewers (6-2, 210) — Set to start his 24th career game this weekend. He connected on 20 of his 27 pass attempts for 260 yards with 3 touchdowns and 1 interception in a 52-0 win over Colorado State last week. In 2023, he completed 69 percent of his throws for 3,479 yards and 22 touchdowns with 6 interceptions. Last season, he averaged 7.1 yards per attempt when blitzed, compared to 9.7 yards per attempt when he wasn’t.

• #23 – Junior RB Jaydon Blue (6-0, 200) — Made his first career start last week, rushing 11 times for 63 yards and catching 3 passes for 37 yards. He was one of three Texas backs with 5-plus carries, joined by sophomore Quintrevion Wisner (5 rushes, 22 yards, 1 TD) and freshman Jerrick Gibson (10 rushes, 67 yards, 1 TD). Blue was third on the team with 398 rushing yards a season ago.

• #7 – Junior WR Isaiah Bond (5-11, 180) — The speedster led Alabama with 38 receptions for 668 yards and 4 touchdowns last season, before transferring to Texas. He was held to 4 catches for 47 yards against Michigan in last season’s College Football Playoff semifinal. He posted a team-high 5 receptions for 61 yards and a score last week versus Colorado State.

• #2 – Junior WR Matthew Golden (6-0, 195) — The Houston transfer had a strong Texas debut a week ago, hauling in 3 catches for 50 yards and 2 scores. He pulled down 38 receptions for 404 yards and 6 touchdowns in nine games for the Cougars in 2023, before suffering a season-ending injury.

• #0 – Sophomore WR DeAndre Moore Jr. (6-0, 195) — Opened the first game at slot receiver but played the fifth-most wide receiver snaps on the team. Texas had 11 different pass-catchers notch a reception against the Rams, but Moore actually wasn’t one of them. He played in 10 outings in 2023 but did not record any statistics.

• #85 – Senior TE Gunnar Helm (6-5, 250) — Caught 2 passes for 42 yards with a 37-yard chunk gain against Colorado State. He earned honorable mention All-Big 12 honors last season, totaling 14 receptions for 192 yards and 2 scores.

• #78 – Junior LT Kelvin Banks Jr. (6-4, 320) — The preseason first-team All-American (and second-teamer last season) is the No. 3 offensive tackle prospect on draft analyst Dane Brugler’s 2025 big board. His 87.1 PFF pass-blocking rating ranked eighth nationally among tackles last season (minimum 500 snaps).

• #76 – Senior LG Hayden Conner (6-5, 320) — Has started 28 career games at Texas. His 82.2 PFF pass-blocking grade slotted third on the Longhorns’ offensive line last season.

• #65 – Senior C Jake Majors (6-3, 315) — Has opened 42 career contests and was named All-Big-12 honorable mention in 2023. His 84.4 PFF pass-blocking rating ranked second on the team’s offensive line last season. He allowed just 7 pressures and no sacks on 504 pass-blocking snaps a year ago.

• #52 – Junior RG DJ Campbell (6-3, 330) — Has started 15 career games. He had a 63.5 overall PFF grade last season, allowing 16 pressures and a team-worst 6 sacks.

• #56 – Junior RT Cameron Williams (6-5, 335) — Named SEC Co-Offensive Lineman of the Week after his second career start in the opener against Colorado State. In that game, he had a 73.6 overall PFF grade, allowing a team-high 2 pressures in pass protection.

Texas projected starters on defense

• #95 – Senior DT Alfred Collins (6-5, 320) — The honorable mention All-Big-12 performer from 2023 registered 22 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 pass breakups and 5 quarterback hurries that season.

• #45 – Senior DT Vernon Broughton (6-4, 305) — Recorded 17 tackles, including 4.5 for loss and 1 sack, with 1 pass breakup and 1 fumble recovery in 2023. He played in all 14 games with one start. He collected 2 tackles, 1 pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in the opener this year.

• #8 – Junior EDGE Trey Moore (6-3, 245) — The UTSA transfer owns his previous program’s single-season records with 14 sacks and 18 tackles for loss last season. He was tabbed as the AAC Defensive Player of the Year and a first-team all-conference pick. He had 1 tackle in his Texas debut last week.

• #88 – Senior EDGE Barryn Sorrell (6-4, 260) — Second on the team with 39 pressures last season, Sorrell added 37 tackles, 4.5 stops for loss and 4 sacks. He was named honorable mention All-Big-12. He posted a half-tackle for loss last week.

• #33 – Senior LB David Gbenda (6-0, 235) — Totaled 50 tackles, 3.5 stops for loss, 1.5 sacks, 3 quarterback hurries and 1 pass breakup last season. He had 4 stops, including 1 behind the line of scrimmage, in the opener.

• #0 – Sophomore LB Anthony Hill Jr. (6-3, 235) — Named a freshman All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and the co-Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year in 2023. He was second on the team with 67 tackles, including 8 for loss and 5 sacks. He’s often used as a blitzer, with 19 pressures on 99 pass-rush snaps a year ago. Hill had 5 tackles and 1 stop for loss in the season opener.

