The Texas Longhorns All-Mid 2020s team

Believe it or not, the Texas Longhorns have played five seasons in the 2020s, and five more remain before the 2030s roll around.

[Join Inside Texas TODAY and get FOUR MONTHS for just ONE DOLLAR!]

Texas football has seen multiple types of campaigns, from above average bowl seasons, to a losing year, to several trips to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Great players have been part of every year, but which players have been the best at their respective positions in the 2020s?

Inside Texas looks through the All-Mid 2020s Texas Longhorns.

All-Mid 2020s offense

QB – Quinn Ewers
RB – Bijan Robinson
RB – Jonathon Brooks
WR – Xavier Worthy
WR – Matthew Golden
WR – Adonai Mitchell
TE – Ja’Tavion Sanders
OT – Kelvin Banks
OT – Christian Jones
OG – DJ Campbell
OG – Hayden Conner
OC – Jake Majors
AP – Roschon Johnson

One of the conundrums in putting this piece together was comparing a singular high-caliber season with several years of quality play, and the quarterback position immediately presented a major challenge in this exercise. Sam Ehlinger‘s 2020 saw him account for 34 total touchdowns in 10 games, and there was an argument to be made that his career would have been better with players like the ones Texas boasts today. While that may be true, what was in front of us was in front of us, and Ewers played long stretches of great football and was critical in Texas’ efforts to reach back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinals.

Running back was a challenge until the option of the all-purpose player became evident. This team had to have Robinson. This team had to have Brooks. This team had to have Johnson. The all-purpose designation seemed appropriate for RoJo.

Wide receiver was relatively easy despite some one-year stints in burnt orange. All three of those players were first- or second-round talents and played important roles in meaningful Texas games, even if they only had one season of opportunity to do so. Jordan Whittington unfortunately was snubbed as a result.

There’s a case for Gunnar Helm at tight end, a strong one even. But Sanders got the nod for his two-year stretch of great play compared to one season for Helm in the spotlight.

Bowl game opt-outs were not penalized, but regular season opt-outs were. It was exceedingly difficult not to reward Sam Cosmi with a spot on this team opposite Banks at tackle, especially since he was an All-American in 2020. But he only played eight games, tallied 605 snaps, and opted out of the last regular season game of the 2020 season. Jones played 3196 offensive snaps this half decade.

The interior of the offensive line was easy.

All-Mid 2020s defense

DE – Barryn Sorrell
DE – Joseph Ossai
DT – T’Vondre Sweat
DT – Byron Murphy
LB – Jaylan Ford
LB – Anthony Hill
LB – DeMarvion Overshown
S – Michael Taaffe
S – Andrew Mukuba
CB – Jahdae Barron
CB – Ryan Watts
DB – Anthony Cook

DE was surprisingly easy. Sorrell provided three seasons of quality play at the position while Ossai was another All-American in 2020. Though Colin Simmons has a bright future and stands a good chance of unseating Ossai for the full-decade team, this All-American was not getting left off. Check the numbers, as Ossai’s total in nine games is close to what Simmons did splitting time at the position in 16 contests.

Linebacker was one of the easiest positions in this exercise. Are you an All-American? Yes? Then you’re on this list. Did you play a critical role in three of the five defenses fielded so far this decade? Yes? Welcome Agent 0.

The 512 secondary of Taaffe, Mukuba, and Barron all earned spots on this list. Barron has been a staple in the defensive backfield but his 2024 would be enough to gain entry. A rotating cast of characters at safety landed on excellence this past season, with Taaffe and Mukuba making life nearly impossible for passing defenses alongside Barron. Watts joins at corner, leaving the one unattached DB spot. Since Barron is already at CB, Cook earned the nod at DB for his yeoman’s work at Star in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Caden Sterns was considered for safety and DB

[Order THE LONGHORN ALPHABET today and teach your little ones the A to Z’s of Texas Football!]

All-Mid 2020s special teams

PR – Xavier Worthy
KR – Keilan Robinson

Worthy was an All-American at punt returner and Robinson gets the nod over D’Shawn Jamison at kick returner.

K – Cameron Dicker
P – Cameron Dicker

Dicker the Kicker was always going to be the kicker. Ryan Sanborn provided stiff competition for punter, but Dicker’s high-quality 2021 at the position while also kicking gave him the specialists pedestal to himself.

What do you think of the list? Sound off on the Inside Texas Members Only board.