4 slept on studs ready to shine for Texas football in 2022
Jahdae Barron, DB
Texas retaining rising junior defensive back Jahdae Barron looks like it will wind up being one of the most important, and underrated, moves of the offseason for the coaching staff. It looked like Barron was being pursued by some other FBS programs by offering up some sizable NIL money if he were to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal before the deadline for immediate eligibility back on May 1.
Barron sticking around with the Longhorns likely means that Pete Kwiatkowski has his projected starter at the star position potentially set in stone for the fall.
The transition for Barron from corner to playing at the star position looked like a smooth run for him in spring ball. This will be a spot where Barron can truly put his improved run defense, tackling, and pass coverage abilities on full display this coming season.
Barron was one of the most rapidly-improving defensive backs both in defending the run and in pass coverage assignments last fall. Watch out for him to continue making those strides this fall as a full-time starter for the first time in his career to date.
Byron Murphy II, DL
Definitely one of the more slept-on players for the Longhorns along the defensive line in 2022 is the former blue-chip recruit and rising sophomore defensive lineman Byron Murphy II. Last season, Murphy really improved throughout Big 12 play, which was a rarity for players along the Texas defensive front during that timeframe.
Murphy got a little less than 300 defensive snaps last season, which should continue to increase this fall. His workload heightened as Big 12 play moved along last season as he got more than 25 snaps in each of the last seven games.
In the last four games of last season, Murphy was one of the most effective defensive linemen for the Longhorns in multiple respects. He racked up nine quarterback pressures (led the team in that span of games), two tackles for loss, one sack, and seven stops in the last four games of his freshman campaign.
If Murphy continues down this path this fall that he was on to round out last season, he’s going to have a real breakthrough sophomore campaign.