Texas football signed four five-star prospects on defense alone in its 2025 recruiting class, outpacing the recruiting efforts across both sides of the ball of everyone else in the country except Georgia.
But the Longhorns spent the 2025 regular season leaning mostly on their veterans as they fought for a spot in the College Football Playoff, ultimately coming up three places short. The only freshman who emerged to secure a starting spot on defense was Graceson Littleton, who slotted in as Texas’ nickel cornerback all year long.
Seven of the 11 most-used players on defense are departing the program, leaving opportunities all across the depth chart that can be seized by young talent. And that process can start Wednesday when the Longhorns play Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. The extent to which head coach Steve Sarkisian treats this game like a developmental exercise remains to be seen. But opt-outs across the defense will force his hand to some degree.
Here are five defensive freshmen to watch when the No. 13 Longhorns play the No. 18 Wolverines.
Justus Terry arrived on campus to find a load of veteran talent standing between him and significant playing time as a true freshman. That’s still the case in the bowl game — none of the Longhorns’ interior defensive linemen have opted out. But Terry surged late in the season, laying claim to some key rotational reps and standing out in a Week 13 loss to Georgia. He’s a breakout candidate for next season and more snaps in the Citrus Bowl could jump start that process.
Injuries pressed Jonah Williams into service during his freshman season on the baseball diamond. Opt-outs in the secondary could have the same impact on the gridiron. All-American safety Michael Taaffe is skipping the Citrus Bowl, as is understudy Derek Williams Jr., who’s set to enter the transfer portal. Regular-season snap counts indicate Xavier Filsaime is next in line to step forward, but Williams should play plenty, too.
Ethan Burke and Trey Moore are both opting out of the Citrus Bowl as they prepare for the NFL draft, leaving the Longhorns without two of their primary pass rushers. That provides an opportunity for freshman Lance Jackson. The five-star from Texarkana is already a key part of the rotation on defense, playing the second-most snaps on that side of the ball among rookies. And he’s been productive, too, registering 15 pressures and two sacks on 134 pass-rush snaps.
New Longhorns defensive coordinator Will Muschamp faces a decision at cornerback. Does he make transfer portal additions or roll into 2026 relying on the talented underclassmen who backed up Malik Muhammad and Jaylon Guilbeau this season? Kade Phillips is a key figure in that calculus. The former five-star prospect played 188 snaps during his freshman season and he’s in line for a big workload in the Citrus Bowl with both Muhammad and Guilbeau opting out.
Both of Texas’ most relied-upon middle linebackers from the regular season are opting out of the bowl game. Anthony Hill Jr. is getting ready for the pre-draft process while Liona Lefau will play elsewhere in 2026. At a position where the Longhorns lack depth, Elijah Barnes will likely be called upon to shoulder a heavy load. A top-70 prospect from Dallas, Barnes has played sparingly so far in his debut season, posting one tackle from 24 total snaps across three games.