Texas Football: Position-by-position report card from non-conference play
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Linebacker
Texas football got mixed results from linebacker thus far, but a new emergence in the win over Rice could dramatically help this level of the defense. Two players that stepped up against Rice in the latter stages of the game included the former JUCO transfer Juwan Mitchell and redshirt freshman former four-star recruit Ayodele Adeoye.
The biggest emergence thus far in the linebacking corps came from sophomore B-Linebacker Joe Ossai. Through two games, Ossai is one of the team leaders in sacks and tackles for loss and leading the team overall in interceptions. He’s a rock next to senior Jeffrey McCulloch who Orlando uses to move all over the field.
All in all, getting one sack from Mitchell (the first of his career in the FBS) and numerous key tackles from Adeoye in the win over Rice shows promise for the linebackers. Texas had a lot of youth and inexperience at this level of the defense, and it’s getting plugged quicker than anticipated.
The speed and quick adjustments from Mitchell and Adeoye, at least from what they showed against Rice, would be very useful this coming weekend against the multiple skill position weapons of Oklahoma State. But I really like what I’ve seen thus far from the glue of the defense at linebacker.