Steve Sarkisian on what Trill Carter brings to the Longhorn defense

Texas faced an average of 77 snaps per game last year, with several instances where the Longhorn defense was on the field for over 100 plays. Throughout all those contests, Bo Davis‘ interior defensive linemen presented significant challenges for opposing O-lines and made early down run gains hard to come by.

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Davis and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski deployed a four-man rotation at defensive tackle last year made up of Keondre Coburn, Moro Ojomo, Byron Murphy, and T’Vondre Sweat. While Coburn and Ojomo were typically the starters, each tackle saw a similar amount of standard down playing time.

Coburn averaged 32 snaps per game, Ojomo averaged 29, Murphy averaged 30, and Sweat averaged 36. That almost 50-50 split, plus a few interspersed snaps from Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins, allowed Texas to keep its defensive tackles fresh game-to-game. It likely earned the Longhorns at least one win, too, as Coburn recorded the game-clinching sack and forced fumble late in the fourth quarter versus Kansas State in Manhattan.

For the 2023 Longhorns, Ojomo and Coburn are no longer options as both heard their names called in the 2023 NFL draft. Murphy and Sweat return, and both are likely to be the starters.

Sarkisian, Kwiatkowski, Davis, and all involved would like to maintain the ability to deploy four starter-quality players at both iDL positions. Broughton and Collins could inherit many of the snaps once allocated to Ojomo and Coburn, but Texas saw the need to add another candidate to the position group via the recent portal window.

That’s where Minnesota transfer Trill Carter enters the picture. Carter, a 6-foot-2, 300-pounder out of Leesburg (Ga.) Crisp County, committed to Texas on April 17.

An On3 Industry Ranking three-star prospect in the class of 2019, Carter tallied 19 tackles with 2.0 for loss and 1.5 sacks in 2022. He was an All-Big 10 honorable mention for a Golden Gopher team that finished 9-4 and defeated Syracuse in the Pinstripe Bowl. Carter has his senior season plus the year of eligibility relief afforded by the NCAA due to the COVID-19 pandemic left to play.

Speaking at a Texas Exes event in San Antonio last week, Sarkisian was asked about what he was looking for in the portal in order to bolster the defensive line. Carter’s addition has not been officially announced by the program yet, but Sarkisian detailed Texas’ need and how Carter fills it.

“I think it was helpful,” Sarkisian said last week. “We wanted to get some experience at that position. I do think we have some really quality young players that are going to be very good. We were monitoring the portal. As you guys know, we don’t just go in the portal and if there’s a good player, we take him. It’s more about a fit and need, so we were trying to find a veteran, experienced interior defensive lineman who is a quality player, and we were able to do that.”

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Carter arrives with 56 career tackles, many of those recorded in Big 10 competition. According to Pro Football Focus, Carter had a season-long average grade in 2022 of 62.3 with an average run defense grade of 65.4.

For comparison, Ojomo’s season-long average grade was 90.7. Coburn posted a mark of 77.7. Sweat received a grade of 79.1. Murphy possessed as solid 82.4 mark.

The players Carter will likely compete with for playing time are Broughton and Collins. In 243 snaps last year, Collins posted an average grade of 68.6. Broughton was issued a 62.1 average across 223 snaps.

Someone from that quartet will need to raise their game in order to provide the Longhorn defense with another formidable four-man rotation on interior front. Plus, there are additional options like true freshman Sydir Mitchell or redshirt freshmen Jaray Bledsoe, Aaron Bryant, and Zac Swanson who could surge in the summer and earn snaps.

That group may not need to account for as many snaps considering the new clock rules in the NCAA. However, the rotation was successful last year as it was a key aspect behind the Longhorns’ 18th-ranked mark of 4.8 yards per play allowed, and Sarkisian is likely to want to continue utilizing it.

Carter was brought in to provide another player who could fill roles left vacant by professional departures by Ojomo and Coburn, one with plenty of experience in Power 5 football who fit just what the Longhorns were looking for.