Texas Football: Re-ranking 3 best players from 2018 recruiting class

2. Joseph Ossai, Linebacker

The actual value that the former four-star weak-side defensive end recruit and Oak Ridge High School product Joseph Ossai brought to the table thus far is definitely exceeding his recruiting ranking. Ossai ranked as the nation’s No. 186 2018 high school prospect, No. 11 weak-side defensive end, and No. 20 prospect out of Texas.

Ossai did have a lot of the top college programs around the country going after him, including the likes of Texas A&M, Notre Dame, and the Oregon Ducks, but Texas got his commitment in the end. He was a great get for Herman and former Longhorns defensive coordinator Todd Orlando. And he would prove his value immediately.

During his true freshman season, Ossai raked in 20 total tackles, one sack, and one forced fumble. But his sophomore season was where he completely broke through. Ossai registered 90 total tackles, 13.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, two interceptions, one pass deflection, and one forced fumble.

While Ossai was breaking out during the 2019 season, a lot of the defensive players the Longhorns signed in their 2018 recruiting class started falling behind. Ossai is the go-to leader at linebacker for Texas entering the 2020 season. Even though he signed with Texas as a weak-side defensive end, he’s more of an outside linebacker/edge rusher now.