The Texas defense is a giant enigma. Although the unit lost 6 starters, there is enough talent on hand to present challenges for opposing offenses. For many reasons, this has not happened. The Longhorn defense ranks near the bottom nationally by many statistical measurements as gap discipline, inability to get off blocks at the second level, missed tackles, and failing to look for the ball in the secondary have plagued this group. Inexperience is a major problem for the Horns in their back seven, something that Cowboy fans could relate to in 2014.
The key for this Texas defense lies with its defensive line. There are some guys with ability here that simply must step up and take on play-making responsibilities for the Longhorns to have a chance to right the defensive ship and turn around their season. DT Desmond Jackson has been their most consistent performer inside. He is a short, compact interior lineman that utilizes his quickness and very good first step to get into gaps. This year he has struggled some with hand placement as opposing linemen have been able to get their hands on him, and ride him out of the play with his own momentum. He is not a long-limbed player, so it is imperative for him to separate from blockers to be able to make plays in the backfield. His listed running mate is Poona Ford on the depth chart, but those two are very similar players. The guy that rotates in with them that bears watching is Hassan Ridgeway. He has enormous physical tools. He will have moments where he is absolutely dominant, and then a series later, totally disappear. Consistency has been difficult for him, and conditioning might be a primary contributor. When dialed in, he can beat double teams, maintain leverage, and still get into the backfield to disrupt things. Although Texas will rotate guys like Paul Boyette and others inside, the top three are the guys to watch.
The match-ups between their defensive tackles and the interior trio of the Cowboy offensive line (and perhaps the Cowboy backs) are ones that the Longhorns have to win in order to stop the Cowboy offense. Should Oklahoma State eliminate the interior pass rush and be able to seal the tackles from making plays, the entire offense will open up. The biggest reasons for this are: 1) the inconsistency of the defensive ends in applying pressure; 2) the struggles of the linebackers and safeties getting caught up in traffic when they lose gap discipline; 3) the large number of missed tackles on the backend. On paper, this match up favors Texas, but the Cowboys are improving in this area. As mentioned above, a dialed in Ridgeway could be a problem for the Cowboys, but the offense should be able to effectively seal the interior linemen, even if they can not push them around.
The Longhorns have a lot of guys that they can roll through the defensive end spots. Naashon Hughes probably has the most immediate upside as a pass rusher, although he tends to get too far upfield in his pass rush and has trouble turning the corner to actually get to the quarterback. He has had some struggles against the run as he tends to play too high and gives away leverage. The other starter Shiro Davis is a solid emerging player in both phases. He had 2 tackles for loss and a sack last week. He is athletic and in the right place most of the time. Bryce Cottrell will eventually emerge as a situational pass rusher as he shows a good array of moves to help him get to the quarterback. He would be on the field more if not for his struggles against the run and getting people to the ground consistently. Derrick Roberson was a guy that Texas was counting on this year to help anchor the end spot, but he was slowed during the spring and fall with little injuries.
Despite playing lower quality opponents, the Cowboy offensive tackles actually got some fairly good looks from opposing defensive ends in the nonconference games. The tackles have been very solid in both pass protection and pretty good in run blocking so far this season. OSU has a solid pair of starting offensive tackles. Against guys like Hughes and Cotrell, Victor Salako is going to have to be patient and let those guys ride themselves out of their rush lanes. His long arms allow him to get hands on rushers, but he doesn’t quite have the superior knee bend or flexibility to get out in front of rushers without reaching of getting off balance. He has been caught a couple times with his hands outside the body. This group from Texas has flaws that show up on film, but overall, they have good quickness and burst off the snap. The Cowboy backs will have to help out some, but on paper this is not a bad match-up for the Pokes. Last year, the offensive line was overpowered inside by Malcolm Brown as he forced and beat double teams, leaving Cedric Reed one on one against Chris Grishby at tackle in space. Toss in multiple blitz looks that were not picked up properly (by the QB or OL) at the snap, and the Longhorn defense totally beat the Cowboys with play at the line of scrimmage. This time around, the scales are not tilted in their favor at kickoff. Overall, if the OSU offensive line gets a draw in this overall match up against the DTs and DEs of Texas, then the Cowboys are probably winning the game.
