
Secondary
If we were classifying the safeties and cornerbacks as different positions for Texas football, we would also see very different grades. But the Longhorns have to keep this unit playing well together and find some way to be functional against good passing games. Solid passing attacks combined with fast-paced offenses gave the Longhorns all sorts of fits dating back to last season.
Texas had trouble stopping the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Oklahoma Sooners, West Virginia Mountaineers, and Oklahoma State through the air last season. Three of five games against those teams resulted in losses too. Orlando has to figure out the cornerback situation mainly and how to provide more safety help over the top to get this defensive backfield working more cohesively.
Positive points for the secondary came from sophomore nickelback B.J. Foster (9 tackles, 2 sacks) and senior safety Brandon Jones. But the rest of the secondary certainly had its faults, especially with redshirt sophomore cornerback Kobe Boyce. Texas needs help at cornerback beyond sophomore Jalen Green thus far and it shows.
The Pro Football Focus team of the week for Week 2 even saw Burrow and star LSU wide receiver Justin Jefferson receive first-team selections. Jefferson racked up more than 160 receiving yards and three touchdowns and sophomore Terrace Marshall Jr. also gave Boyce fits all day with 123 receiving yards and one touchdown. The top three LSU wide receivers combined gave Burrow more than 425 of his 471 passing yards on the day.