Loss includes pair of All-Americans in Sweat and Murphy
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.
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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 41⁄2 sacks. Savea, a 6-foot-4, 293-pound Las Vegas native, had his best of three seasons with 21 tackles last season for Arizona.
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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.”