Texas Football: 3 biggest DB setbacks for Longhorns this offseason

The defensive backfield became one of the more worrisome levels of the defense for the Texas football program at this point of the 2020 offseason.

There could be a few potential big losses at different points this offseason in the defensive backfield for the Texas football program that wind up costing them heading into the looming 2020 campaign. The most notable and confusing potential loss to the Texas secondary of late involves rising junior defensive back and former four-star cornerback recruit Anthony Cook.

That compiles with a few other notable injuries and depth hits to the secondary that could be concerning for the Longhorns this coming season and as the team ramps up into summer workouts. Texas has a new defensive coordinator/safeties coach this offseason, with former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash taking over for the departed Todd Orlando.

And the Longhorns are breaking in a new cornerbacks coach, who was also previously with the Rutgers football program, Jay Valai. There’s good work that Valai and Ash did on the recruiting trail so far. They added a retroactive cornerback signee to the 2020 recruiting class earlier in the offseason, with former four-star Baylor commit Jahdae Barron.

Moreover, we could be just a couple of days away from the Longhorns landing commitments from four-star defensive backs JD Coffey III and Ishmael Ibraheem. That would be big to add depth in the secondary for the 2021 class, since there’s a lot of volatility with those position groups currently on campus.

How will head coach Tom Herman and the recently hired defensive coordinator Ash cope with the volatility in a key part of the defense?

Here’s a look into the three biggest secondary setbacks for the Longhorns so far this offseason.