Let’s move on to the most important player on the defensive side of the ball for Texas: Malik Jefferson. There have not been many times in the Big 12 where a freshman defender meant as much to his team as Jefferson does to the Longhorns. Despite the multiple alignments that Texas employs (4-3; 4-2-5; 3-3-5; 4-1-6; etc.), this freshman stays on the field. He is tremendously gifted and is by far their best playmaker on defense. The young man has future 1st round potential. He is a middle linebacker with great size and the speed/agility of a safety. He leads the team in tackles, tackles for loss, and quarterback hurries. He has quick recognition, runs well, and strikes hard. That said, for all of his attributes, he is still young and inexperienced. This shows up repeatedly in the run game where he has had all kinds of problems. Most of them are correctable, but it’s doubtful that they will all be corrected so early in the season. Things noticed on film: 1) He loses gap discipline as he follows his instinct to the ball to make a play. When he doesn’t make the play, it opens up cutback lanes in the second level of the defense that have allowed opponents to break off huge runs. 2) When blocked from an angle, he has had trouble getting off the block to go make a play. 3) He is still adjusting to working through the trash on the second level to flow laterally to a play, and can get caught up in traffic. 4) His downhill game is excellent. He is very difficult to block when moving forward, and this includes his pass rushing. 5) He has not been tested down the field in coverage.
The injury to Edwin Freeman may mean that the Longhorns go with more nickel package base defense against OSU than they might otherwise employ. Anthony Wheeler is next on the depth chart at weakside linebacker, but it’s doubtful the staff would want to put him in extensive action when they could move Tim Cole into the middle and slide Malik Jefferson to the weakside or just play more multi-DB packages. Sliding Jefferson over could help solidify things against the run, but open up some problems in zone coverage for them. How the staff handles this personnel issue could influence much of the early game prodding of the defense by the Cowboy coaches. The other member of their linebacking corps is Peter Jinkens, a solid veteran who provides needed leadership.
The key for this Texas defense lies with its defensive line. There are some guys with ability here that simply must step up and take on play-making responsibilities for the Longhorns to have a chance to right the defensive ship and turn around their season. DT Desmond Jackson has been their most consistent performer inside. He is a short, compact interior lineman that utilizes his quickness and very good first step to get into gaps. This year he has struggled some with hand placement as opposing linemen have been able to get their hands on him, and ride him out of the play with his own momentum. He is not a long-limbed player, so it is imperative for him to separate from blockers to be able to make plays in the backfield. His listed running mate is Poona Ford on the depth chart, but those two are very similar players. The guy that rotates in with them that bears watching is Hassan Ridgeway. He has enormous physical tools. He will have moments where he is absolutely dominant, and then a series later, totally disappear. Consistency has been difficult for him, and conditioning might be a primary contributor. When dialed in, he can beat double teams, maintain leverage, and still get into the backfield to disrupt things. Although Texas will rotate guys like Paul Boyette and others inside, the top three are the guys to watch.
The match-ups between their defensive tackles and the interior trio of the Cowboy offensive line (and perhaps the Cowboy backs) are ones that the Longhorns have to win in order to stop the Cowboy offense. Should Oklahoma State eliminate the interior pass rush and be able to seal the tackles from making plays, the entire offense will open up. The biggest reasons for this are: 1) the inconsistency of the defensive ends in applying pressure; 2) the struggles of the linebackers and safeties getting caught up in traffic when they lose gap discipline; 3) the large number of missed tackles on the backend. On paper, this match up favors Texas, but the Cowboys are improving in this area. As mentioned above, a dialed in Ridgeway could be a problem for the Cowboys, but the offense should be able to effectively seal the interior linemen, even if they can not push them around.
