5 Longhorns Who Must Use 2015 Preseason All-Big 12 Football Team List as Motivation

Sep 6, 2014; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway (98) reacts after a sack against the Brigham Young Cougars during the first half at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports

Hassan Ridgeway, DT

Ridgeway has not underperformed, just to be clear. He has had to bide his time behind the likes of Jackson Jeffcoat, Malcolm Brown and Desmond Jackson. When Jackson went down to injury last year Ridgeway showed people there would be no drop off. Coaches and players recognized what a gifted athlete Ridgeway is. They were just waiting for the light bulb to come on. When it did, he was just as menacing as Brown. He was second on the team in sacks (6) and fourth in tackles for a loss (11). All this while starting just 10 games.

Jackson returns to help take some of the pressure off of Ridgeway. This is important because teams will game plan to neutralize the blossoming junior. Now that he is a marked man, Ridgeway must show that he can still be a disruptive force. With all due respect to Texas Tech’s Pete Robinson, Ridgeway should supplant the Red Raider defensive tackle on the conference’s end of season honor list.