3 most improved Texas players after first 5 games

No. 2 Texas football enters the bye week after a good start to the season after the first five weeks. Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian are 5-0 (1-0 SEC) after a sluggish performance in the SEC opener last weekend at home against the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Texas football has improved at multiple positions on defense this fall

Outside of the Longhorns' very slow start in their first-ever SEC game last weekend against Mississippi State and first-year head coach Jeff Lebby, Texas has been very good in the season's first month. Texas handled business against three out-of-conference opponents at home by margins of victory of no fewer than 48 points.

Texas's lone road victory during non-conference play was an impressive and convincing 31-12 win at the Big House in Ann Arbor in Week 2 over the defending National Champion Michigan Wolverines.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns will face the Oklahoma Sooners in the Red River Rivalry game in Dallas on Oct. 12 in the first game after the bye week. Texas and Oklahoma both have bye weeks this week to prepare for Red River next weekend.

This year's Texas squad looks really deep on both sides of the ball and ready to make a run in the SEC this fall for a title and a high-seed for the 12-team College Football Playoff.

Here are three of the most improved Longhorns players after the season's first five weeks.

Liona Lefau, LB

Sophomore Liona Lefau is one of the many talented players on the defensive side of the ball for the Longhorns, who will be "next up" for future starters for the front seven. After super senior David Gbenda, Lefau is probably going to be the next starter for the Longhorns, along with star sophomore Anthony Hill Jr., at the linebacker position for Texas's defensive front.

Gbenda and Hill have started every game together at the linebacker position for the Longhorns. But Texas has some younger guys ready to step up and make an impact on the two-deep at linebacker, including Lefau and true freshman TyAnthony Smith.

Lefau has made the most of the defensive snaps he's gotten early this season for Texas's defense. He's made a big impact for the Longhorns front in multiple games during non-conference play, including team-highs in defensive stops in the season opener win over the Colorado State Rams and in the Week 4 win over the UL-Monroe Warhawks.

Whether it's the pass rush, defending the run, or contesting space and dropping into pass coverage, Lefau has impacted multiple areas of Texas's defense in each game this season through five weeks. He even has a safety under his belt from Texas's win over ULM a couple of weeks ago.