Texas Football: Get ready for more Jaylan Ford at LB

Coming out of the bye week, not many personnel adjustments were made by new head coach Steve Sarkisian as Texas football gets set to take on the No. 16 ranked Baylor Bears on the road in Waco on Oct. 30. Texas’ depth chart for the Baylor game does look pretty similar to how it did prior to the bye week against both of the Oklahoma schools out of the Big 12.

One rotational change that could change for co-defensive coordinators/linebackers coaches Pete Kwiatkowski and Jeff Choate against Baylor on Oct. 30 is at the linebacker position. The momentum is in favor of sophomore linebacker and former under-the-radar three-star recruit Jaylan Ford to get more snaps over former walk-on linebacker Luke Brockermeyer this week.

In the loss to the Oklahoma State Cowboys and head coach Mike Gundy at home on Oct. 16, by the final score of 32-24, one of the strongest performances for the Longhorns on the defensive side of the ball came from Ford. He was one of the highest-graded defenders in the Big 12 in that Week.

Jaylan Ford coming up big for Texas football ahead of the Baylor game

In that loss to Oklahoma State, Ford also registered a dozen combined tackles, three quarterback pressures, a half-dozen stops, one tackle for loss, one sack, just one missed tackle, and one additional QB hit. That was likely the best performance in Ford’s career to date.

He played well in the last few games too. It wasn’t just the Oklahoma State game that showed what Ford can really do for this defensive front.

For that reason, it would make a lot of sense for the coaching staff to continue to give Ford more reps at linebacker. He got some additional work in the Oklahoma State game thanks to an injury that caused senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown to have to exit the contest.

Ford got a career-high 60 snaps on defense in that game. In the four games previous to the Oklahoma State game, Ford got around a dozen snaps in each outing.

Although this week’s depth chart still has Overshown and Brockermeyer listed as the starting linebackers, Ford should continue to get more reps with how he showed out before the bye week. A piece from the San Antonio Express this week also detailed how the coaching staff and media feel that the momentum is with Ford and that he is “finding a role” with this defense.

While Brockermeyer was a nice surprise on defense this season, and the linebacking corps doesn’t really have someone that can make plays and bring the type of closing speed to the table that Overshown does otherwise, it makes sense to increase Ford’s role starting this weekend. Ford played too well against Oklahoma State to just keep him in a role where he gets around a dozen snaps per game from here on out.

Texas carries a record of 4-3 (2-2 Big 12) into this key meeting with No. 16 ranked Baylor on the road on Oct. 30. Kickoff time between Texas and Baylor at McLane Stadium on Oct. 30 is set for 11 a.m. CT.