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Texas’ defense gets national respect: PFF’s college football rankings revealed

According to PFF's new defensive rankings heading into the 2025 college football season, Texas should be able to shut out a lot of teams.
ByMatthew Wilson|
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Liona Lefau (18) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Playoff First Round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images
Dec 21, 2024; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Liona Lefau (18) in action during the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Clemson Tigers in the CFP National Playoff First Round at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Pro Football Focus' defensive team rankings for 2025 came out last night, and the Longhorns are expected to be very, very good this year on that side of the ball. Texas' defense, led by Anthony Hill Jr., Michael Taaffe, and Colin Simmons, officially comes in at No.2 overall, right behind Alabama.

According to PFF's Max Chadwick,

"The Longhorns’ back-seven on defense is easily the best in college football, featuring both the top linebacker unit and secondary in PFF’s offseason rankings.

Anthony Hill Jr. is college football's top returning linebacker, Michael Taaffe is a top-five safety and Malik Muhammad is the sixth-ranked cornerback. The Longhorns' defensive line came in 10th in PFF’s rankings and features the best edge defender in the nation, sophomore Colin Simmons."

It's going to be tough to build off of an already great season where the defense only allowed:

- 15.3 ppg (3rd in FBS)

- 154.7 passing yards per game (3rd in FBS)

- 264.6 total yards per game (3rd in FBS)

- Offenses to convert 31.4% of their 3rd-down attempts (8th in FBS)

- 109.9 rushing yards per game (14th in FBS)

- Held opposing QBs to a 104.6 passer rating (2nd in FBS)

If the Longhorns can do a better job of stopping the run this season, we could see one of the historically great defenses at work. Georgia's defense during the 2021 season was one of the best in the modern era, and it wouldn't be surprising to see Texas' 2025 defense be just as good with DC Pete Kwiatkowski leading the charge.

The 'Horns did an excellent job of bulking up the interior of the defense in the transfer portal. They added Purdue's Cole Brevard, UNC's Travis Shaw, Syracuse's Maraad Watson, and Maryland's LaVon Johnson to the defensive tackle room. Three of those four players are over 315 pounds and have a reputation for stopping the run, so it's obvious that Texas' defensive staff recognized what they had to do this offseason.

A starting defensive line of Colin Simmons, Cole Brevard, Travis Shaw/Maraad Watson, and Ethan Burke would undoubtedly be one of the most talented in the league. Aside from the simple fact that there would be more "beef" up front, the linebackers will benefit from it as well. Anthony Hill Jr., Trey Moore, and Liona Lefau are going to be flying around and making plays non-stop this season.

I have a feeling that we're going to be hearing the national media raving about the Longhorns' defense all season long in 2025.

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