Texas DL Vernon Broughton improving as run defender

In roughly 24 hours, Texas football will begin its first scrimmage of fall camp on Aug. 10. Entering the first scrimmage of preseason camp this upcoming weekend, Texas and head coach Steve Sarkisian have already participated in two weeks of fall practice.

Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins making for a good first-team DL duo for Texas football in fall practice

Among the biggest pleasant surprises from the first couple of weeks of fall practice for the Longhorns is the standout defensive line depth among the top five or six guys this fall. Led by returning senior defensive tackles Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton, Texas has at least a half dozen defensive linemen who can make an impact on the iDL rotation in the SEC this season.

Broughton and Collins have led the way for Texas's defensive line position as the linemen taking the first-team reps in practice for the iDL rotation for Kenny Baker this fall.

"First off, you have Vernon and Alfred, and then you add Jermayne, Tia and you get Bill Norton. Those are five guys that have played a fair amount of football,"

- Steve Sarkisian

We've heard positive returns from multiple defensive tackles for the Longhorns early in preseason camp, especially among the new additions from the transfer portal from earlier this offseason. Grad transfer additions like Bill Norton, Tia Savea, and Jermayne Lole are all bound to immediately impact Texas's defensive line depth and formidability in the trenches this fall defending against the run and for the interior pass rush.

Defending the run has been a focal point for a handful of interior defensive linemen for the Longhorns early in preseason camp. Baker and the Longhorns need key defensive tackles in this iDL rotation this fall to be sturdier presences as anchors in run defense at the one and the three-tech.

Broughton might be the best example of a productive interior pass rusher for the Longhorns' defensive line that hasn't made the strides necessary to anchor in run defense throughout his collegiate career. He's always had the talent and physical tools required to be a stout interior run defender. But Broughton has been way more productive and disruptive rushing the passer up the middle in the last few years for Texas's defensive line.

It sounds like Broughton has made some necessary strides this offseason to improve his pad-level approach and anchoring ability as an interior run defender. Inside Texas Football reported on Aug. 9 that Broughton and Collins have "been playing very well" as the first-team defensive tackle pairing in fall practice in the last two weeks.

Something that specifically caught my eye in this practice/camp report from IT on Friday was the nugget that Broughton has been playing the run much better this fall. Broughton is more consistently finding the ball and getting to where he needs to be in a short span of time around the line of scrimmage as an interior defender against the run for the Longhorns in team drills and simulated live-game action in full pads practice this week.

I will say that the expectations for Broughton as an interior run defender should still be tempered a bit. While he is improving as an interior run defender regarding his fundamentals and intincts on the field to find the football and the ball carrier, Texas still has a bit more proven run anchors who can play inside at the zero, one, and two techniques in the trenches in the SEC.

All in all, Broughton has the physical tools and the experience and development over the last few years necessary to have the best year of his collegiate career for Texas's interior defensive line this season in the SEC. He's already proven he can be an effective interior pass rusher for the interior defensive line rotation for the Longhorns in the last couple of years.

Broughton can greatly improve his NFL Draft stock while adding another important piece of the defensive line dynamic to compliment a solid interior pass rush with improved run defense from the inside.

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