2 pleasant surprises for Texas football from first 2 weeks

Keondre Coburn, NT

We got mixed results from some of the key upperclassmen along the Texas defense in the last two weeks. But one of the mainstays is an anchor to the defensive line in senior nose tackle Keondre Coburn.

After experiencing a down season in his first year playing under defensive line coach Bo Davis and co-DC/LB coach Pete Kwiatkowski in 2021, Coburn is well on pace to have a bounce-back campaign this fall.

There are a few numbers that already prove that Coburn is trending up in terms of his quest to have a bounce-back campaign in 2022. For instance, Coburn already has more than double the number of quarterback pressures that he did throughout all of last season.

Coburn has also already matched his sack total from last season, and his defensive grade is in a whole different ballpark.

There will be another shot for Coburn to prove his worth both to the Texas defensive staff and NFL scouts in Week 3 against UTSA. The UTSA offensive line might be the most questionable part of the entire offense at this point of the season, given some of the injury issues they have out of the gates.

Coburn is showing more urgency and is winning his matchups quicker and more often off the line of scrimmage when rushing the passer. He’s also taking up more space up the middle, occupying valuable blockers that can help free up his teammates in run defense.

Essentially, we are seeing Coburn play the role that PK and the Longhorns were looking for him to fill last fall. He’s an effective defensive line anchor that is bringing a new level of energy to the table, especially when helping bull rush the pocket to get after opposing quarterbacks.

When it’s all said and done this season, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Coburn potentially double his previous career high in sack totals if he keeps up this level of energy and productiveness that he showed in the first two games.