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The unsung heroes of the 2024 Texas Longhorns

by:Justin Nash•12/29/24
Silas Bolden
Silas Bolden (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Much has been made about the many stars that play for this Texas Longhorns football team, but the brighter they shine, the more overlooked some of the others become. This piece will aim to shine the light on a few of these players.

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OFFENSE

In a world where Isaiah Bond is healthy, Matthew Golden is probably deserving of appearing in this article. However he has stepped up as a legit WR1 threat for the Longhorns. DeAndre Moore Jr. would normally fit as well, but he has received a ton of praise for filling the Jordan Whittington role in the offense. Deservedly so too.

That leaves us with Silas Bolden, who has been a huge part of this Texas team’s success.

Bolden has often interjected needed momentum through his exciting punt returns even though they don’t always result in a big play. However, Bolden has found a way to provide a much-needed gain or a flat-out culture play at a critical time. Think of his third-and-a-mile first-down reception versus Vanderbilt, or the Oklahoma game where a fumbled ball about to be recovered by Danny Stutsman is instead jumped on by Bolden for a touchdown despite starting the play 40-plus yards away, or his critical catches versus Clemson.

The list goes on, and for that Bolden deserves some more love because Texas might not be at this stage without those plays.

The big fellas often get overlooked, but this next deserving player isn’t a “starter.”

Cole Hutson has provided Texas a valuable extra guard. Hutson has allowed zero sacks and zero hits on his QBs in 333 snaps. Texas needed him as recently as the Clemson game when Jake Majors was knocked out and Hayden Conner moved to center. Texas can afford to do that because of a player like Hutson.

In addition, if DJ Campbell is struggling or needs a breather, Hutson can slide in without missing a beat and in some cases bring the level of play up. It is often said that you don’t want to hear the names of the OL because it usually means they are messing up.

Good thing Hutson has been a ghost in the best possible way.

DEFENSE

It is downright hard to truly find a player on the defense that hasn’t had their praises sung, so here are a few of the guys that hear some praise but deserve more.

For the most part if you play the edge or are a defensive back for the Texas Longhorns, you have likely heard a lot of praise this season.

Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins are getting love but the depth at DT has been critical this year. There are also a few linebackers who have contributed greatly but get overlooked.

Starting with the defensive tackles, Jermayne Lole and Bill Norton are perfect examples of using the portal correctly. Texas needed to fill depth at DT and these guys have been everything and more that Steve Sarkisian could have asked for. Lole has the 14th most snaps for the Longhorn defense with 382. He has accumulated 14 run stops for Texas out of 18 tackles in a year where UT boasts a top 10 rush defense.

Another big part of that effective depth is Norton. Look at the fourth down stops Texas has made this year and you will often see Norton making crucial plays whether they show up on the box score or not. Without these two transfers, this run defense may have been too weak in the depth department. Not so with them.

Lastly the linebackers are deserving of more love. Anthony Hill Jr. is somehow still nationally underrated. David Gbenda has been a big part of this Texas defense, going without a single tackle in just one game. He is playing his best ball as of late and was right in the mix on the Clemson goal-line stand.

Another overlooked LB who has recorded a tackle in every single game is Liona Lefau. This dude is very similar to Moore Jr. in the sense that the fans love him, but it’s been hard to hear people singing his praises. Truthfully, he may be the single most overlooked player on the 2024 Texas Longhorn football team. He is second on the team in tackles, has only five missed tackles on the season (all came in garbage time or non-competitive games), and his coverage compares favorably with Thorpe finalist Caleb Downs. Texas most certainly would not be where it is today without Lefau.

These are fun times we are in, and an article like this wouldn’t have meant the same 3-6 years ago.

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Who’s your unsung hero on the 2024 Longhorns?

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