Texas Football: 3 biggest winners for the Horns from spring camp

David Gbenda, LB

Another returning player on the Texas defense that saw his stock rise this spring in a big way is super-senior linebacker David Gbenda. The fifth-year senior will linebacker entered spring ball looking to prove that he is worthy of getting the starting job alongside senior standout Jaylan Ford along the defensive front heading into the fall.

And it looks like Gbenda was able to do just that with the most impressive spring camp showing in his collegiate career to date in the last couple of months. This year’s spring camp was the first time in five years on the 40 that we consistently heard about Gbenda steadying the linebacking corps while standing out among the first-teamers.

Sark even spoke highly of the strides that Gbenda made this spring in his fifth year on campus, prior to the spring game last week. It also looks like Sark was impressed with the way that Gbenda stuck it out for the last few years to eventually earn a starting role coming out of spring ball.

"“The beauty of it is with those guys, they’ve earned their opportunities. Now they’re getting their opportunities and they can be a model for a younger player who, living in this world of instant gratification of they show up and why aren’t they starting now? Well, here’s two prime examples of guys that have grown into a role and have worked at it to now contribute to the team.”"

Not only was Gbenda solid in spring practice, but he was also stout in the spring game last weekend. Gbenda finished up the spring game tied for a team-high, with eight combined tackles, along with a couple of run stops.

If Gbenda continues to prove himself during summer workouts and fall camp, he’ll help solidify a pretty good top-four group of linebackers alongside Ford, true freshman Anthony Hill Jr., and junior Morice Blackwell Jr.