Five Texas Longhorns Veterans to Watch in the Fall

Sep 21, 2013; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Desmond Jackson (99) celebrates with defensive tackle Chris Whaley (96) his fumble recovery against the Kansas State Wildcats during the third quarter of a football game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

Desmond Jackson, senior defensive tackle

Lost in the Malcolm Brown breakout season was the solid play of Jackson. At least early on. Jackson went down with a foot injury in the UCLA game and was lost for the year. It was an unfortunate break because it seemed like Brown and Jackson fed off each other, often disrupting plays at the line of scrimmage or in the backfield.

The silver lining in Jackson’s injury was the emergence of Hassan Ridgeway. Ridgeway really started to become a force as the season progressed. Now the expectations have gone up for the junior, meaning he will need a running mate to help take the pressure off of him. Jackson was doing that for Brown in 2014, and he will need to do the same for Ridgeway in 2015. Don’t get me wrong, Jackson can make an impact on a game. But with Brown and Cedric Reed gone Vance Bedford will need his senior defensive tackle to eat up blockers and create havoc around the line of scrimmage. Jackson proved he is capable of handling this assignment.