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The linebacker position has been one that has lacked depth for the Texas Longhorns. It was evident against the TCU Horned Frogs when middle linebacker Juwan Mitchell was ejected for targeting in the first half of the 33-31 loss. Without Mitchell’s leadership and experience, Max Duggan was able to take advantage on the go-ahead touchdown.
The defense lost Ayodele Adeoye for the season due to a shoulder injury that he suffered during practice. He was cleared to return to football activities before it was reaggravated. Head coach Tom Herman reported that he would need surgery to correct the issue. The other linebackers listed on the depth chart include David Gbenda, Cort Jaquess and Jaylan Ford.
The defensive staff could look to reinforce the position via the transfer portal. Our colleagues at Vols Wire have reported that Ethan Rinke has entered into the transfer portal. Rinke is listed as an outside linebacker and played weakside defensive end in high school.
Rinke was not a highly touted recruiting coming out of Alabama before joining the Vols. He has a three-star with 247Sports but no composite ranking. His list of schools including Coastal Carolina, South Alabama and Tennessee Tech. He ended up enrolling at Tennessee.
One interesting note is that defensive line coach Oscar Giles recently started following him on social media. Not breaking news worthy as many recruiters will reach out once a player announces he is entering the portal. However, given the issues this defense has had as of late it is worth noting that there could be interest in Rinke.
He is listed at 6-3.5 and 240 pounds at outside linebacker. The Longhorns run a variation of the 3-3-5 defense where the strong outside linebacker is also your defensive end. It would be interesting to see how he could be worked in if he decided to continue his playing career at Texas.
