Jahdae Barron, Barryn Sorrell, Anthony Hill as returning starters give the Texas defense a leg up
Texas’ ascension into the upper echelon of college football has been a step by step process, and there is no unit on the Longhorns that more exemplifies that rise than its defense.
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The team’s ability to make stops and to stifle opposing offenses’ in the Big 12 Conference last year helped Texas produce its first league title since 2009. The momentum created by the Longhorns has carried over into the offseason, with the 40 Acres becoming the place to be for discerning players in the transfer portal.
But the foundation of what the Longhorns hope to create from its defense as it battles to meet the new challenges faced by their move into the Southeastern Conference is in the team’s returning starters.
Yes, there are a handful of prominent players from last year’s Texas team that have moved on, either to the NFL or via the transfer portal. The Longhorns’ ability to fill those openings while developing players into starters or quality role players for depth are just a few of goals for coach Steve Sarkisian, defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and the rest of the Texas staff between now and September.
“I’ve been doing this for 35 years,” Kwiatkowski said in the runup to the Allstate Sugar Bowl. “There’s great seasons and then there’s tough seasons. It always comes back to football is football. Don’t make it more than it is and stick to the process of getting better.”
Seven of the players who started for Texas in its CFP semifinal loss to eventual national runner-up Washington in the Allstate Sugar Bowl are returning for the Longhorns for next season.
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Here are the players the Longhorns have coming back defense, a list that includes both EDGE rushers (Barryn Sorrell and Ethan Burke), starting safeties (Derek Williams and Michael Taaffe), two linebackers that started and made huge contributions last season (David Gbenda and Anthony Hill), and Texas’ likely leader on and off the field in 2024, defensive back Jahdae Barron.
Tausili Akana, EDGE (1 game played, 0 career starts, 0 consecutive starts)
Jahdae Barron, DB (41, 23, 7)
Morice Blackwell Jr., LB (33, 11, 0)
Jaray Bledsoe, DL (9, 0, 0)
Terrance Brooks, DB (23, 9, 1)
Vernon Broughton, DL (40, 2, 0)
Aaron Bryant, DL (10, 0, 0)
Ethan Burke, EDGE (24, 9, 3)
Alfred Collins, DL (48, 12, 0)
Justice Finkley, EDGE (26, 0, 0)
David Gbenda, LB (47, 12, 0)
Jaylon Guilbeau, DB (16, 4, 0)
Anthony Hill Jr., LB (14, 7, 3)
Gavin Holmes, DB (14, 2, 0)
Austin Jordan, DB (26, 0, 0)
Liona Lefau, LB (14, 0, 0)
Jelani McDonald, DB (12, 0, 0)
Sydir Mitchell, DL (4, 0, 0)
Malik Muhammad, DB (14, 1, 0)
Warren Roberson, DB (1, 0, 0)
Barryn Sorrell, EDGE (33, 24, 14)
Zac Swanson, DL (3, 0, 0)
Michael Taaffe, DB (27, 10, 8)
J’Mond Tapp, EDGE (9, 0, 0)
Billy Walton III, EDGE (3, 0, 0)
Derek Williams Jr., DB (13, 0, 0)
