Texas Football: 5 Longhorns to watch in the Sugar Bowl

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DALLAS, TX – OCTOBER 06: Charles Omenihu #90 of the Texas Longhorns celebrates after a play against the Oklahoma Sooners in the first half of the 2018 AT&T Red River Showdown at Cotton Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

The pass rush for Texas football wouldn’t have improved as much as it did this season without the breakthrough of senior defensive end Charles Omenihu. This pass rush went from having some trouble getting any pressure against opposing quarterbacks last year to being one of the more formidable in the Big 12 this year.

As a result of Omenihu’s standout performance during the regular season, he received the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year honors. This is the second straight year that a defensive lineman from the Horns took that award back to the Forty Acres. Seattle Seahawks undrafted rookie defensive tackle Poona Ford won it for the Horns last year.

This season, Omenihu racked up 43 total tackles, 16.0 tackles for loss, 9.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. He more than doubled his previous career high in sacks for a single season before the regular season was even over. Omenihu also topped his previous career total for sacks this year, by 2.5.

However, the entire pass rush for the Horns is really going to have to get after it against a solid offensive line chalked full of NFL talent like the one Georgia boasts. Getting to sophomore Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm is important to disrupt that passing game. Omenihu will be tasked with spearheading the pass rushing effort once again.

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