3 Texas football players that will be first-time starters in the Alamo Bowl

David Gbenda, LB*

Another linebacker that will fill in with Overshown opting out of the Alamo Bowl is redshirt junior linebacker David Gbenda. Among the two linebackers that will fill the shoes of Gbenda that aren’t usual starters for this Texas defensive front, Gbenda is more proven.

Gbenda has more than 350 defensive snaps under his belt over the course of the last four seasons. That is more than double the tally that Blackwell has in his collegiate career.

It’s also worth noting that there is an asterisk next to Gbenda’s name for two reasons. The first is that Gbenda did take a starter-level number of defensive snaps for Texas in the regular season finale win last year over the Kansas State Wildcats. Gbenda had 45 defensive snaps in that game, which is more than half the number of plays that Texas defended.

And the second reason why there is an asterisk next to Gbenda’s name on this list is that he probably won’t take as many defensive snaps as Blackwell in the Alamo Bowl. If Washington winds up with more passing plays than running calls on offense, then it makes more sense to get Blackwell the bulk of the snaps at the weakside linebacker position.

Texas will need Gbenda to be ready to step up in the Alamo Bowl. His ranginess and quickness off the line of scrimmage will make him a valuable commodity for PK and the Longhorns in short-yardage situations.

Gbenda can also be a rotational weakside linebacker when senior Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey is on the sideline.