Breaking down 3 best Texas football newcomers so far this season

Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, LB

One of the quieter impact transfer additions for the Longhorns so far this season is the former James Madison Dukes FCS All-American and senior Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey. Through four games this season, Tucker-Dorsey has helped to lift up this group of linebackers that is one of the most improved position groups on either side o the ball compared to last year.

The starting linebacker trio of senior DeMarvion Overshown, junior Jaylan Ford, and Tucker-Dorsey are making this a much more formidable group compared to what Texas had at the position last season.

Playing as the will linebacker when Texas doesn’t have four linemen (or three and a three-technique edge rusher) on the field, Tucker-Dorsey is one of the more consistent players on this side of the ball on every down.

The stat line that Tucker-Dorsey posted so far this season might not be the most impressive on the surface. He’s got around a dozen combined tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble.

But when you take a deeper look at some of the more detailed metrics, you can see that Tucker-Dorsey is a very reliable and underrated force on this defense. He’s similar to that of senior defensive lineman Moro Ojomo in that sense.

Tucker-Dorsey just doesn’t really miss any tackles (only one missed tackle on the season) and he is stellar defending the run. He might not be the most athletic linebacker that blows you away with his sideline-to-sideline speed like an Overshown, but he can get to his run lanes he must defend and once he identifies the ball-carrier, he’s not going to let them get away more often than not.

Last but not least, Tucker-Dorsey is a pretty reliable and disciplined linebacker when he’s called upon to drop into pass coverage. He has allowed one receiving touchdown against this season, but he does a pretty good job sticking with his assignments in pass coverage, so it’s not very often that he’s targeted in the first place.