Texas Football: 3 third-year players set to become stars in 2024

Jaray Bledsoe, EDGE/DL

Among the three third-year players on this list who could breakout for the Longhorns in 2024, the one that probably has the most athletic potential is redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Jaray Bledsoe.

The 6-foot-4 and 275-pound Bledsoe has made incremental strides and shown flashes of his insane potential in the last two years on the 40. He registered five quarterback pressures and two defensive stops while taking a career-high 85 defensive snaps during his redshirt freshman campaign last season.

Bledsoe's opportunity to take to the spotlight as a first-time regular contributor on the two-deep along the defensive line lies ahead in the SEC this upcoming season. Texas lost multiple experienced and talented defensive linemen this offseason, namely potential first round 2024 draft picks Byron Murphy II and T'Vondre Sweat.

Bledsoe is already showing off his physical upside and competitiveness early in offseason workouts. He is reportedly "super physical" and "won't let anyone block him", no matter who he's matching up against in the trenches.

Few defensive linemen have the upside as an athletic force and one-on-one mismatch in the trenches in the SEC in 2024 than Bledsoe. He just needs to get a little bit stronger and fundamentally-sound with his pad-level approach and footwork to really push to solidify a spot on the two-deep this spring.

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