In 2019 it wasn’t the Texas Longhorns offense that was a huge problem for the team, it was the defense. Led by defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, the team finished 65th in the nation in total defense. That is smack dab right in the middle of 130 teams. This is according to Sports-Reference. The year prior the Longhorns were 58th and in Herman’s first year in Austin they were 30th.
Each season under Orlando, the teams defense was worse than the year before. An obvious issue that the Longhorns had to rectify, their only choice was to relieve Orlando of his duties. In response the defense allowed just 10 points to the Utah Utes, 126 yards passing and 125 yards rushing. Not to mention they sacked the quarterback five times while allowing a QBR of just 26.5. So can they tap into that performance in 2020?
Chris Ash was brought in to fix the defense. One unit with talent at all three levels but just haven’t been able to consistently put it all together. If you look at the last four year under Ash, his defense at Rutgers didn’t do much better.
| Year | Total Defense Ranking |
| 2016 | 116th |
| 2017 | 76th |
| 2018 | 89th |
| 2019 | 123rd |
After seeing a huge increase between 2016 and 2017, Ash’s defense at Rutgers fell into a tailspin. Coming in as one of the worst defenses last season. One could argue that the level of talent at Rutgers isn’t near the talent at Texas. The average recruiting class talent for the Longhorns finished with an average recruiting ranking of 91.71 in the Herman era. In that same timeframe, Rutgers finished with 84.28. Will the level of talent make a difference for Ash?
At Ohio State where Ash was co-defensive coordinator from 2014-15, their defense finished 26th and 3rd in total defense. The level of talent between Ohio State and Texas is much closer. The Longhorns have had a top 10 recruiting class each year of the Herman era so one can argue the gap isn’t too large. Development will be key.
Going back to 2011 when Ash first received a defensive coordinator role with the Wisconsin Badgers, his defense finished 13th and 17th. He would join the staff at Arkansas for one season before joining Herman at Ohio State. With the Razorbacks they finished 88th.
Overall when you look at his stops, where there is tremendous talent Ash has done well with three top 20 defenses. Bringing the Longhorns up from 65th last season doesn’t feel like insurmountable odds. Ash has experience working with top pass rushers as well.
At Wisconsin he coached the eventual NFL Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and at Ohio State he coached Joey Bosa. One should believe that if he can tap into the potential of Joseph Ossai that this defense will be much closer to a top 20 defense than they are now.