Texas football has some big shoes to fill on the defensive line as spring practices begin

There are some big shoes to fill on the Texas football team’s defensive front as the Longhorns kicked off spring football practices on a crisp Tuesday morning at Denius Fields.

Quite literally.

T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II, a pair of All-American defensive tackles who formed the foundation of Texas’ dominant run defense in 2023, will soon become high picks in next month’s NFL draft. Fans have spent months wringing their hands and fretting about finding suitable replacements.

But Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian and his revamped defensive staff that includes a new defensive line coach in Kenny Baker and a new co-defensive coordinator in linebackers coach in Johnny Nansen?

Not so much, as Sarkisian said in his first spring football meeting with the media after Tuesday’s practice.

“We have some probably a little bit more experience than maybe people will want to give us credit for,” Sarkisian said.

The top candidates to step up for Texas

Specifically, Texas has veterans like Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton back in the fold as well as a seasoned player in transfer Tiaoalii Savea from Arizona. Those three seniors have combined to play 117 games in their careers, and Sarkisian thinks any of that trio could have a breakout senior season that has become typical of the Texas defensive front.

“Alfred is a very talented player who has matured from one year to the next to the next,” Sarkisian said. “If he continues on the progression that he's on, he's poised to have a great year. I think Vernon is another one of those guys that gave us a lot of quality reps the last two seasons, and I think now more than ever, they're poised to step into that (bigger) role. And Savea, I mean, he's played a lot of football at Arizona.”

Still, production has to meet potential at some point. Collins, a 6-foot-5, 312-pound graduate of Cedar Creek, has played in at least 10 games in each of his first four years but has never had more than 25 tackles or two sacks in a single season. The 6-foot-4, 307-pound Broughton has more career games (38) than career tackles (30), but flashed last season with 17 stops and 4½ sacks. Savea, a 6-foot-4, 293-pound Las Vegas native, had his best of three seasons with 21 tackles last season for Arizona.

More:Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team

What DT will seize stardom in 2024?

The progression of Sweat and Murphy serves as a model for how Texas wants to develop its players, specifically on the defensive interior. Before breaking out for 45 tackles and eight stops for a loss while winning the Outland Trophy as the nation’s best interior lineman in 2023, Sweat served as a rotation player for Texas. He had 83 total tackles in his first four seasons and had started only four games before last season.

Murphy, who’s projected as the top defensive tackle in the draft, followed a similar pattern. He started two games in his first two seasons before emerging as an All-American in 2023 and served as valuable relief for former Longhorns defensive tackles Moro Ojomo and Keondre Coburn, both of whom now are in the NFL.

“I think we've got that really good mix of older veteran players who are ready for their time, similar to Sweat and similar to Murphy when Moro and Coburn left,” Sarkisian said. “They stepped into that role. And so now, it's that next phase, and it's that natural progression for guys that have been in our program.”

More:Five Texas players to watch this spring if the Horns are to have a special fall | Golden

Up next: Young players eager for spot in rotation

If Collins and Broughton serve as examples of program players ready to step into leading roles, who are the young players that will see an increase in snaps in reserve roles?

Expect redshirt sophomores Jaray Bledsoe and Aaron Bryant to get their opportunities, along with massive redshirt freshman Sydir Mitchell, a 6-foot-6, 372-pound behemoth from New Jersey who could serve as Texas’ primary space-eater now that the 366-pound Sweat has left. And Sarkisian isn’t one to heap praise on true freshmen at defensive tackle, but 6-foot-5, 324-pound Alex January has garnered some early raves from coaches.

“We've got some young, talented players,” Sarkisian said. “I think Bledsoe is an extremely talented young player who's going into year three now, and I think Bryant is another guy that's going to now start to give us some of those reps that Alfred and Vernon gave us the last couple years.

“At first glance, Alex January's a guy who has been impressive early on in offseason workouts and conditioning and things, and so I think we've got that really good mix of older veteran players who are ready for their time (and) some of the younger guys.”