Why Texas’ Defensive Line Could Be SPECIAL | Steve Sarkisian | Arch Manning

0:00This episode of On Texas Football is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to Progressive and save hundreds. Because Progressive offers discounts for paying in full, owning a home, and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it, so your dollar goes a long way. Visit Progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates, potential savings will vary, not available in all states or situations. From unsolved mysteries to unexplained phenomena, from comedy goal to relationship fails, Amazon Music's got the most ad-free top podcasts, included with Prime. Because the only thing that should interrupt your listening is... Well, nothing. Download the Amazon Music app today. You only have 53 pressures combined from the tackle group last year, and maybe that's

1:02why you're hearing a guy like Lance Jackson talking about, hey, he's going to move me all around. They're going to have me in playing a three-techno for him. Before I, they got me playing five. They got me playing, you know, for the seven-techno. They got to play it all over the place. Love that idea. I think you got multiple players and I include Terry in this meant that really can play multiple shades and ship me included in this conversation. Welcome back to On Texas Football. I'm Jeff Howe. I'm joined by Jerry Hamilton and Lifetime Longhorn Rod Bayer was going to talk about the Texas defensive line. Now, you can slice up the D-line any way you want to discuss it. So, we're going to focus on the entire D-line over the ball, guys, tackles, and a couple of guys that could kick inside situationally. So, Jerry, I want to start with the over the ball, guys, first, because there's a few guys in that group that we saw working in practice. Ian Jafrard, still working on the Jafrid shirt, see if we can make that happen. Ian Jafrard, Zion Williams, and Jerry, one of the ex-factor guys for me on this team is Maraud Watson, who was working. We saw him work a little bit with the over the ball, guys, in practice.

2:04Maraud Watson, by the way, from weight standpoint, 333 pounds is what he's listed out on the spring roster. Jerry, what do you, we know Jafrard is strictly over the ball, but Maraud Watson's, also was Williams, but Watson's interesting because he can go play multiple shades inside. Yeah, for sure, and he's like Josiah Sharman, that way, which we'll get to, but I love where we sit at this position, obviously. I mean, Ian Jafrard looks great physically to me. He's still got some weight. He's got a drop, but I mean, look, he's a big guy. You're never going to see him weigh less than 355. I don't see it. I don't see it with him, but on Maraud Watson, Maraud Watson is a future NFL draft pick in my mind. He's just got to stay healthy. I mean, he was playing really well when he was 100% healthy last year, and he had some nicks throughout the season. I really like and Zion Williams. And he's going through that transition of being a Texas longhorn right now and still a developmental prospect at 64, 360, but if you said, those are the three guys you're starting the season with over the ball with the interesting that Sharman could play

3:08over the ball. Rod, I think Texas is in a pretty good spot there because Jafrard is absolutely a known factor in the SEC. Maraud Watson was a freshman, all American, was playing well before the injuries kicked in last year. And they were all minor injuries, but just things that kept him from playing high number snaps. And then Zion Williams, who has had a red shirt here at LSU. He's played against NFL guys and with NFL guys every single day. I like where this position's at for Texas headed into the season. Yeah. I think the interior, do you like it really surprised this year? I mean, if you're looking at just how many interior delimited Texas likes to use, I mean, if you look at triple digit snaps, so 100 plus snaps on average is about five guys that end up with triple digit snaps that are the interior delimited guys. And I think they probably got five guys that they're comfortable with. You get back to 2022 and Texas had six guys that were comfortable with all those guys in NFL drag picks, hell, most of those guys, you know, I think four of those guys mid to

4:11high round early round drag picks in the NFL. And do you have that kind of depth right now with the interior delimited if you're adding men guys like a young justice Terry thrown in the mix there. But I think here at Connie was going to take a huge step this year. I mean, it's amazing that this young man started playing organized football in 2021. I think we kind of forget that. I think he's he's right in line to take a huge step for he led you in pressures. That's one thing I think is going to be a challenge for this group. And that's why, you know, got like a justice Terry, you know, is a, I think could be a factor. But I love the Indra Ford move because, you know, you didn't have, you didn't have one player last season that had a hundred plus snaps in the A gap. Usually Texas has one or two guys that get trust in that capacity. They didn't really have that last season. Indra Ford. That's what he does. I mean, he's had multiple seasons with a hundred plus snaps in the A gap over the ball. It's just like so. I think that's going to help him because situationally it's going to give them a multiplicity up front. And also, I think they need to be more disruptive.

