D-line play of ‘Snacks,’ ‘Big Lunch’ no joke
AUSTIN — “Snacks” and “Big Lunch” keep it light, which isn’t a word often ascribed to this pair of mountains masquerading as men.
But throughout a year that’s felt like taking repeated hooks from Mike Tyson, the Texas double act of redshirt sophomore nose tackle Keondre Coburn (Snacks) and sophomore backup T’Vondre Sweat (Big Lunch and/or “Big Buffet”) has provided the perfect remedy.
“Keondre and T-Sweat together, they might as well be a comedy show,” junior defensive tackle Ta’Guon Graham said Tuesday. “Two of the funniest guys on the team. And when you put ’em together, it’s nonstop laughter. Those guys can get us all going, and they definitely make the meeting rooms very interesting.”
The Longhorns’ reformed defensive line, now operating in a 4-3 base under coordinator Chris Ash, had a rip-roaring time in its season-opening win over UTEP. No. 8 Texas (1-0) limited the Miners to 43 rushing yards on 33 carries, and none of the opposition’s three quarterbacks felt any sort of comfort while completing 19 of 39 passes for 190 yards with one interception.
Every Longhorn from coach Tom Herman to quarterback Sam Ehlinger to Graham has pushed back against putting too much stock in a 59-3 win over a Conference USA punching bag, but you don’t need to dip deep into the imagination to envision this defensive line becoming one of the Big 12’s best in 2020.
“I was very pleased with how all the guys played, including myself,” Graham said. “Of course, it wasn’t perfect out there. And we definitely could play better, always can play better. But at the same time, I’m very excited for everything these guys around me to do, including myself. And the sky’s the limit with this group of guys.”
At 348 pounds, Coburn is thick with a dozen C’s. Same goes for his No. 2 Sweat, another 348-pounder who as a true freshman last season played in all 13 games. Junior jack Joseph Ossai is a jet-fueled bulldozer off the edge. Third-year end Moro Ojomo is starting to come into his own.
It’s deeper than the starters, though.
Texas’ depth chart is stacked with talented underclassmen like Sweat, true freshman Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton. It was Collins who recorded the Longhorns’ first and only sack of the season, bursting through UTEP’s line to devour quarterback Calvin Brownholtz.
“It’s me and TQ (Ta’Quon Graham),” Coburn said. “Then if we go down, you’ve got T-Sweat right behind me. He should be starting, too, if you to want to be honest. Then you’ve got Alfred right behind TQ, who’s just as good as TQ. Pretty much we make each other better with being competitive every day in practice and trying to fight for each other’s position.”
Everything gets more difficult this week.
The Longhorns on Friday will board a flight to Lubbock and get settled in before Saturday’s Big 12 opener against Texas Tech at Jones AT&T Stadium. It’s a game that has the makings of a shootout given both teams surpassed 600 yards of total offense in their season-opening wins.
This will be the first genuine test for Ossai, Coburn, Graham, Ojomo and the rest of the line. And they’d like to disrupt the passing game more this time out after Red Raiders quarterback Jet Duffey threw for 399 yards and two touchdowns in last year’s regularseason finale, a 49-24 Texas win.
“Just like every year, they go really, really fast, and they have an explosive offense,” Graham said. “Very explosive offense. But I feel like we’re working more edges having a four-man front instead of a three-man front. I feel like it allows our D-linemen to play more freely and to make more plays. Also takes a lot of pressure off the linebackers as well. They just can float downhill and run sideline to sideline to make plays.”
There has never been a football season as tenuous as this one. Each day brings more reports of college programs dealing with outbreaks of COVID-19, leading to postponements and cancellations and more uncertainty about whether we’ll get a proper ending.
The Longhorns aren’t oblivious to what’s happening outside their Austin bubble. But Coburn and Sweat have at least managed to buoy spirits inside the locker room while the world spirals.
“They know how to lighten up the mood any time,” junior safety Caden Sterns said. “Having those two dudes in the locker room, it’s always something funny going on, from the dancing to the jokes that they’re making.
“They made a song about food one time. I don’t know if I’m supposed to tell you that, but it’s supposed to be released pretty soon.”
Sterns gave the Snacks & Big Lunch musical debut a favorable review, and there could be more on the way. For now, he’s more than happy to watch them continue cranking out in-game hits.