Texas Football: 3 edge rushers that can become stars in 2021

A contentious spot of the front seven for Texas football heading into the offseason this year was on the edge. Texas was able to rely on the former star outside linebacker/edge rusher Joseph Ossai to man that part of the defensive front for the better part of the last two seasons.

But with Ossai declaring early for the NFL Draft this year, new head coach Steve Sarkisian was left seeking out other solutions this offseason. Namely, it was up to new co-defensive coordinators/linebackers coaches Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate to figure out the best way to replace Ossai heading into this coming season.

Who will step up on the edge for Texas football this fall?

The way that Texas was able to do that was by hitting the NCAA Transfer Portal hard and just throwing numbers at the issue. Texas landed multiple commitments out of the transfer portal to fill any depth holes on the edge and at the linebacker position.

Kwiatkowski, Choate, and the Longhorns now look to have one of the biggest strengths of the team on either side of the ball along the defensive front. A plethora of experience brought in by way of the transfer portal should also help the underlying depth issue on the edge.

There are now multiple players that are contending for reps both at the defensive end spot and at JACK. The good work that the coaching staff did in the transfer portal, along with some previous success at this spot on the recruiting trail by Sark and former head coach Tom Herman’s crew, has put Texas in a position to at least somewhat make up for the loss of the production of Ossai this fall.

Here’s a look into three edge rushers for the Longhorns that could become stars in 2021.