AUSTIN, Texas — Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles has three career interceptions.

He also has three career touchdowns.

That’s right. Every time Biles has picked off a pass in college – he’s scored.

That kind of athleticism is nothing new for Biles. Long before he became a linebacker, he was accustomed to having the football in his hands.

“In high school, I played running back, receiver, I did a lot of Wildcat, and I played free safety my senior year,” Biles said. “So really, I just started playing linebacker when I got to college.”

He has learned the position quickly. Through just 24 collegiate games at linebacker, Biles has piled up 183 tackles, 10.5 sacks, three forced fumbles and three interceptions — with all three picks returned for touchdowns.

It helps explain Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s succinct description of his new defender:

“He’s a problem.”

Biles agrees, although he has a more detailed scouting report.

“I like to refer to myself as a three-level threat,” Biles said. “I can cover good, I can obviously play the run and blitz, and I can rush the passer. So if you just put all three of those together, like you say, you have a problem on the field.”

Chasing bigger games

Texas admired Biles’ versatility. Biles admired something bigger about Texas: the opportunity to play when the stakes are highest.

“I’m tired of just having to sit home in December and January and watch big games on TV,” Biles said. “I want to be a part of that game. I want to be a part of big games. I want to win the national championship. That’s my biggest goal. And coming here, I feel like I can do that for sure.”

Those ambitions fit the nickname Biles has carried since his youth: Heem the Dream.

There is the NFL dream. There is the national championship dream.

But another dream says even more about the person behind the player.

Giving kids in Columbus an outlet

Biles and his mother started the Dream Foundation in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio, with a mission that is deeply personal.

“The Dream Foundation is a foundation for kids and adolescents, just helping with mental behavior,” Biles said. “Obviously growing up, I was a troubled kid. I was kind of a bad kid, but I always had people around me who just kind of helped me and got me to where I am now.”

Now Biles wants to be that person for someone else.

Working alongside his mother and the Reset Rec Center, Biles has helped create programs designed to give children a safe and productive place to spend their time. The facility includes a basketball court, turf, classrooms, computers and games. There are after-school programs, transportation and meals, while Biles has also helped organize basketball opportunities for local kids.

The purpose is simple: give them an outlet.

“Anything I could do to help in the city, because I knew growing up it was hard,” Biles said. “Columbus, it’s not a lot of people that really make it out. But if you just keep your head on straight and just keep grinding and have something to do, have an outlet, it can really do a lot.”

Just before reporting to preseason camp, Biles returned home for an Aug. 1 back-to-school drive. Families received backpacks and school supplies, while the event also featured games, bounce houses, snow cones, raffles and gift-card competitions.

“Me and my mom try to help them kids in any way we can,” Biles said. “The Dream Foundation, I’ve just been pushing that a lot. I’m just trying to give back.”

For Biles, the work is more than charity. He sees himself in the children he is trying to help.

“It is very personal, because like I said, I was once one of them kids,” he said.

Biles was raised by his mother, and he remembers spending his childhood outside with his siblings, sometimes finding trouble at school and elsewhere. Those experiences now shape what he wants the Dream Foundation to provide.

“I know how it is when you’ve got ADHD and stuff like that and your brain is just like, you just want to do this and do that,” Biles said. “So I just try to give them kids an outlet.”

One game already circled

Biles is committed to making Columbus a better place.

That does not mean he has forgotten what awaits Texas on the field.

The Longhorns’ matchup with Ohio State carries an obvious extra layer for the Columbus native. Staying home was never particularly appealing after the Buckeyes did not recruit him coming out of high school.

“When I made my list, I told my mom, Columbus, I ain’t really trying to be in Columbus,” Biles said. “I ain’t trying to be a Buckeye. They ain’t want me out of high school and I was right there, so ain’t no point in trying to get me now.”

Then he smiled at the opportunity ahead.

“I’m excited for that game, definitely,” Biles said. “That’s circled on my calendar for sure.”

Heem the Dream wants a national championship. He wants a future in football. And he wants the kids back home to have opportunities of their own.

For opposing offenses, Sarkisian’s assessment may be the simplest way to put it.

Rasheem Biles is a problem.