End of season superlatives for the Texas Longhorns

With the Texas football season in the books, it’s time for Inside Texas to offer superlatives for the 2022 campaign.

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The honors include MVP, offensive player of the year, defensive player of the year, newcomer of the year on both sides of the ball, and assistant coach of the year.

Without further ado…

MVP and Offensive Player of the Year: Bijan Robinson

Bijan Robinson capped his three-year Texas career by recording 1894 yards from scrimmage and 20 total touchdowns on his way to taking home the 2022 Doak Walk Award, given annually to the nation’s top running back. He moved up to fourth on the school’s all-time rushing leaderboard and became the program’s 23rd unanimous All-American.

Without Robinson, the Longhorn offense does not find near as much success as it did this past season. He was critical in wins versus Kansas State, Baylor, and Oklahoma, and made key play after key play for Texas during its 8-5 campaign.

He’s the clear choice for MVP and OPOY, and will likely hear his name in the early rounds of the NFL draft.

Defensive Player of the Year: Jaylan Ford

To start the season, Ford recorded zero tackles versus ULM. In the next 12 games, Ford tallied 119 tackles with 10.0 for loss, 2.0 sacks, four interceptions, two passes defended, two fumble recoveries, and three forced fumbles.

Ford was the playmaker in the Texas defense alongside DeMarvion Overshown. Ford was snubbed for Big 12 defensive player of the year, but did receive third-team All-America honors and first-team All-Big 12 recognition from the Associated Press.

Texas’ entire defense showed improvement in year two under defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, and much of that improvement was due in large part to the play of Ford at middle linebacker.

Offensive Newcomer of the Year: Kelvin Banks

Banks’ status as the starting left tackle for the Longhorns had to be earned in training camp, but it was earned quickly and the Humble (Texas) Summer Creek product lined up protecting Quinn Ewers‘ blindside in game one.

He faced a test the very next game versus Alabama in Will Anderson and Dallas Turner, and Banks passed it with flying colors.

Even as a true freshman, Banks was arguably the most consistent player on the Longhorn offensive line. Maybe Mike Gundy said it best when talking about Banks’ talent: “Good news, he won’t be there but three years. He’ll be gone.”

Defensive Newcomer of the Year: Ryan Watts

After his transfer from Ohio State, Watts settled into the boundary corner spot on the Longhorn defense. He not only played solid against opponents’ top receiving targets, but also against their rushers.

Aside from his unfortunate missed sack of Bryce Young versus Alabama, Watts made plenty of plays this season. He had 51 tackles with 4.0 for loss and 1.0 sack, plus one interception and three passes defended.

Watts will be a consistent presence in the Texas secondary next season. His first year at Texas was arguably the biggest highlight from a member of UT’s 2022 transfer class.

Assistant Coach of the Year: Jeff Choate

Choate’s purview is the inside linebacker position, and Texas’ ILBs put together this stat line.

Jaylan Ford: 119 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 2.0 sacks. 4 INT, 2 passes defended, 2 fumble recoveries, three forced fumbles, first-team All-Big 12

DeMarvion Overshown: 96 tackles, 10.0 TFL, 4.0 sacks, 5 passes defended, first-team All-Big 12

That duo helped to make the middle of the Texas defense tough for opponents to work around, even though offenses try to pick on linebackers constantly in the modern game. That duo constantly answered the bell, with one or both typically leading the team in tackles on a game to game basis.

In addition to Ford and Overshown, Choate helped Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey play well in back-up duty after he transferred from FCS James Madison.

From where the position was after 2021 to where it ended at the conclusion of the 2022 season, Choate’s work makes him the easy choice for assistant coach of the year.