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What Steve Sarkisian said about Vernon Broughton going to the New Orleans Saints

On3 imageby:Justin Wells•04/25/25
Vernon Broughton
Vernon Broughton (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

After Texas defensive lineman Vernon Broughton was picked by the New Orleans Saints with the No. 71 overall pick in the 2025 draft, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian supplied a significant amount of positivity about the senior lineman and new Saint.

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“When you think about our run of defensive tackles, Vernon is a guy who had the opportunity to play behind and learn from some real pros,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said. “That helped him a lot, and he embraced it by being patient and seizing the moment when his opportunity came.”

“He has all the measurables and is a really big man who is very explosive and athletic. He can get on an edge, he can rush the passer, and he can play all three downs. He’s a very mature football player who was a guy that had been with us for a number of years, got better every year, was always productive, but really had an outstanding last year when he decided to come back for his senior year. He’s primed and ready to have an instant impact with the Saints.”

Broughton had a five-year career as a Longhorn, seeing action in 56 games with 17 starts. The Houston product was a mainstay on Texas’ defense in 2024 and started all 16 games. He logged 39 tackles (24 solo), 4.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, two pass break-ups, two forced fumbles and recovered three fumbles.

Applying immense pressure up front, Broughton helped the Longhorns lead the FBS in total interceptions (22) while ranking No. 2 in turnovers gained (31) and team passing efficiency defense (104.56) in 2024. UT also ranked third in the FBS in total defense (283.4 ypg), scoring defense (15.3 ppg) and red zone defense (0.692), while also sitting seventh in the nation in passing yards allowed (173.8 ypg).

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