Texas Football: Who ESPN named as team’s most unheralded star

Rising junior Texas football standout linebacker Joseph Ossai received ESPN recognition this week for his important role for the team in 2020.

Ahead of the supposed kickoff of the 2020 regular season slate for the Texas football program, there’s a number of issues that have to be worked out. Head coach Tom Herman has a loaded plate as summer workouts continue to ramp up this offseason. He’s got less than 10 weeks to make sure his team is prepared for the start of the 2020 season, which is planned to be on Sep. 5 at home at Darrell. K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium against the South Florida Bulls out of the American Athletic Conference.

It’s anyone’s best guess at this point in time when things like fall camp are going to begin. Just earlier this month, the Longhorns already had more than a dozen players test positive for the novel coronavirus. Texas has to get the team healthy and ready to go before they will be in unison for the supposed start of the 2020 season.

This time now is more important than ever for their top players and known leaders to step to the forefront. They’re going to need it.

An ESPN piece from earlier this week detailing each of the college football top 25 team’s most “unheralded” star, a very notable name came up for the Longhorns. Rising junior standout linebacker Joseph Ossai received the ESPN nod as the most unheralded star for the Longhorns for the coming season.

ESPN had also picked rising junior cornerback and versatile special teams threat D’shawn Jamison as the most exciting player for the Longhorns this year.

Here’s a bit on why ESPN picked Ossai in this regard over any other Longhorns player.

"Ossai was only a second-team All-Big 12 pick despite leading the Longhorns in tackles (90), tackles for loss (13.5), sacks (5) and QB hurries (9). He starred in the Valero Alamo Bowl after being tried at rush end. His six tackles for loss and three sacks earned him defensive MVP honors. New coordinator Chris Ash will keep him there as a 6-4, 255-pound jack, or edge rusher, and Ossai could cause havoc."

Ossai did have some tremendous numbers that he registered for the Longhorns last season. And he’ll be counted on to continue to take his game to new heights this fall. If he does, he could prove himself worthy of a first round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. That is also if he declares early following the 2020 season.

Along with the likes of rising junior defensive backs Caden Sterns and BJ Foster and rising redshirt sophomore defensive tackle Keondre Coburn, Texas has a talented group in store at almost every level of the defense in 2020.