Texas Football: 3 defensive players ‘growing’ into new leadership roles

With winter workouts close to wrapping up ahead of the start of spring ball, there are some important notes to look back on for the Texas football program. Texas is a little more than two weeks from the start of spring practice, with the first day of drills set to take place on March 6.

Head coach Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns will get 15 spring practices in, roughly a dozen of which will have full contact allowed. And then, it will be time for the annual Orange-White spring football game at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 15.

Texas began the winter strength and conditioning program in mid-January. And over the course of the last five or six weeks, we’ve heard about a plethora of new additions to the program that have stepped up and impressed the coaches and their teammates in winter workouts.

But another critical note coming out of winter conditioning is the returning starters that were able to take on more prominent roles within the program. That is a key part of the offseason’s early stages as Texas loses some key voices in the locker room to the NFL Draft in 2023.

Jaylan Ford and the Texas football defensive players that are carrying the torch in 2023

With that in mind, here’s a look at three returning defensive players for the Longhorns that are “growing” into new leadership roles early in the 2023 offseason.

Jahdae Barron, DB

One of the most experienced defensive backs returning to the secondary for the Longhorns in 2023 is senior nickel Jahdae Barron. The fourth-year defensive back emerged as one of the most consistent forces in the back end of the Texas defense last season.

Barron continued to show off his coverage skills from the star position last season, as he was one of the highest-graded starting defensive backs in coverage in the back half of the 2022 campaign in the Big 12. Where Barron really improved, though, was in terms of his ability to blow up plays for zero or negative yardage, and to become a force in run defense. He was the third-highest-graded Texas defensive back in run defense last season.

And he led all Texas DBs in run stops in 2022.

Given the solid play that Barron showed off down the stretch last season, it only makes sense that he would continue to emerge as a leader on and off the field during winter workouts. And a report from CJ Vogel of TFB Texas (donor content) on Feb. 22 indicates echoes a similar point.

Barron has apparently taken the opportunity to become a more notable defensive leader on this team and ran with it so far this offseason. We’ve heard that he’s become a more vocal mentor to some of the younger defensive backs within the program and continues to impress in his third year in the winter conditioning program in 2023.

Texas needs Barron to be at his best this fall if this secondary fulfills its potential to be one of the best units in the Big 12 this coming season. It sounds like he’s on the right track in the closing stages of winter workouts.