47 days until Texas Football: Why 4.7 is a number to know for the Longhorn defense
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 47 days until kickoff. No. 47 for the Longhorns this season will be worn by Charles Feris, a sophomore walk-on kicker. We’ll also look at the Texas defense and why 4.7 is an important number to know for the Longhorns.
The importance of yards per play allowed
Last season, Texas was No. 53 in the country in total defense and allowed 368.4 yards per game. While that was an improvement from the abysmal 2021 campaign where the Longhorns allowed 425.6 yards per game, the barely upper-third standing in the metric seemingly leaves a lot to be desired.
Before Scipio Tex has an aneurysm, total defense is a metric with some merit but with more faults. No. 54? Not that great. But what if Texas was in the top 20 in a far more credible statistic?
The above graph is sorted by average yards per play allowed. Instead of a ranking in the 50s, Texas is No. 16 in this metric and No. 2 in the Big 12 behind Iowa State.
As the graph shows, the number that sets the top 10 apart from everyone else is 4.7. Teams that allowed opponents 4.7 yards or fewer per play in 2022 boasted some of the best defenses in the country.
What went into that 4.9 average for Texas? A stiff front led by a rotation at defensive tackle that made running the football difficult for opponents. Sure, there were breakaway instances and some teams got the better of Pete Kwiatkowski’s side of the ball. But opponents could only manage 3.5 yards per attempt on the ground. That figure ranked No. 26 in the country.
Further strides can be made. Texas is a statistical outlier among the top 20 in yards per play allowed in opponent completions, passing attempts, and yards. Some of that is reflective of the passing attacks UT faced during the 2022 campaign.
But Texas’ 4.9 yards per play allowed ranked among the best in the country.
How can Texas join the nationally elite in 2023? If that figure drops to 4.7 or lower.
Recent player to wear No. 47: Luke Brockermeyer
Brockermeyer, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship in September 2019, played in 28 games in his five seasons on the 40 Acres with 10 starts. He amassed 64 tackles, 34 of them solo, 3.5 tackles for a loss, two interceptions and three passes defended in his career.
Brockermeyer was named All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2021, the same year he was a Burlsworth Trophy nominee. He earned Academic All-Big 12 Second Team honors in 2021 and 2022 and was a five-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (fall 2020, spring 2021, fall 2021, spring 2022, fall 2022).
He is currently a graduate assistant at TCU.
Steve Habel co-authored this story