5:13And I know who knows, man, I slimmed down Indra Ford. Maybe he can be more disruptive. I think Hero Connu will be Alex January is another guy that's got to take a leap in terms of being able to cause more havoc and create more disruption. So I think that's the challenge for this group. You only had 53 pressures combined from the D tackle group last year. And maybe that's why you're hearing a guy like Lance Jackson talking about, hey, they're going to move me all around. They're going to have me in playing the three technique. Yeah. I think I've been playing the five. They've got to be playing, you know, the seven technique. They got to plan all over the place, love that idea because I think you've got multiple players and I include Terry in this mix that really can play multiple shades and should be included in this conversation. Yeah. Jerry Hero Connu is a guy that I give him all kinds of credit for the year he had. You know, when they took him a little over a year ago out of the portal, they needed bodies. As Rod said, you lost two more picks to the NFL. You just needed bodies and it's like, all right, take a flyer on the Ohio State guy and see what happens to Jerry. He put himself in a position where he had a legit NFL decision to make after the season where they leave or come back.

6:15He's back, Jerry. And I don't know if he's going to play himself in the first round discussion, but he's he could follow that Vernon brought now for Collins path to where he's a day two guy and going in the top 100 picks based on the way he's trending. Yeah. I see him more like that because I think that, you know, these guys deem players for everything which doesn't matter that it's Texas 2026 season. His arm length might get him a little bit come in a felt draft time, right? Yeah. But that's who cares about that right now. He does, but from a Texas standpoint, field fan standpoint, we're just thinking about next year, 2026 season, he's going to play in the NFL. He'll be drafted. I think fourth round at Morris because if he's going to build off of this last season, I don't see him taking a step back. I that's not what I see with him 31 tackles, two sacks. Now he's in a more aggressive defensive front, front seven with Will Munchamp, more aggressive defense. I don't see him taking a step back. And again, I, to Rod's point, I think what I really like about this defensive line is the versatility of getting enough big athletic bodies to where you can have versatility.

7:18He talked about Lance Jackson. I've always seen, even when he was playing edge, big edge and a foreman friend, I've always seen him his cop, and I'm not talking about NFL draft cover, I'm talking about body composition, cop, shorter arms, but if like a Michael Williams, and what did Michael Williams do, George, he played a lot of the court. He played a lot of, he didn't have the arm leap, Michael has, but I think he's the same athlete that Michael, maybe even more athletic, I doubt Michael Williams, though in 95 off the mound. So, you know, that's where I really like, and I like hero, canoes versatility. I like Alex January, when I saw from him physically, the first spring practice media window. He looked like he was in the best physical shape of his life. So, I think it's this versatility of this D line is what's going to stand out to me and is probably going to end up standing out the Will Must-Champ in Texas fans this season. Yeah, Rod, we'll continue talking about the versatility, but Jerry brought up Alex January. And to me, he's got that, he's got that Byron Murphy, Jalen Ford thing about him, really man.

