AUSTIN, Texas — Life in the trenches is tough, with the physicality and amount of contact increasing the closer players get to the football. On the defense side, conditioning challenges are magnified by having to double teams as interior linemen try to anchor against 600-plus pounds of angry blockers.
As the Texas Longhorns worked to replace standout defensive tackles Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat after the 2023 season, head coach Steve Sarkisian and his staff turned to the NCAA transfer portal to land Louisville Cardinals transfer Jermayne Lole and two former Arizona Wildcats, Bill Norton and Tia Savea.
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But after Savea elected to redshirt after four games to preserve his final season of eligibility, eventually transferring back to Tucson, Texas was left with a short rotation of Lole, Norton, Alfred Collins, and Vernon Broughton as high school signees like Sydir Mitchell, Aaron Bryant, and Jaray Bledsoe failed to earn playing time and left the program during the winter transfer window.
Collins and Broughton both elevated their respective draft stock with superlative seasons as Collins developed into a second-round selection and Broughton coming off the board in the fourth round, but both players logged heavy playing time with Collins on the field for 593 snaps, ninth on the team, and Broughton seeing 588 snaps.
Under second-year defensive line coach Kenny Baker, the Horns attacked the portal harder this offseason, landing five transfers, this time landing more starting-quality talent ready to split playing time more evenly.
“We’re fortunate in that room right now — we’ve got great depth,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said early in preseason camp. “I don’t think we’re going to have to overuse guys again. My biggest thing is, do we have enough depth?”
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The Longhorns do and it matters more than ever at the highest levels of college football with Texas hoping to play 16 or 17 games in 2025, an NFL-length schedule that demands NFL-level physical maturity.
“I think about January as much as I’m thinking about August 30. I’m thinking about this journey we’re trying to go on. And, hey, football is a contact sport, and things happen in our sport,” Sarkisian said.
Texas brought in sophomore Syracuse transfer Maraad Watson after his Freshman All-American season, senior Ohio State transfer Hero Kanu, redshirt senior Purdue transfer Cole Brevard, senior North Carolina transfer Travis Shaw, and junior Maryland transfer Lavon Johnson to supplement rising sophomore Alex January, set to become the first defensive tackle the Horns have successfully developed into a significant contributor out of high school since Murphy in the 2021 recruiting class.
“Some of those guys, if they were on our team last season, Vernon and Alfred might not have played as many snaps as they did a year ago. That’s what my goal was coming into the season — could we develop that room into where, man, we can play a lot of a lot of players, a lot of people, so that the over time that wear and tear wouldn’t take its toll on us? And I think we’ve done that,” Sarkisian said.
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Watson was the biggest coup of the portal as the No. 6 defensive lineman in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings who made a quick decision to land at Texas after entering the portal.
“We didn’t bring you here for your looks,” Baker told Watson.
Entering preseason camp, Baker was impressed with Watson’s athleticism and twitchiness and described the 6’3, 327-pound New Jersey product as a knowledgeable player behind a quiet facade who seeks out information.
A strong run defender at Syracuse as a freshman with an above-average grade of 77.4 from Pro Football Focus behind 15 defensive stops, Watson should grow as a pass rusher as a sophomore as he refines his technique under Baker and
“There are some traits and some redeeming qualities that I expect him flash,” Baker said. “I’m counting on him to help us and contribute early.”
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Perhaps the strongest player in the group — and perhaps on the team — is Brevard, a squatty, thick, 6’3, 346-pounder who should be difficult for opponents to displace at the nose tackle position.
“Cole Brevard is a big dude — he’s hard to move,” defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski said before preseason camp.
The transfer who appears ready for a breakthrough season is Kanu, who was blocked by NFL talent on the Ohio State depth chart, but also performed at a below-average level for the Buckeyes in the 124 snaps that he saw the field last season.
Senior Jack end Ethan Burke expects Kanu to show more for the Longhorns than he did for the Buckeyes.
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“I think he’s very well rounded, you know? He can play a 2i, he can pass rush, he can play in the run, he’s really doing a lot of things for us,” Burke said on Monday.
Beyond whether or not Kanu can take the next step on the field, his floor on the Forty Acres this season is set by the leadership ability he’s already provided.
“Here’s the thing I love about Hero — this is very simple — he’s obsessed with the process. He’s got tremendous leadership qualities and traits. We’ve got a lot of guys, but, but he’s kind of taken some of that natural leadership role and I think that’s just the cloth that’s been cut from. He was like that at the last school from what I know. But he’s been great,“ Baker said.
Already a member of the team’s leadership council, Kanu has some extra motivation this weekend going against his former teammates.
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“Hero obviously left Ohio State, so I don’t think anyone’s more hungry than Hero, honestly,” Burke said.
January is the returning player who projects with the top group at defensive tackle after a standout preseason camp that continued his positive developmental trajectory over the last year.
“Alex January, from where he was a year ago to where he is today, very, very impressed with him,” Sarkisian said during preseason camp.
Considering January’s prototypical size and athleticism for the position and the high level of competition he faced at Duncanville, his progression isn’t surprising except when considering that he was barely ranked among the top 500 players in the 2024 recruiting class and outside the top 50 defensive linemen.
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Where has rising star edge Colin Simmons, January’s high school teammate at Duncanville, seen him grow the most?
“I want to say mentally, mentally grow, mentally just attack it. Mentally attack the football. Mentally attack film. Mentally attack everything,” Simmons said on Monday.
January already looks prepared to surpass the quality of play expected from those rankings and Simmons is excited to watch it happen.
“It makes me smile honestly, seeing one of my brothers get out there, get that burn, hopefully come into the game series one, and it just feels great to be out there with him for coming from Duncanville,” Simmons said.
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Behind the frontline players, the quality depth includes Shaw, a consensus five-star prospect and the No. 6 defensive lineman in the 2022 recruiting class who was never quite able to fulfill his potential with the Tar Heels, in part because of lingering knee issues that limited him during the spring.
“Man, now, I’m proud of all the guys, but you talk about a young man that came in a little bit of a prior history of a knee and 1,000 percent bought into the approach and the outline and the plan for him,” Baker said.
That allowed Shaw to enter preseason camp without any restrictions and on track to contribute this season. At 6’5, 342 pounds, the North Carolina product is the largest defensive tackle on the roster with the capability to anchor against double teams or collapse the pocket with his strength on passing plays.
After arriving in the summer, the 6’2, 310-pound Johnson has needed some time to recover from injuries that limited him with the Terrapins, but despite he still managed to quickly impress Baker.
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“He’s been great. I love him. Ask questions a lot, like a lot of the other transfers, man, they came here for a reason, and he has gotten better. He’s athletic. He’s got experience. He knows the game,” Baker said.
Baker has emphasized to his position room that he doesn’t need the next Murphy or Sweat or even Collins. He just needs everyone to play their role.
“It’s like I’ve told those guys earlier — it’s by committee, no one person has to save the day. The good thing about adding the quality depth is I feel like we can kick in guys in waves, and I don’t feel like guy’s are going to have to play 60 and 70 snaps, maybe like it was before,” Baker said.
“We’re talented, maybe not as much experience as we’ve had in the past, but as they continue to work and buy in, I expect no drop off, and I expect even more, just to be quite honest with you. Yeah, we’ve lost some good ones, but we’ve got some damn good ones here too now, so we ain’t going to miss a beat.”
