43 days until Texas Football: Jett Bush sets the floor at the linebacker position
Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s time-honored countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook on each, from five-star to walk-on.
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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is 43 days until kickoff. No. 43 for the Longhorns this season will be worn by Jett Bush, a senior linebacker, and Reed Malphurs, a freshman placekicker.
Jett Bush season outlook
The Houston (Texas) Strake Jesuit product had better film than his offers indicated. Bush camped for Tom Herman‘s staff in 2018 in hopes of earning a PWO opportunity. After a strong 2018 season for the Crusaders, Bush earned his spot on the UT roster and joined the program.
He was a 12 game player on special teams during his freshman year in 2019, then was placed on scholarship ahead of his sophomore season. He earned some pass-rush opportunities versus UTEP, Oklahoma, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Iowa State, and Kansas State in 2020.
During Steve Sarkisian‘s first season in 2021, the coaches asked Bush to play Jack, or strongside defensive end. Playing the position with a 6-foot-2, 236-pound frame, Bush was miscast for the physically demanding role. His snaps were not particularly effective despite his excellent effort.
He returned to his high school position of off-ball linebacker in 2022 and was a serviceable backup to Jaylan Ford at Mike, recording a career high in tackles with 17.
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That will once again be Bush’s role this season, his final at Texas, though there will be stiff competition for playing time behind Ford. Freshmen like Liona Lefau and S’Maje Burrell want the snaps Bush is likely to receive at this point. It’s on Bush to make sure those snaps are few in number for those two during their freshman year.
Bush has played in 44 games with one start in his four years at Texas. He is utilizing his additional year of eligibility for the 2023 season. He has 46 tackles in his career, with 29 of them solo, as well 4.5 tackles for a loss, one sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.
Bush was placed on scholarship on Sept. 10, 2020, during a team meeting. He is a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (fall 2020, spring, 2021).
Jett Bush as a recruit
Bush was ranked as the No. 2725 overall prospect, the No. 327 linebacker, and the No. 403 prospect in Texas in the 2019 On3 Industry Ranking. He walked on at Texas over offers from New Mexico State, Air Force, Columbia, Cornell, Army, Harvard, Houston Christian, UIW, Northwestern State, Penn, and Yale.
Recent player to wear No. 43: Zach Edwards
Edwards played in 15 games, 12 of them as a holder, over his final three seasons at Texas. He earned Academic All-Big 12 First Team honors in 2021 and 2022 and was a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (fall 2019, spring 2020, fall 2020, spring 2021).
Joe Cook co-authored this story
