Texas Football: 3 upperclassmen with stock on the rise post-spring ball

A few weeks ago, Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian wrapped up an eventful month and a half of spring camp with the Orange-White Game. April 15 was the last day that some of the upperclassmen that were looking to prove themselves this spring were able to put their case front and center to the coaches.

And it looks like there were more strides made than expected out of the upperclassmen on campus this spring, at least compared to what we’ve seen from the program in the last few years. In fact, there were even a few upperclassmen that started to solidify spots on the two-deep depth chart during the spring.

I am confident enough in saying that this sort of progress out of the upperclassmen during spring camp was more evident of the change in culture and coaching within the program in the last couple of years under Sark. This feels like a really solid group that Sark has in the mix with his squad in 2023. And the way that some of the upperclassmen have stepped up this offseason is a big reason why.

AD Mitchell and the upperclassmen for Texas football with rising stock post-spring ball

Here’s a look at three upperclassmen for the Longhorns with their stock on the rise post-spring ball.

David Gbenda, LB

Since the start of winter workouts, one of the biggest risers among the upperclassmen for the Longhorns is redshirt senior linebacker David Gbenda. Sark and the Longhorns staff have definitely taken notice of how well Gbenda has performed throughout the winter strength and conditioning program and spring camp in the last few months.

"“David Gbenda had a good spring, but I think it started for David in winter. He had a good winter conditioning. He was very intentional in his approach, not only from a physical standpoint in the conditioning aspect of it all but also in getting with coach Choate and digesting the scheme and what it looked like and how we wanted him to play and it’s showing up."

I’ve pointed out before how Sark and co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Jeff Choate put the media on notice that Gbenda was making ample strides before the start of spring ball. That’s huge because Gbenda was already starting to show some signs of improvement when he did get live-game reps on defense down the stretch last season.

The fact that we’re hearing about Gbenda’s rise last season not being a fluke from what he’s showed his teammates and the coaches so far this offseason proves that he will be a factor on the field this fall.