Who can still redshirt? Who saw their redshirt burnt against Mississippi State?
Texas’ No. 6 ranked 2024 signing class featured one five-star in Colin Simmons, four more top-100 prospects, and an additional eight signees ranked within the top 300 of the On3 Industry Ranking. In an era of college athletics where players want to see the field as soon as they possibly can, 14 Longhorns in their first year on the 40 Acres have played for the No. 2 team in the country during its non-conference slate and after one SEC contest.
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After the game versus Mississippi State, six Longhorns burned their redshirt.
All player participation data comes from the official University of Texas game notes and statistics.
Redshirt burnt
- EDGE Colin Simmons
- DB Kobe Black
- WR Ryan Wingo
- RB Jerrick Gibson
- LB Ty’Anthony Smith
- P Michael Kern
There was no reservation about maintaining redshirts in this group of players. All have been needed this year, and several have become critical contributors on offense, defense, and special teams. There was little reason to think members of this group were going to be five-year players. Some of them may be in Austin just for three.
At the four-game threshold
January has earned more and more time this season and was seen as necessary against Mississippi State when the Bulldogs utilized a ground-and-pound game-shortening strategy instead of their normal Veer and Shoot. January has proven to be capable of answering the call in the limited times he’s appeared on the field.
Injuries at safety have thrust Johnson-Rubell into action and he’s performed admirably. These might not be three-and-out players, but they’re players that Texas can ill-afford to let sit on the bench for an entire season especially when considering some of the injuries in front of them.
These redshirts may get burnt, and that’s okay
- OL Brandon Baker (3)
- TE Jordan Washington (3)
- WR Parker Livingstone (3)
- DB Wardell Mack (3)
These players are not the type Texas should expect to stay on a college roster until the end of the 2028 season.
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We will see
- DB Xavier Filsaime (1)
Filsaime carried lofty expectations as the No. 41 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking but he has been dinged up to start the year. He could maintain his redshirt to provide a bit of a buffer for the program as it develops players to replace Jahdae Barron, Andrew Mukuba, and possibly others at the Star or safety positions after this season.
Redshirt needed
- QB Trey Owens (2)
Quinn Ewers returning to and maintaining health should make this one possible. Developmental years are good, just ask Arch Manning.
Haves not played and should redshirt
- EDGE Zina Umeozulu
- WR Aaron Butler
- DB Santana Wilson
- OL Daniel Cruz
- RB Christian Clark
- WR Freddie Dubose Jr.
- OL Nate Kibble
- DL Melvin Hills
There are a lot of quality players in this group but their positions are very crowded or there are injuries keeping them off the field. An extra development year doesn’t mean they are destined to be five-year players, just that they might need a little bit of work before they can take snaps of any sort in a game. It worked for Johnathon Brooks. It’s working for Hayden Conner.
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One last reminder: Conference championship games as well as College Football Playoff matchups don’t count toward the four-game limit. Participation within the 12-game regular season is what matters when looking to see if a redshirt is going to be burnt or not.