The Longhorns have a lot of guys that they can roll through the defensive end spots. Naashon Hughes probably has the most immediate upside as a pass rusher, although he tends to get too far upfield in his pass rush and has trouble turning the corner to actually get to the quarterback. He has had some struggles against the run as he tends to play too high and gives away leverage. The other starter Shiro Davis is a solid emerging player in both phases. He had 2 tackles for loss and a sack last week. He is athletic and in the right place most of the time. Bryce Cottrell will eventually emerge as a situational pass rusher as he shows a good array of moves to help him get to the quarterback. He would be on the field more if not for his struggles against the run and getting people to the ground consistently. Derrick Roberson was a guy that Texas was counting on this year to help anchor the end spot, but he was slowed during the spring and fall with little injuries.
Despite playing lower quality opponents, the Cowboy offensive tackles actually got some fairly good looks from opposing defensive ends in the nonconference games. The tackles have been very solid in both pass protection and pretty good in run blocking so far this season. OSU has a solid pair of starting offensive tackles. Against guys like Hughes and Cotrell, Victor Salako is going to have to be patient and let those guys ride themselves out of their rush lanes. His long arms allow him to get hands on rushers, but he doesn’t quite have the superior knee bend or flexibility to get out in front of rushers without reaching of getting off balance. He has been caught a couple times with his hands outside the body. This group from Texas has flaws that show up on film, but overall, they have good quickness and burst off the snap. The Cowboy backs will have to help out some, but on paper this is not a bad match-up for the Pokes. Last year, the offensive line was overpowered inside by Malcolm Brown as he forced and beat double teams, leaving Cedric Reed one on one against Chris Grishby at tackle in space. Toss in multiple blitz looks that were not picked up properly (by the QB or OL) at the snap, and the Longhorn defense totally beat the Cowboys with play at the line of scrimmage. This time around, the scales are not tilted in their favor at kickoff. Overall, if the OSU offensive line gets a draw in this overall match up against the DTs and DEs of Texas, then the Cowboys are probably winning the game.
Let’s move on to the most important player on the defensive side of the ball for Texas: Malik Jefferson. There have not been many times in the Big 12 where a freshman defender meant as much to his team as Jefferson does to the Longhorns. Despite the multiple alignments that Texas employs (4-3; 4-2-5; 3-3-5; 4-1-6; etc.), this freshman stays on the field. He is tremendously gifted and is by far their best playmaker on defense. The young man has future 1st round potential. He is a middle linebacker with great size and the speed/agility of a safety. He leads the team in tackles, tackles for loss, and quarterback hurries. He has quick recognition, runs well, and strikes hard. That said, for all of his attributes, he is still young and inexperienced. This shows up repeatedly in the run game where he has had all kinds of problems. Most of them are correctable, but it’s doubtful that they will all be corrected so early in the season. Things noticed on film: 1) He loses gap discipline as he follows his instinct to the ball to make a play. When he doesn’t make the play, it opens up cutback lanes in the second level of the defense that have allowed opponents to break off huge runs. 2) When blocked from an angle, he has had trouble getting off the block to go make a play. 3) He is still adjusting to working through the trash on the second level to flow laterally to a play, and can get caught up in traffic. 4) His downhill game is excellent. He is very difficult to block when moving forward, and this includes his pass rushing. 5) He has not been tested down the field in coverage.
The injury to Edwin Freeman may mean that the Longhorns go with more nickel package base defense against OSU than they might otherwise employ. Anthony Wheeler is next on the depth chart at weakside linebacker, but it’s doubtful the staff would want to put him in extensive action when they could move Tim Cole into the middle and slide Malik Jefferson to the weakside or just play more multi-DB packages. Sliding Jefferson over could help solidify things against the run, but open up some problems in zone coverage for them. How the staff handles this personnel issue could influence much of the early game prodding of the defense by the Cowboy coaches. The other member of their linebacking corps is Peter Jinkens, a solid veteran who provides needed leadership.
