Now or never: Fourth or fifth-year Texas Longhorns have something to prove in 2022

The Texas Longhorns’ 2018 and 2019 classes were ranked No. 4 and No. 3, respectively, in the On3 Consensus Team Rankings. The combined efforts of those two classes have not come close to approaching a consistent top-five product.

[Get a FREE 7-day trial of Inside Texas Plus!]

Most members of those classes have moved on from Texas. A handful have heard their names called in the NFL draft, but most elected to transfer to other schools both before and after the 2021 head coaching change. Some senior players elected to join the Longhorn program via the transfer portal for one last ride on the Forty Acres.

For the fourth- or fifth-year Longhorns on the 2022 roster, the upcoming season presents a final opportunity to post a successful season and help UT head coach Steve Sarkisian’s program march on a path toward a brighter future.

LB DeMarvion Overshown

“Being a fifth-year, I’ve taken it upon myself to make sure everybody knows that no matter what we did last year, the standard is the standard,” Overshown said at Big 12 Media Days. “We’re expecting to win, and that’s what we need to do.”

Overshown could find himself on the edge more often this season, and has the benefit of going through full slate of spring practices. That was something he had yet to complete as a linebacker at Texas. In what truly is a contract year for him, Agent Zero could utilize his versatility and tenacity to have his best year yet in burnt orange. He’ll be a mainstay in the defense this season no matter where he lines up.

RB Roschon Johnson

Johnson’s inclusion is peculiar, no doubt, but he’s here only because he qualifies as a fourth-year player. Though he’s long been respected in the locker room and among fans, this is the first season he enters as the unquestioned “alpha” of the Longhorn football team. His handling of both leadership and on-field responsibilities will be something to track as he works in tandem with Bijan Robinson.

LB Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey

Texas sought portal prospects on defense throughout the offseason, and Tucker-Dorsey joined Ryan Watts as the only additions made to Pete Kwiatkowski’s side of the ball. An FCS All-American, Tucker-Dorsey has bona fide football skill and good instincts. As he battles for snaps, his ability to translate those skills despite being undersized will determine how he fares in his season in burnt orange.

CB D’Shawn Jamison

Thanks to the COVID eligibility relief offered by the NCAA, Jamison has a chance to record a good super-senior season after a disappointing senior season. His work as a punt and kick returner has met expectations, and likely exceeded them, too. But his work as a cornerback left much to be desired in 2021. He recorded only one interception and was credited with a single pass defended. Those are numbers he must improve in 2022 in addition to providing more consistent play in coverage.

TE Jahleel Billingsley

After three seasons with the Alabama Crimson Tide, Billingsley reunites with his former offensive coordinator in Sarkisian and position coach in Jeff Banks. More slight of build at 6-foot-4, 219 pounds compared to his position mates, Billingsley’s best usage is likely that of a flex tight end hunting mismatches rather than a down-by-down, hand-in-the-dirt type. Whether he takes to that role quickly or ascends past it is something to track.

DB Anthony Cook

Cook has played in each of his previous four years on campus. He began his Texas career at corner, eventually moved to nickel, and now has moved further back from the line of scrimmage at safety. He has taken to the position well, but he is in a fierce battle with other younger players for the bulk of defensive snaps. How he fares in those battles will determine his conventional down playing time, but he should see a good number of snaps this year, if not be the starter.

WR Tarique Milton

The 2019 season was Milton’s best as a college player, accumulating 35 catches for 722 yards and three scores for the Iowa State Cyclones. In 2020 and 2021, he was supplanted by Xavier Hutchinson, who became the No. 1 target for Brock Pudry and the ISU passing attack. Milton’s numbers suffered as his catch total dipped to 15 in each the past two seasons. Milton elected to leave ISU, but still garnered praise from Matt Campbell at Big 12 Media Days. He is one of several talented transfers in the Texas receiver room, where he’ll have more competition than in Ames, Iowa for time on the field.

EDGE Ovie Oghoufo

“If it’s your last year and you’re trying to get to the NFL, you have a lot more urgency,” Oghoufo said at Big 12 Media Days. “They showed it. They brought it to the table. I think that leadership is the biggest key, and you can just tell how serious they’re taking it. It’s a whole other level. I think it’s not only for Keondre, Moro, it’s everybody on the team realizing that time is ticking and we have an excellent opportunity this year. We’re trying to capitalize.”

Oghoufo will play a key role as one of Texas’ EDGE linebackers in a role conducive to his strengths, and from his own words, it sounds like Oghoufo has a sense of urgency about him.

LB Devin Richardson

He’ll compete for time at linebacker, but he is likely to see more snaps either on special teams or in a specialty role as Texas’ fullback.

LB Jett Bush

Bush was woefully miscast as an EDGE defender last year, which in part contributed to Texas’ struggles versus outside runs. He is no longer asked to hold up versus offensive tackles and will offer depth at one of the two off-ball linebacker spots. He posted quality film against 6A competition as a middle linebacker for Strake Jesuit.

LB Luke Brockermeyer

Brockermeyer’s contributions will rely on how swiftly he has recovered from a torn ACL suffered toward the end of last season.

OL Christian Jones

With the influx of offensive line talent in the 2022 class on campus, Jones will have to fend off a few talented freshmen to continue to be a starter on the right side of the Texas line. Sarkisian and offensive line coach Kyle Flood moved Jones to the right side in spring, a spot the coaches believe offers Jones more comfort. Whether Jones remains a starter at either tackle or guard is dependent on his ability to fend off underclassmen linemen, but he should remain part of Flood’s top group of 7-8 linemen during the 2022 season.

OL Junior Angilau

Angilau is entrenched as one of the starters on the offensive line and has grown more vocal as his career has progressed. Like any other current O-lineman, he’ll have to stave off underclassmen usurpers but Angilau’s play and leadership make him one of the most difficult to unseat. An improvement in pass protection from the former option O-linemen would greatly help his pro prospects.

TE Brayden Liebrock

Liebrock has battled injury throughout his Texas career and did not play in the 2021 season. With transfers and young talent in his position group, playing time could be exceedingly difficult to come by for the fourth-year junior from Arizona

DL T’Vondre Sweat
DL Moro Ojomo
DL Keondre Coburn

All three senior defensive linemen enter this season with a grip on their current starting or near-starting roles, but calling that grip firm would be a misnomer. Ojomo has been consistent for the Longhorns but rarely spectacular. Coburn and Sweat have slimmed down some, but that’s a relative statement considering each tip the scales at 340 pounds. All three have drawn praise behind the scenes for their work over the summer, but all three have yet to put it together game-after-game-after-game in the manner the Texas defense requires to be a competent unit. If they aren’t up to the task, there are players there ready and waiting to take over.

WR Jordan Whittington

There is one question when it comes to Whittington: can he stay healthy? Whittington shows promise every time he is on the field, but injuries have cut into his playing time in 2019, 2020, and 2021. He spoke during the spring about how much care he puts into his body in order to stay on the field. If he can be on the field for the majority of snaps, an All-Conference caliber season is not out of the question.

LB David Gbenda

Most remember Roschon Johnson’s 2019 switch to running back, but Gbenda also made a temporary switch to offense during the early portions of that season. He eventually returned to defense, and while he sometimes showcased his athleticism, processing was difficult for the two-game starter. He’s competing at Sam linebacker with Tucker-Dorsey.