8:18And the more he plays, the better he gets and the more impact he makes as he gets more snaps. Yeah, the challenge out of January is going to be because I, you know, he's got to be a guy that can create a little bit more pressure on passing downs. I think he's been really good against the run, actually. I think that's been one of his strengths. And I think now he's got to be a guy that can create some of those splash plays, some of those times we get, you know, get his hands on some bad balls. He's long, he's ranging, he's really athletic too. And we've seen that a couple of times when Alex January, like, it's back to back plays where he just, you know, kind of makes, it makes splash plays and ended up affecting the game. And now more than just a run defender, he's got to affect the game now on passing down. So he can be one of those guys that can be, we always talk about it. Can you be a guy that can be a plus, plus defender against the run on early downs? And then can you be a guy that can generate pressure on passing downs? If you can do that, you would, every down player, that's when NFL starts looking at she was a guy that can get drafted high, especially if you got a freakish athletic profile.

9:20And a lot of these guys do on the sea line to Jerry's point about the versatility. So Alex January's a guy, he, he is kind of poised to make that lead. That's why, that's why this group is so interesting, right, compelling because they have a lot of guys who kind of poised to make that lead. We talked about hero, Konnu. You just got in Andrew Fard, who is, he's a freaking his own right. I like Konnu because I like his footwork former soccer guy. So as a D line man, they don't have sweet feet like that he does actually have sweet feet. One of the things about Andrew Fard is a guy that big is not supposed to have that kind of endurance. Yeah. The three hundred and fifty three hundred and seventy pounds are not supposed to be to play four hundred and sixty snaps in the SEC. It just that nobody does it literally he's the only human being in college football has done that. But it's his size has played four hundred and sixty some snaps. I looked it up, right. So he is poised to make lead but they got him in a really good shape. You talked about, you know, Lance Jackson now is two hundred and seventy two pounds. Now he's got a guy that's going to move him around the front as well. Maraud Watts, you talked about him. You know, can he now be really just available, right?

10:21He can be just healthy and entire length of the season. We have already shown you in a small sample size that he can be an impact player for you too. So he got a guy's a lot of guys right on the precipice here of being able to peak and if you can get two or three of those guys to peak this season, this could be one of your best groups. This is one of your best position groups on the team. There's no doubt about it. They got enough athletes that you put them all together if they peak at the right time they can be really dangerous. The Rod's point, the most underrated trait is athletic stamina, natural athletic stamina. Most big guys don't have the type of athletic stamina in your forwardhouse. I mean, that is a strength but we never talked about that within athletics, but athletic stamina, all you guys in the NBA, you Shaquille O'Neal, those big guys NBA were born with athletic stamina. We don't talk about that as much in football, but the injury forwardhouse. It's a great point. It's a fondry sweat. Definitely had that. Because he got state athletic and stable to stay in games. This episode of on Texas football is brought to you by progressive insurance, fiscally

11:25responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switched their car insurance to progressive and save hundreds because progressive offers discounts for paying in full owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it so your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates, potential savings will vary, not available in all states or situations. Jerry, let's talk about the young guys. Because they were deep last year and got a really good year from HeroCono, they were able to take your size, Sharma and Myron Charles and basically treat them like a really good brisket. Just cook them low and slow and let them marinate. Let them suck. You know, with Josiah Sharma, Jerry, we're talking about Maraud Watts and now being a guy that working them over the ball, we know he can play different shades. I'm interested to see what that looks like because it feels like Kenny Baker will

12:25must champ, could be experimenting, saying, okay, if this works with Maraud Watts and could Josiah Sharma be our guy that's 330 plus can play over the ball, but we can play him situationally multiple shades inside. My first reaction to them working Josiah Sharma at both spots, essentially this spring, was they love the feet, as Barad's mentioned earlier on HeroCono, and the athleticism of Sharma. Because I mean, look, he showed up in his 370, I think he was what, 360, 3355 last year, he's down the list at 336, so he got him physically and it was easy to see for both all three of us, he looked different physically, that media window. It shows a level of athleticism and his junior tape, remember, he's suspended due to transfer rules in California, most of his senior season, so they're wanting as much senior tape, it is junior tape, it incurrum, I think it was before he transferred over the Folsom, was showed a very athletic big guy. We just didn't get to see much of it this senior year, so we kind of forget at times what his

