Future defensive star? Texas freshman dominates PFF grades as top defender vs. OSU

Though the Longhorns lost to the Buckeyes on Saturday, there were quite a few outstanding individual performances by players on both sides of the ball.

Both Michael Taaffe and Liona Lefau looked great throughout the game, but it was true freshman sensation, CB Graceson Littleton, who stole the show defensively.

His Pro Football Focus grade of 86.6 was the highest amongs all Texas defenders in game No.1.

Though the box score only shows his single tackle and pass deflection, he had himself one heck of a game. He was consistently draped over OSU wide receivers Jeremiah Smith and Brandon Inniss, to the point where Smith and his position coach were visibly frustrated following his nice breakup near the sideline.

One of Littleton's best attributes throughout the offseason has been his closing speed, and it was on full display on Saturday. He was consistently able to recover when Ohio State wide receivers were able to get separation throughout the game. As you saw in the above tweet, he was able to time up and close in on receivers as soon as the ball arrived to force the incompletion.

He was only credited with one pass deflection, but he was the main force or cause of at least two others in the game, one of which was a fairly big play on Brandon Inniss down on the boundary.

Needless to say, Littleton has definitely locked down the starting "star" or slot corner position for the Longhorns going forward, and it looks like he could be the next Texas defensive star in the making. He'll play a big role for defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski going forward in 2025, and there's even a chance that he could see some snaps on the boundary as well if Jaylon Guilbeau starts to have trouble on the outside at any point this season.