Texas Football: 3 most shocking surprises halfway through 2020

3) Most shocking surprises for Texas football halfway through: Breakthroughs in the front seven

The play of the defense was a hotly contested debate at the conclusion of the 2019 regular season. It led to the turnover of a lot of the coaching staff (mainly the assistants and coordinators beyond Herman). The turnover of the coaching staff included the departure of former defensive coordinator (now with the USC Trojans) Todd Orlando.

With a rejuvenated look and energy on the defensive side of the ball this fall, the Longhorns are starting to see some real breakthroughs in the last few weeks. They allowed just 13 points against a solid offense in West Virginia. And despite the offense not moving the ball too well, Texas held the ultra-talented Oklahoma State offense to just under seven points per quarter.

Two players in particular that are helping the progression of this Texas defense are junior linebackers DeMarvion Overshown and Joseph Ossai. Overshown had a career game last weekend in the win over West Virginia. He’s registered 42 total tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, a whopping six pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

Meanwhile, Ossai has registered 49 total tackles, a team-leading 13.0 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. Ossai had a career day of his own in the upset win over Oklahoma State on the road back on Oct. 31, by the final score of 41-34 in overtime. In that game in particular, Ossai registered 12 total tackles, six tackles for loss, three sacks, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery.