IT Answers: Addition of Johnny Nansen leads under-the-radar Texas football offseason developments
Members of Inside Texas gave their thoughts on what they believed to be the most under-the-radar offseason development ahead of the Texas Longhorns’ first season in the Southeastern Conference. Here’s what the Inside Texas staff believed to be the most consequential moves made to understated fanfare this offseason.
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Eric Nahlin – Entering Spring ball IT mentioned Cameron Williams would have to earn the right tackle spot and that he might have some competition. It turned out competition wasn’t needed as Williams cemented his starting spot at the outset of camp and never looked back. That isn’t to say he’s the perfect player but Texas feels it has another NFL offensive lineman to replace the NFL offensive lineman it just lost. Williams does need to continue to refine his technique and stay balanced against speed rushers he’ll face but he’s on a good developmental trend line and looks ready to hit the ground running as the full time starter.
Justin Wells – The newfound depth at EDGE. From adding Trey Moore, to signing Colin Simmons, to the continued development of Ethan Burke and Barryn Sorrell, the Texas pass-rush is a legitimate strength in 2024 because of the added talent and depth.
Ian Boyd – The addition of Johnny Nansen to the staff was a much more consequential addition than has been popularly discussed or realized, especially outside of Inside Texas. He’s a longtime, trusted colleague of Steve Sarkisian and comes to Texas with recruiting connections on the West Coast, with the Pacific Islander community, and he’s coming with a co-defensive coordinator title that will give him say in how the Longhorn defense comes together this season. Nansen has a lot of creative ideas about defense that are different than how things have typically been done in Austin. Both in the offseason as well as this coming season, Nansen could be positioned to have a lot of sway in how Texas’ defense approaches a huge year.
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Joe Cook – I’m a little surprised Justin didn’t go with no major injuries, something I expected to see from him. And while I’ll admit Nansen’s addition was a big one, I’m going to look toward the offense. Sarkisian calls quarterback the most important position in sports. Texas had a great offseason there but there’s no way anything related to Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning is under-the-radar. Sarkisian calls tight end the second most important position in his offense, and the continued reliable play from Gunnar Helm gives Sarkisian versatility in his offense and a quality pass-catcher defenses have to worry about. There were nice developments from Juan Davis, Amari Niblack, and Jordan Washington as well, marking a strong offseason for a position asked to do a lot of dirty work even after the loss of Ja’Tavion Sanders.
Charlie Williams – The hire of Johnny Nansen. Familiarity with Sarkisian and Nansen’s own X’s and O’s expertise as a defensive coordinator should help the Texas defense this year.
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Paul Wadlington – Bringing in Johnny Nansen from Arizona was hardly under the radar, but while much of the discussion was centered around his recruiting acumen, West Coast connections and ability to coach the linebacker unit, his best attribute might be the ability to enrich the defensive side of the ball with new ideas and act as a sounding board to Pete Kwiatkowski. The Wildcats performed well with fairly mediocre defensive talent on the strength of unique personnel groupings, novel defenses from week to week, complexity and flexibility. That innovative approach can only benefit Texas, particularly given the defense’s depth and differing types of personnel. In big games, sometimes a defensive wrinkle or unique grouping can be the difference in a win or loss.
