Texas Football: 3 upperclassmen that exceeded expectations this spring

Alfred Collins, DL

The biggest emergence we’ve heard about this spring along the defensive line happens to be another upperclassman that has seemingly broken through in camp for the Longhorns. Senior defensive lineman Alfred Collins sounds like he is finally starting to tap into the insane potential that he flashed during his first three years on campus, but could never show on a consistent basis.

Collins has impressed this spring with his more consistent effort in practice, which is yielding positive results both in the interior pass rush and run defense. It sounds like Collins’ interior pass rush has been a big problem for the interior offensive line this spring.

And his heightened consistency has not only improved his effectiveness as run stopper up the middle but it’s also made life easier for the entire front seven. What I mean by that is Collins’ effort and physicality are making it easier for the linebackers to clog up gaps in run defense and get easier run stops.

Moreover, there was a quote in a scrimmage report from Eric Nahlin of Inside Texas a couple of weeks ago about Collins that stood out to me. Collins reportedly has taken “no days off mentally and he knows the scheme a lot better”.

The progress that Collins has made on the practice field this spring has legitimized a top group of three interior defensive linemen for DL coach Bo Davis and the Longhorns. The interior defensive line trio of junior Byron Murphy II, redshirt senior T’Vondre Sweat, and Collins is extremely formidable and has the potential to be the best at the position in the Big 12 this fall.