Texas DL T'Vondre Sweat named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year
Texas senior defensive lineman T’Vondre Sweat was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, the Big 12 Conference announced on Wednesday.
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The 6-foot-4, 362-pound senior from Huntsville (Texas) has destroyed offensive lines opposite him all season. In the middle of the defensive line for Texas, Sweat has been a critical part of the nation’s fifth best rushing defense, the top third down defense, and one of the best red zone defenses in the sport.
The Central Texas product has tallied 40 tackles, 8.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks, seven hurries, four pass breakups, and a blocked kick not only has been key in getting the Longhorns back to the Big 12 Championship game, it also has him up for a number of individual honors.
With Sweat being the anchor in the middle of the defensive interior, Texas held five consecutive opponents – Houston, BYU, Kansas State, TCU, and Iowa State – to under 100 rushing yards, the Horns’ longest such streak since 2018. In 2023, the Longhorns have held seven opponents to fewer than 100 yards on the ground.
Sweat and the Longhorns defense rank eighth in the nation and lead the Big 12 Conference, yielding only 90.1 rushing yards per game. Texas also leads the Big 12 in third-down defense (26.5 percent) and red zone defense (66.7 percent) and, ranking second and third in the nation, respectively, and tops the conference in scoring defense (18.4 ppg).
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“I’m really just worried about winning the Big 12 right now,” Sweat told reporters on Monday. “Then, all the other stuff will come.”
Sweat could join Scott Appleton, Tommy Nobis, and Brad Shearer as Outland Trophy winners as Sweat was named an Outland finalist on Tuesday. Plus, a few of his teammates already think the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award belongs to No. 93.
Sweat has also been named a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, honoring college football’s best defensive player.
