Texas Football: Do the Longhorns have anyone who is elite in 2018?
Unlike Boyd, the former JUCO transfer linebacker Gary Johnson only had one year to get accustomed to the Power Five pace of play. And, Johnson thrived as a starting linebacker for Texas last season. He’ll get another chance to prove himself on the national stage this year with the help of other front seven defenders like Breckyn Hager and fellow pass rusher Charles Omenihu.
The logical next step for Johnson would be a First-Team All-Big 12 honoree. However, just because a player is on the first team of their all conference honors doesn’t mean that player is necessarily elite. Johnson needs to show that he’s among the best defenders in the Big 12 at all positions on that side of the ball.
The 57 total tackles and six tackles for loss that Johnson racked up last year showed his potential. Mostly, the raw physical tools that Johnson brought to the table were the most exciting part of fans noticing his ceiling in his first year with Texas. Another year in this system under defensive coordinator Todd Orlando and Johnson could really become a major impact player.
Similar to the situation that the secondary finds itself in with the loss of Elliott, the linebacking corps has ample opportunity for other players to pick up the slack statistically. Malik Jefferson left for the NFL one year early and he leaves the chance for at least 100 total tackles to be spread around among linebackers like Johnson and Hager.