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Looking toward Texas football's future: Ty'Anthony Smith

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•about 9 hours•

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Ty'Anthony Smith
Ty'Anthony Smith (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

The 2025 Texas defense will once again have Anthony Hill Jr. and Liona Lefau anchoring the off-ball linebacker positions, but their backups will look a little different.

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Gone due to exhausted eligibility are Morice Blackwell and David Gbenda, the two players who were penciled in behind Hill Jr. and Lefau on the depth chart. Almost assured of taking over one of those spots is Ty’Anthony Smith, who posted a freshman season that looked better than the one Lefau posted during his first year on campus in 2023.

Smith, a freshman from Jasper, played in all 16 games with 16 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 0.5 sacks, and an interception he recorded versus Florida. He recorded 96 snaps on defense and 186 snaps on kick coverage, kick return, and punt return. In comparison, Lefau recorded seven tackles in 44 defensive snaps and 302 special teams snaps.

Smith arrived on campus a light 215 pounds and played five pounds heavier at 220. But like Lefau, Smith’s limitations were more physical than mental. His only game with more than 20 snaps was the Florida game where he played 25 snaps as Texas coasted to an easy win over the Gators. Smith posted five tackles plus his interception against the Gators, then would only play 25 defensive snaps the rest of the way.

The veteran players ahead of him had more to do with that than anything Smith was unable to do. Without Gbenda or Blackwell, the chance for Smith to be an impact player on the 2025 defense is more than available for the taking. As seen with other players, Smith’s special teams responsibilities may lighten as a result of increased defensive snaps. But if Blackwell could handle second-team linebacking and special teams duties, there’s no reason to doubt Smith can either.

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Texas did bring in an additional linebacker via the transfer portal in Brad Spence, but that’s an addition likely to help Smith as opposed to supplant him. Steve Sarkisian, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Johnny Nansen have four players with real college football experience at his disposal for the 2025 campaign, and while Smith is the most green, he’ll be a significant part of raising Texas’ defensive floor for year two in the Southeastern Conference.

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