How will the Texas safety room hold up with two starters likely out against Vanderbilt?

The Texas defense has played at an elite level this season and that is due in large part to safety play. Steve Sarkisian has brought up the depth that his program has acquired via efforts from Pete Kwiatkowski, Terry Joseph, and Blake Gideon many times. With the safety room likely further depleted on Saturday, Texas fans should see the depth reveal itself against Vanderbilt.

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Last Saturday against Georgia, Texas lost valued transfer Andrew Mukuba in the second half. He has been a massive impact player for the Longhorns as a steady and reliable presence in the back end of the defense. So far in 2024 he has been credited with 25 tackles (6th most for Texas), three pass breakups, and two interceptions. While there hasn’t been an official ruling on his availability for Saturday (Mukuba was listed as doubtful on Wednesday night), Texas will certainly miss his presence if it does have to play without him.

Normally when talking about the depth shining through, it’s about filling a position via depth and having a second-string player step up in a big moment. This is not a normal scenario. If Texas is indeed missing Mukuba on Saturday, the Longhorns will be without two safeties that have started multiple games this year.

Derek Williams Jr. was lost for the season and that’s not something to be glossed over. Together Williams and Mukuba could easily be the starting safety tandem at just about any school in America. Williams has accounted for 11 total tackles, one interception, and one forced fumble. They are the 10th and 11th best safeties in the SEC according to PFF (minimum 90 snaps) and both will possibly be in street clothes in Nashville if they even travel because of SEC roster limits.

But Texas will have the services of two players not yet mentioned: starter Michael Taaffe and key contributor turned likely starter Jelani McDonald.

Taaffe is having a fantastic season that has him as the 4th highest graded safety in the SEC and the 17th highest graded safety in all of college football. So far in 2024 he has accounted for 33 tackles (T-3 for Texas), three pass breakups, 2.5 tackles for loss, and one sack.

He has been a menace to opposing offenses with his excellent knowledge on the field. If there was a quarterback for the Texas defense, this is the guy.

McDonald might not have seen as much playing time as Taaffe and Mukuba, but he has played more compared to Williams. McDonald has 147 total snaps while Williams has seen 98 this year. Those plays have largely been to step up and fill in for an oft-injured Williams, though there have been some big nickel plays where McDonald was needed versus Michigan and Georgia.

McDonald has been comparatively light as far as box score production goes, but he has (according to PFF) made every single attempted tackle. He’s produced three run stops and allowed zero receptions in coverage. McDonald is an extremely athletic player who will be hard to take off the field if he is producing quality snaps. He can run just about as fast as any player with excellent range of motion, all while delivering linebacker level hits that will leave the crowd ooo-ing and ahh-ing.

While only likely starters for Saturday have been mentioned so far, they will be far from the only players to see action at safety. The player that will likely fill a depth role on Saturday will be Jordon Johnson-Rubell. The talented true freshman getting an opportunity against Vanderbilt could be looked back on in 2-3 years as the first true sign of another solid defender in the burnt orange and white.

So far Johnson-Rubell has been limited to mostly garbage time snaps against backups, and he has done well in that time. Saturday will be a different type of football game when he is on the field. Texas may have a decent lead, or they could even be trailing when he is playing against the Vanderbilt starters. Either way, fans are going to get a glimpse into the future when Johnson-Rubell enters the field of play.

Finally but the furthest from least valuable of players that may see snaps at safety is Jahdae Barron. The Texas fan favorite player has had a fantastic season. He is the highest graded defensive back in the SEC, the 4th highest graded defensive back nationally, and the highest graded cornerback nationally.

While he has played corner for Texas in 2024, the Longhorns may need to call on his versatility and have him play snaps at safety. Though he primarily played nickel through the majority of his career snaps, he has a good bit of safety in his background and has been trained there.

Players like Gavin Holmes aren’t safeties, but his ability to slide in for Barron could potentially be needed this Saturday.

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The Texas defensive back room as a whole is going to need to step up as the Horns begin to feel the wear and tear of a football season concentrated on the back end of the defense. It will be interesting to watch how this effects a Texas team that possibly has the best passing defense in the nation. Usually an opponent like Vanderbilt would be an off-week for the Texas squad, but this isn’t a normal year and will provide the team with a solid test Saturday afternoon.