Texas Football: 3 problematic Wildcats for the Longhorns

3) Problematic Wildcats for Texas football

Kansas State’s heart and soul on the defensive side of the ball starts and ends with the star junior defensive end Wyatt Hubert. This former unheralded and vastly underrated three-star recruit stands at 6-foot-3 and 270 pounds and is a true force to be reckoned with in the trenches. Since Texas is shorthanded along the offensive line this won’t be an easy assignment to keep the pocket clean from Hubert this weekend.

If Hubert is problematic for the Longhorns this weekend, it would not be the first time that he was a force for the Kansas State pass rush. In last season’s win for Texas over the Wildcats at home at DKR, Hubert registered three combined tackles (two solo and one assisted), one tackle for loss, and one sacks. He also had multiple quarterback pressures.

So far this season in nine games played, Hubert registered 25 combined tackles (17 solo and eight assisted), a whopping dozen tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, one pass breakup, and two forced fumbles. What makes matters worse for the Longhorns as it pertains to dealing with Hubert this weekend is the fact that he’s scorching hot of late.

In the last three games (all of which were losses for Kansas State), Hubert registered seven tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. He’s also registered 17 stops on the season so far, 40 quarterback pressures, seven quarterback hits, and has missed eight tackles.

With standout redshirt junior offensive tackle Sam Cosmi opting out of the rest of the season and senior center/guard Derek Kerstetter dealing with injury issues this week, there’s obvious looming question marks and an opportunity for Hubert to have a huge game.