13:26strengths were as a talent and why Texas and Oregon had the fight to the death for him, right? Texas eventually won out, but he is so athletic for his size, that's what stood out to me when that became apparent that they're going to play him in both spots. And I'll say this, my own Charles, same level of athleticism, not as big a frame, not as big, it doesn't weigh as much, frame wise, he may have the best natural athletic defensive line frame there is in the program of the interior players, but the biggest thing for me with those guys is getting their body work needed to be in their red shirt, your Kenny Baker teaching them whether to use the hands, whether it's a leverage, whether it's just being athletic in your stance, where you can get away with anything in high school level with your bigger and faster and stronger than guys, but really locking those guys in on their technique while they're building up their frame and getting those guys stronger. I think these two guys are poised. Look, Texas wants to play six, right? I think they're poised to be in that rotation,

14:27because I think right now you look at Texas and you say they have four starter level guys. Definitely. And then after that, I think it's a battle that who's going to be five and six out of Sharma, Zion Williams and Myron Charles. Rod, I'll come back to you in just a second, but Jerry, I want to stay with the young guys and just touch on James Johnson real quick because it seems like he could be and nothing wrong with this as we've seen the growth from Charles and Sharma could be headed for maybe a red shirt year, his first year in Texas, but he is he and justice Terry, both on the men right? Yeah, James Johnson, he got in a car accident, his senior season at Miami Northwestern and injured his hip. And that cost him a lot of his senior season and also cost him working out for a good point of time. He's listed at 274 pounds. From what I heard, he got down into about 260 range after that accident and he's built back up the 274 when he committed to Texas, he was in the low 280s. So he's getting his weight, that getting his strength back after that car accident, which I'll be, we can say this now,

15:33Texas and other colleges were worried about this injury for him because their school still trying to recruit him. Someone backed up, backed off after that, from an NFL perspective, didn't make sense. Texas just loved James Johnson was the Georgia flip, the Texas, but there were some people that were a little concerned with how long it was going to take him to get back. But the fact that he is working his way back, getting his weight back, getting his strength back, thanks a good sign for him, Rod. Justice Terry obviously out for the spring with the shoulder injury, weights up the 287. And I've said this a lot, he showed up at Texas at 258 in those in the January ball games this senior season. So he's gotten from 258 to 287. He's getting his body, his weight, where he needs to be. Now he's got to get physically there through the shoulder in pec injury, which is keeping him out the spring. But he is a perfect fit for me and Will Muschamp scheme, Rod. I mean, you can play big for I, you can play him inside, you could even play him over the ball. Some of the disruptor probably on third downs. But he has a lot of versatility

16:39and valuable, some real value in Muschamp scheme. There's a reason Georgia wanted him so bad. He's a really good scheme fit in what they do. Yeah, no, I totally agree. And I think, you know, the one thing I'm talking about the D that that group needs a lot of right now, they lead a lot of disruption. And he kind of got as he's he's he's got he's gaining the weight and putting on that armor, but he's still twitchy. He's got a really good first and second stuff actually. Yeah, last year. And now putting on the weight, he's probably got some more power as well to his game. Justice Terry is I think he's going to be a factor. There's no doubt about it on his D line. When he's healthy, he's going to be a factor. But it's a great opportunity. Actually, you were talking about it, Jerry. And I said, you average, you know, five D tackles with 100 plus, you know, 100 plus snaps, you're five years here at Sarkas. And, you know, you got your four great opportunities, though, for, you know, Sharma for Marin Charles. Can you be the, you know, the fifth and the sixth guy, as you said, this is that's why I think Terry's going factor in. Yeah, I almost throw him in

17:39there already and say, can you make it six? Because that would mean you got one of the deepest detaqa rotations in the country if you could make it six. Yeah, Rod, I'll start with you and Jerry, you can follow up as we'll finish with this. Rod, when you look at the athletic profiles of Justice Terry and Lance Jackson, specifically, go back to Wilmuch champs first run at Texas, his first spin. He took guys, you know, Lamar Houston and Remilton later, those guys like Sam Acho and Alex Oka for guys that had length size athleticism, let them play multiple shades up front and gotten really productive years out of those guys. Rod, is your confidence level in these guys that could be situational inside shades? That's where my confidence is that it can work. Does that play any role in your confidence that Wilmuch can get a lot out of a guy like Justice Terry or Lance Jackson? There's no doubt. I mean, that's why I love the Lance Jackson lead leak out there. He's like, man, I'm going to be playing three in the four eye and the five. I mean, I'm really first, you know, got recruited. I said, that's the kind of your plan. She should be playing multiple shades.

18:40I said, when Alfred Collins got recruited, I was like, somebody's got bodies and the athleticism, there's no need to leave them in one place on the deepest line. That'd be almost the miscarriage, right? Of coaching to do that. And I think Justice Terry fits that mode. I think Lance Jackson fits that mode. And this is what much champs going to do. He's going to hunt matchups. Same way, Stark does offensively. He's going to hunt matchups with these guys during. Yeah, he's going to do the obviously the research and find out where the weaknesses are on that offensive line. And he's going to hunt matchups on that deep side with all these guys who can play multiple shades and provide that multiplicity. So that's what I'm looking forward to. I mean, Texas, task guys that can obviously get to the quarterback. I think this is why you're going to have more of this specific group being having wreaking disruptors in much champ skiing. Jerry, you get the last word, anything, anything we haven't touched or you want to go back to? Well, yeah, the importance of this position this year, because the linebackers, look, the lineback, if you just look at Georgia, what Kirby and Will built there,

19:44their linebackers were dominant players in that scheme. And why were they able to be dominant when you watch, even if you just watched the Texas game, Warren Brinson, right, the big guys at front, Michael Williams, different, but that's a Nazir stack house. They had big guys that could stop the run and free up linebackers rod. And I think this position, actually, while we talk about Rashine Biles and his talent and Colin Simmons and his elite elite talent, both those guys are elite defenders and college football. It's actually these interior guys, plus Lance Jackson, plus Justice Terry, who I think are going to tell all of us how good the Texas defense is going to be, because to Rod's point, they have to be more disruptive. They're going to ask to be more disruptive, and they have to free up the linebackers. They have to free up the linebackers for most champs scheme to maximize this year. If there's issues there, then those linebackers are going to be less effective. All right, Jerry Rod. Thank you guys for the knowledge and expertise. As always, thank you to Matthew behind the scenes for producing it. If you want more

20:48in the Texas D line spring practice tidbits recruiting tidbits, we've got it all over to on Texas football.com. If you're not a member, you can sign up right now using the promo code OTF OG, and that'll get you one year of access at on Texas football.com for just 39.95. Make sure that you like this video and that you're subscribed to the on Texas football YouTube channel. That way whenever we drop a video or go live, you're not missing any of our long one coverage. Jerry Rod from Matthew for the entire on Texas football staff. I'm Jeff Howell. Thank you so much for watching and listening. And until next time, welcome. Hey guys, Blake Monroe here from Coffee and Football YouTube. Thanks that you're going to like this video right here. And if the algorithm knows ball, it's a good one. So go check it out. And then don't forget, hit that like and subscribe. This episode of on Texas football is brought to you by progressive insurance, fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to progressive and save hundreds. Because progressive offers discounts for paying in full owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great

21:50customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliate to potential savings will vary not available in all states or situations. This episode of on Texas football is brought to you by progressive insurance, fiscally responsible financial geniuses, monetary magicians. These are things people say about drivers who switch their car insurance to progressive and save hundreds. Because progressive offers discounts for paying in full owning a home and more. Plus, you can count on their great customer service to help you when you need it. So your dollar goes a long way. Visit progressive.com to see if you could save on car insurance. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliate to potential savings will vary not available in all states or situations.