Texas Football: How the Longhorns can stop Will Grier

Safeties have to step up

This is a big point since the Texas football defensive backfield was so bad at times in the loss to Oklahoma State. Of course, a lot of the criticism is going to fall on the shoulders of the corners. That’s well warranted. Yet, the safeties have to help out and give some relief to the cornerbacks when a certain position group is put at a disadvantage.

In that loss to Oklahoma State, we didn’t see much of an impact made by the likes of junior safety Brandon Jones or true freshman Caden Sterns. For something that’s identified as a rarity for the Horns this year, the defense didn’t draw a single turnover on a team that is prone to giving them up.

West Virginia is also a very turnover prone team, as Grier has seven interceptions this season against some secondaries that are sub-par at best. Even the Kansas Jayhawks forced Grier into tossing three picks in a single game. While that might be a one-time off ordeal, Grier is still prone to easy turnovers if the defense puts him in that type of situation.

One safety that did have a nice outing against Oklahoma State was another true freshman in B.J. Foster. This trio of Foster, Sterns, and Jones were big for the Horns leading all the way up to Week 9. A bounce back game should be ahead and making an impact with things like open field tackles and a turnover or two would be massive.