94 days until Texas Football: Jaray Bledsoe provides explosive versatility along the defensive line
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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In addition, we’ll look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is 94 days until kickoff. No. 94 will be worn in 2023 by Jaray Bledsoe, a redshirt freshman defensive lineman
Jaray Bledsoe season outlook
Bledsoe benefitted greatly from enrolling early ahead of the 2022 season. Even though he saw action in just one game, the physical development and time learning the defensive system set him up for opportunity in his second year on campus.
Texas knows what it has at Jack, or strongside defensive end, in Barryn Sorrell. Behind him, the picture is not as clear. In a search for answers, Steve Sarkisian and Pete Kwiatkowski tinkered with playing the 6-foot-4, 266-pounder on the EDGE. At times during the spring he acquitted himself well and even earned praise from Sarkisian as one of the most gifted athletes on the team.
“I think there’s some position flexibility in Jaray Bledsoe,” Sarkisian said in March.
However, Bledsoe to the EDGE was tinkering. His regular home is with Bo Davis and the interior defensive lineman as a 3-tech, a place he was seen throughout the media viewing portions of spring drills. Bledsoe provides explosive athleticism that maybe one or two others in the defensive tackle room possess.
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He’ll be a part of the competition to join Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat in the four-man interior defensive lineman rotation, but he could also spell Sorrell on occasion. Plus, with his position flexibility, he could be utilized in Texas’ pass rush/third down personnel packages.
There should be far more than one game’s worth of opportunity for the uber-athletic Bledsoe in 2023.
Bledsoe has one career tackle. He is a two-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll (spring 2022, fall 2022).
Jaray Bledsoe as a recruit
Bledsoe was ranked as the No. 145 overall prospect, the No. 19 defensive lineman, and the No. 23 player in Texas in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.
Most recent wearer of No. 94: Gerald Wilbon
Wilbon, a 6-foot-3, 325-pound member of Texas’ class of 2016, tallied 19 tackles, 0.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery in 35 career games.
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All-Americans to wear No. 94:
Michael Pollack, K, 1990
Steve Habel contributed to this article
