80 days until Texas Football: Ryan Niblett looks to translate track skills to the gridiron
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 80 days until kickoff. No one has been assigned No. 80 for the Longhorns this season so we will profile 2023 signee Ryan Niblett.
Ryan Niblett season outlook
Along with Tre Wisner, Niblett committed to Texas ahead of the 2022 Orange-White game. He remained committed to the Longhorns, even after a late flirtation with Houston.
Niblett possessed explosiveness and speed few others in the Houston area could match. He was a state finalist in 2023 in the long jump finishing 6th in 6A with a personal record leap of 22-8.75 (+0.9 m/s). He also triple jumped 46-8 in his high school career. He had several speedy non-wind-legal times, like a 10.41 100m with a +3.6 m/s wind. His best wind-legal times were a 10.78 100m run into a -1.4 m/s wind and a 21.52 200m.
On the football field for Eisenhower, Niblett did it all. He played multiple positions for Ike including quarterback, defensive back, and returner. He focused on receiver his senior year, hauling in 55 catches for 1088 yards and 10 touchdowns.
His film gave a glimpse into where he excels and where he needs improvement. Eisenhower got the ball in his hands savvily. They messed with rules of opposing defenses to get him one-on-one opportunities. Sometimes he would blow by the defender, other times his QB would get the ball in his hands quickly and let him work via screens or handoffs.
What his film didn’t show a lot of was crisp route-running ability. As a slot or even as a field receiver, the ability to combine his athleticism with football skill will tell the tale of his Texas career.
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His services may not be needed on standard downs in 2023 as Jordan Whittington has the slot position held down, and DeAndre Moore saw plenty of action behind J-Whitt in camp. At field, Xavier Worthy is WR1 and has both experienced players and talented freshmen there with him.
Niblett could factor in at return, and that might be a smart utilization. To see the field on conventional downs, plenty of work refining his game with Chris Jackson is the key.
Ryan Niblett as a recruit
Niblett was ranked as the No. 66 overall prospect, the No. 11 wide receiver, and the No. 12 player in Texas in the 2023 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
Recent player to wear No. 80: Cade Brewer
Brewer played in 55 career games with 33 starts in his five years on the 40 Acres. He ranks sixth among UT tight ends in career receptions (59), 10th in receiving yards (611) and fourth in receiving touchdowns (eight).
Brewer earned All-Big 12 honorable mention in 2021 and was a six-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (fall 2017; spring 2018, spring 2020, fall 2020, spring 2021, fall 2021).
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All-Americans to wear No. 80
Alex Okafor, DE, 2011
Tim Crowder, DE, 2006
Malcolm Kutner, SE, 1941
Joe Cook co-authored this story.