• #3 – Junior NB Jaylon Guilbeau (6-0, 190) — Tallied a career-high 8 tackles against Colorado State, after posting 7 tackles in eight games in 2023.

• #5 – Sophomore CB Malik Muhammad (6-0, 190) — Started two of 14 games last season, totaling 31 tackles, 1 interception and 4 pass breakups. He was targeted twice last week and allowed no catches.

• #7 – Senior CB Jahdae Barron (5-11, 200) — The second-team All-Big 12 standout last season had an interception that he returned for 30 yards last week, playing Cover 3 against a deep pass. That marked his fourth career pick. He earned an invite to the Reese’s Senior Bowl this past offseason but opted to return to school. He had 61 tackles, including 4.5 for loss, 6 pass breakups and 1 interception in 2023, when he played primarily as a nickel back.

• #16 – Junior S Michael Taaffe (6-0, 195) — The honorable mention All-Big-12 selection played in all 14 games with nine starts in 2023, registering 48 tackles, 2.5 stops for loss, 3 interceptions and 2 pass breakups. He had 3 tackles and a pass breakup against Colorado State.

• #4 – Senior S Andrew Mukuba (6-0, 190) — The Clemson transfer started 31 games at his previous stop. The Austin, Texas, native had 42 tackles and 6 pass breakups for the Tigers in 2023. He totaled 2 tackles in the opener.

Texas specialists

• #45 – Senior K Bert Auburn (6-0, 185) — Made 29 of his 35 field goal attempts with a 54-yard long last season. He was 11-of-16 from 40-plus yards. He made a 45-yarder and all 7 of his extra point attempts last week.

• #39 – Freshman P Michael Kern (6-3, 195) — Rated as the No. 5 punter in the 2024 recruiting class by On3, Kern made his collegiate debut last week, with 1 punt for 39 yards, pinning Colorado State inside its own 20-yard line.

• #2 – Junior KR Matthew Golden (6-0, 195) — The wide receiver had 1 kick return for 26 yards versus Colorado State. He had 2 kick return touchdowns in his two seasons at Houston.

• #11 – Senior PR Silas Bolden (5-8, 160) — Returned 4 punts for 34 yards with a long of 35 yards last week against Colorado State. The Oregon State transfer was a two-time second-team All-Pac 12 selection as a return specialist (2022-23). He has 1 punt return touchdown in his career.

Where Quinn Ewers has improved

Ewers has had a long, interesting journey in college football. It began at Ohio State in 2021 after reclassifying. He transferred to Texas and has started 23 games. Ewers has won some big ones for the Longhorns, too, including beating Alabama 34-24 in Tuscaloosa last season, which snapped a 21-game home winning streak for the Crimson Tide.

Cook broke down Ewers’ game and where he’s grown.

“Ewers last season was significantly improved from 2022 but still with some weaknesses,” the Texas writer said. “He could not handle pressure well and he also did not have good stats when just dropping back without a play-action. He’s shored up his game in both those areas.

“More importantly, he has become a better leader. Ewers is the guy players look to on the Longhorns and he understands that when times are tough, people are going to look to him to maintain his performance.”

Strengths and weaknesses of Texas offense

Despite losing three NFL Draft picks at wide receiver last season, the position group is one of the team’s strengths, along with Ewers.

“Texas might actually be six-deep at WR after they played Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan Whittington exclusively last year. Now players like Isaiah Bond, DeAndre Moore, Matthew Golden, Silas Bolden, [sophomore] Johntay Cook [II], and [freshman] Ryan Wingo are rotating. That’s helped Ewers, and Ewers has helped them.

“A weakness might be run blocking on the interior. [Right guard] DJ Campbell has it together but [left guard] Hayden Conner is more up and down than Texas fans would like.”

Strengths and weaknesses of Texas defense

Texas ranked 116th nationally by allowing 254.4 passing yards per game last season, and the issue was on display when giving up 430 yards through the air to Washington in the College Football Playoff semifinal.

“The secondary appears to be way, way, way better than last year,” Cook pointed out. “With players like [top-40 NFL Draft pick defensive tackles] T’Vondre Sweat and [Byron] Murphy at DT, running the ball is always going to be a non-starter. So teams had to pass it and they found a moderate level of success in doing so. In the end against Washington, that’s what won the Huskies the game.

“The secondary was extremely well-coordinated against the Air Raid [Colorado State] Rams and made life miserable for a quarterback who supposedly fielded offers of $600,000 or more. Those more than likely went to his wide receiver Tory Horton, who Texas also shut down.”

Cook said it’s more of a “question” than a “weakness,” but that he’s watching the middle of the Texas defensive line, which is relatively unproven after losing Sweat and Murphy to the NFL.

“Texas had two top-50 picks in the middle last year who were peers of [Michigan junior tackles] Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant. What’s life like without them and with Alfred Collins, Vernon Broughton, and [senior] Bill Norton leading the way?”

Cook’s final score prediction

“These games are tough, but I think questions at quarterback cause a few more Wolverine drives to stall out and Texas is able to lean on just enough explosiveness to get into scoring position and convert the needed opportunities to leave the Big House with a win,” Cook said.

Prediction: Texas 27, Michigan 20