Texas Football: 4 players that will make or break Longhorns 2023 season
Barryn Sorrell, EDGE
Word on the street coming out of training camp is that the defense looks like the best unit for the Longhorns. The defense won the two fall scrimmages the last two weekends. We’ve heard a lot of discussion regarding the consistency and disruptiveness of the defensive front in practice and scrimmages in the last couple of weeks.
The secondary is also a talking point as it’s in the best shape since Sark and Pete Kwiatkowski arrived on the Forty Acres a few years ago.
A big reason for the disruptiveness and overall effectiveness of the defensive front in fall camp is the play of upperclassmen starters such as defensive linemen Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat and junior edge rusher Barryn Sorrell. Senior defensive lineman Alfred Collins and junior Vernon Broughton also had solid training camps for the Longhorns.
Edge rusher is the most crucial position for the Longhorns along the defensive front this year, though. Texas needs an impact edge rusher to step up to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks and set the edge in run defense.
Sorrell was an effective run defender for the Longhorns last season, ranking fifth among Big 12 defensive linemen/edge rushers in tackles for loss in run defense (10.5).
But Sorrell was still developing as a pass rusher last fall. While he ranked second on the team in quarterback pressures (33), he only got home for 5.5 sacks.
Texas needs Sorrell to get home more often, especially on third down, where the Longhorns ranked 88th in the FBS last season in opponent third-down conversion rate. Sorrell got 2.5 third-down sacks last season, good for fourth among Big 12 edge rushers/defensive ends.
Texas EDGE Barryn Sorrell tied for fourth place in the Big 12 last season in third-down sacks (2.5). The Longhorns need more out of the pass rush this fall after ranking 88th in the FBS in third-down opponent conversion rate in 2022 (41.3%). pic.twitter.com/r1IKgsj8XW
— Hook'em Headlines (@HookemHeadlines) August 22, 2023
Sorrell is a leading candidate to lead Texas in sacks this season. He already led the team last season (5.5). We’ve heard that Sorrell has improved his body and become a more imposing force as a pass rusher coming off the edge in camp this offseason. If those practice reports come to fruition for Sorrell on the field this season, Texas’ defense will be even better than it was last year.