Texas’ defense struggled mightily last season, surrendering 27.5 points per game. Injuries did not help the Longhorns, who were also thin across the front seven.
Defensive coordinator Todd Orlando was fired at the end of the season, leaving Tom Herman with his first major hire as head coach. He retained former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash, who had been with the team as an analyst.
247Sports compiled a list of the most underrated defenses in the country, naming the Longhorns. While they do not say Texas has an elite defense, the website says it was not one of the worst in the country as it seems.
Elliott’s take: “Texas’ defense was not good in 2019 by any measure. And the performance resulted in a change in coordinator, as Todd Orlando is out and Chris Ash is in. But was the Texas defense really as bad as its 97th ranking in yards/game allowed suggests? YPP says yes, as the Longhorns finished 98th! But SP+ tells a different story. The reason is clear when perusing the schedule. Texas had to play a standard slate of opposing Big 12 offenses plus a game against LSU, perhaps the most dominant offense in college football history. It did not do a good job against that slate, but in no way should the Texas 2019 defense be regarded as one of the worst in the country. It was simply an average unit.”
The 2020 skinny: Not to make excuses for the Longhorns, but Texas rarely played with a full deck defensively last season. With a plethora of starters back in 2020, this should be Tom Herman’s strongest unit on defense during his tenure.
Returning nine starters is going to be the biggest key for Ash’s defense this season. Stars such as Caden Sterns, Joseph Ossai, and D’Shawn Jamison are waiting to break out in their junior season.
Ossai will be the leader of the defensive line, the unit that will determine the improvement for the defense. Texas’ pass rush only produced 27 sacks, sixth in the Big 12. Five of them came against Utah in the Alamo Bowl, totaling for 18% of their season tally in one game.
With Sam Ehlinger going into his senior year, the Longhorns’ offense is going to be consistent under new offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich. If Texas wants to finally compete atop the Big 12, Chris Ash must turn the defense around.
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