Texas Football: 5 upperclassmen that could opt out of the bowl game

DeMarvion Overshown, LB

One of the more obvious potential opt-outs for the Longhorns this postseason is senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown. The All-Big 12 linebacker is one of the first Longhorns players that comes to mind when I think of the possible absences for Pete Kwiatkowski and this defensive unit for the Alamo Bowl.

Given the projections for Overshown in the 2023 NFL Draft as a possible day-two pick, I don’t know if he is willing to risk injury in the Alamo Bowl. In the last few years, Overshown took a lot of defensive reps and had a lot of hits for the Texas defense.

Overshown plays a really physical brand of football. And there is always a certain level of injury risk that style of play poses, especially against a potent offense that operates at a pace as fast as Washington.

Moreover, if Overshown does opt out of the Alamo Bowl, that would obviously leave big shoes to fill at linebacker for PK and the Longhorns. It would also place some added pressure on the shoulders of junior All-Big 12 linebacker Jaylan Ford to lead the way for this unit.

Senior linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey and junior David Gbenda would be in line for more reps at the will linebacker position in the absence of Overshown. But this would be nothing new for DTD as he was a regular in the linebacker rotation throughout the regular season. DTD has taken a double-digit number of defensive snaps in all but one game during the regular season for the Longhorns.

At the moment, I would peg the probability that Overshown opts out of the Alamo Bowl at 75 percent. He is one of the players that Longhorns fans should expect to be done on the Forty Acres following the regular season finale on Black Friday.