Texas Football: 3 upperclassmen who will finally breakout under Sarkisian

Jacoby Jones, DE

There are not many more players that are likely to have a direct uptick in their production on the defensive side of the ball for the Longhorns this fall than the former JUCO transfer and senior defensive end Jacoby Jones. The former Oklahoma Sooners commit Jones could compete for a starting spot along the defensive line this fall.

The 6-foot-4 and 265-pound Jones had himself a solid run in 2020 in limited snaps. He registered 30 combined tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and two fumble recoveries, last season. Jones was seemingly all over the place for the Longhorns in terms of helping to draw turnovers.

Forcing turnovers was a key improvement for the Texas defense last fall under first-year defensive coordinator/safeties coach Chris Ash. Texas needs to take that momentum and parlay it into another year of improvement across the board on the defensive side of the ball under new co-defensive coordinators/linebackers coaches Jeff Choate and Pete Kwiatkowski.

Where Jones should be a real force to be reckoned with, though, for the Longhorns this fall is in the pass rush. He is one of the most underrated pass rushers that Texas has in their arsenal of defensive linemen this year.

Jones has 16 quarterback hurries and eight quarterback hits under his belt for his two years with Texas. He also has nearly 20 career stops with Texas, making him a key part of this defensive line that is ready to step up in a bigger role this fall.