88 days until Texas Football: Projecting the 2023 season for Barryn Sorrell and Casey Cain

Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s 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 for 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 88 days until kickoff. No. 88 will be worn this season by Barryn Sorrell, a junior EDGE, and Casey Cain, a sophomore wide receiver.

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Barryn Sorrell 2023 season outlook

The EDGE position for Texas has a lot of unknowns heading into 2023, but Sorrell functions as one of the knowns. The New Orleans native started 10 games last year, lead the team in sacks, and was part of a defensive front that enjoyed a strong season in 2022 after a middling-at-best 2021.

After amassing only 93 snaps on defense in 2021, Sorrell played 577 snaps in 2022. He was credited with 22 hurries and three quarterback hits by Pro Football Focus to go along with his 5.5 sacks. He provided a steady presence at the Jack position Texas lacked during Steve Sarkisian’s first season.

Sorrell may not become an All-American pass rusher, but he sets a good floor at the position versus both the run and pass alongside the interior defensive line duo of T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy that will make life tough on opposing O-lines. He’ll be asked to play a key role and deliver often in 2023, just as he was in 2022.

Sorrell has played in 19 games and started in 10 of those in his first two seasons on the 40 Acres. He’s amassed 51 total tackles, 19 of them solo, over the past two years and showed out last year, when he racked up 44 stops (16 of them solo), nine tackles for a loss, 5.5 sacks for 46 total lost yards, a pass defended and a forced fumble.

His 2022 production earned him honorable mention All-Big 12 selection by the league’s coaches. Sorrell was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team last year and is a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (fall 2021, fall 2022).

Barryn Sorrell as a recruit

Sorrell was ranked as the No. 646 overall prospect, the No. 68 EDGE, and the No. 21 player in Louisiana in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking.

Casey Cain season outlook

A redshirt season in 2021 was followed by an elevation to Texas’ WR3 in 2022. A preseason injury to Isaiah Neyor may have had something to do with that, but Cain put himself into position to contribute after a year spent with the scout team.

Cain’s opportunities weren’t great in number in 2022 considering Texas’ affinity for 12 personnel. When Andrej Karic would take the field, Cain would exit to leave Xavier Worthy and Jordan Whittington in formation.

Texas is likely to play more 11 personnel this year with three wide receivers. Cain finished his 2022 with a flourish in the Alamo Bowl. Riding that momentum would be to his benefit, especially with Neyor working back to full health and Georgia transfer AD Mitchell at his position.

Mitchell, Cain, and Neyor should battle for the boundary wide receiver spot in camp. The result of that battle will determine Cain’s workload in 2023, but it should solidify him further as a player Texas will have no problem placing in the two-deep.

Cain has played in 13 games and started three in his two-year career at Texas, all last season in his redshirt freshman campaign. He had eight catches for 201 yards and established career highs with four receptions for 108 yards with a career-long 49-yard reception in the Alamo Bowl against Washington, producing the ninth time 100-yard receiving in a bowl game in program history by a Longhorn.

Cain was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Second Team in 2022 after being a member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll a year earlier.

Casey Cain as a recruit

Cain was ranked as the No. 824 overall prospect, the No. 121 wide receiver, and the No. 27 prospect in Louisiana in the 2021 On3 Industry Ranking.

Notable No. 88: Cedric Reed

Reed and his fearsome facemask tallied 180 total tackles from 2011 to 2014. He had 33 TFL, 18.5 sacks, and six forced fumbles in his Texas career.

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All-Americans to wear No. 88:

Cotton Speyrer, WR, 1969-70