It is officially game week for Texas Football as the Longhorns prepare to open the season in Austin against Louisiana Tech. Yesterday, we took a look at the Louisiana Tech offense. Today, we turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball.
Defensive Line
The Bulldogs will experience a lot of changes up front along the defensive line. Former Uconn head coach Bob Diaco is entering his first year as defensive coordinator and is bringing his 3-4 scheme with him. Louisiana Tech does not return a single starter from last year’s defensive line that played a key role in helping the Bulldogs finish 27th in the country in total defense.
305-pound senior Courtney Wallace will occupy the nose tackle position and will be joined up front by Ka’Derrion Mason and Milton Williams. Mason enters 2019 with the most snaps out of the trio, and it will be interesting to see how they hold up against a Texas offensive line breaking in a couple of new starters.
Linebackers
With the transition to a 3-4 defense, the Bulldogs shifted a couple of players to fill the outside linebacker positions. Willie Baker makes the move from defensive end after recording 4 sacks in their bowl victory over Hawaii while James Jackson spins down from safety, where he started all 13 games a season ago. Collin Scott occupies one of the inside linebacker spots and was an all-conference player a season ago.
Secondary
The Bulldogs boast a solid secondary, led by first-team All-Conference USA selection cornerback Amik Robertson, who will draw the tough assignment of trying to slow down Collin Johnson. Opposite of Robertson will be redshirt senior Michael Sam, who only has 1 career start after starting his college career and Trinity Valley Community College.
At safety, L’Jarius Sneed made some noise on Tuesday afternoon when he told the media that he didn’t believe the Texas receivers could handle press coverage. Sneed is making the transition from corner to safety this season, so he may not get many chances to prove his theory correct. Redshirt freshman Bee Jay Williamson is the youngest member of the secondary and will start at the other safety spot.
Overall Thoughts
Similar to their offense, Louisiana Tech has a lot of upperclassmen starting across the board on defense. Unlike the offense though, a lot of these players do not have starting experience. If Texas fully healthy at the running back position, this would likely be a game where Texas could establish the run early and set themselves up for some shots down the field. It is unknown if Keaontay Ingram or Jordan Whittington will be limited in the number of carries they receive, but the Texas offensive line should be able to open up some holes on the ground. As for the passing game, the Texas receivers have an obvious size and skill advantage over the Louisiana Tech defensive backs, so expect Collin Johnson to get his fair share of targets.
