3 big storylines to watch on Day 1 of fall camp for Texas
Top groups along the interior defensive line
The interior defensive line rotation is a major focal point for Pete Kwiatkowski, Kenny Baker, and the Longhorns entering fall camp this week. Texas will rely on a combination of experienced defensive tackle transfers, returning upperclassmen, and a couple of big underclassmen to fill out the interior defensive line rotation in the SEC this fall.
I've mentioned this week that returning seniors Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton are the leaders for Texas's interior defensive line entering the fall. Collins and Broughton are two experienced and proven players who have over 1,500 combined defensive snaps for Texas's defensive front in their respective careers in the last few years.
Joining Collins and Broughton are senior grad transfers Bill Norton and Tia Savea from Arizona and Jermayne Lole from the Louisville Cardinals and Arizona State Sun Devils. We've talked about reports mentioning Lole's pure talent and how he can immediately impact Texas's defensive line playing three-tech this fall.
It sounds like Lole, Collins, and Broughton are three defensive tackles who enter the first day of fall practice as the presumptive favorites to get the first and second-team reps on the interior defensive line.
Some of the candidates who could push their way into the defensive line rotation early in preseason camp to take the final spot or two entering the regular season for 2024 are sophomore Sydir Mitchell and true freshman Alex January.
Mitchell has a lot to prove to show consistently show his work ethic and to get in good shape entering the season in about a month from now.
January has burst onto the scene as Texas's most impactful first-year defensive tackle who could make his way into the defensive line rotation this fall. At 6-foot-4 and 325-pounds, January fits that "big human" mould Texas loves to have at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
I would also be remiss if I didn't mention the possible breakout candidate for Texas along the defensive line, junior Jaray Bledsoe. The big and athletic 6-foot-4 and 300-pound defensive lineman Bledsoe is probably Texas's most explosive and freakish player at the position entering training camp.