Georgia Opponents at a Glance: Texas Longhorns
We’re still a ways away from the start of Georgia’s football season this fall, but it’s never too early to start looking ahead at the Bulldogs’ opponents. Expected to enter the season at No. 1 in the nation, Kirby Smart’s squad takes on a tough schedule in 2024. UGA opens with Clemson in Atlanta and plays a beefed-up eight-game SEC slate that features Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss – three likely top-10 teams – all on the road. Add in games against Kentucky, Auburn, Mississippi State, Florida, Tennessee and Georgia Tech and the only thing holding Georgia back from having the toughest schedule in the country is the inability to play itself!
Today, we continue the DawgsHQ Opponents at a Glance series, taking a look at the offseason additions, departures and storylines of the teams Georgia plays this season. We’re halfway through the series having discussed the first five of Georgia’s power conference opponents. Today, we start the second half of them with the Texas Longhorns, who UGA plays in Austin on October 19th.
Texas Longhorns
Head Coach: Steve Sarkisian (4th season)
Offensive Coordinator: Kyle Flood (4th season)
Defensive Coordinator: Pete Kwiatkowski (4th season)
2023 Record: 12-2 (8-1 Big 12, Big 12 Championship Game win over Oklahoma State, Sugar Bowl CFP Semifinal loss to Washington)
Most Recent Result vs. Georgia: 28-21 TEXAS (2018)
NFL Draft: 11 players drafted (DL Bryon Murphy – 1st Round, WR Xavier Worthy – 1st Round, DL T’Vondre Sweat – 2nd Round, RB Jonathan Brooks – 2nd Round, WR Adonai Mitchell – 2nd Round, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders – 4th Round, OL Christian Jones – 5th Round, RB Keilan Robinson – 5th Round, LB Jaylan Ford – 5th Round, DB Ryan Watts – 6th Round, WR Jordan Whittington – 6th Round), 1 undrafted free agent (P Ryan Sanborn)
Transfer Portal: 25 players transfer out (Notables: CB Terrance Brooks, OT Payton Kirkland, DB Jerrin Thompson, DB Jalen Catalon, WR Agiye Hall), 11 players transfer in (Notables: DB Andrew Mukuba, EDGE Trey Moore, WR Isaiah Bond, WR Matthew Golden, WR Silas Bolden, TE Amari Niblack, DL Bill Norton)
Recruiting Recap: No. 6 in nation for Class of 2024 – top signee: five-star EDGE Colin Simmons – five top-100 players (Simmons, OT Brandon Baker, CB Kobe Black, WR Ryan Wingo, S Xavier Filsaime) – 77% blue chip Recent Results: No. 3 (2023), No. 5 (2022), No. 14 (2021)
Offensive Overview
In talking about Texas, there’s no other place to start than at the quarterback position where the Longhorns have one of the best in the country on their hands. Quinn Ewers is back for a third season as the starting quarterback in Austin having just led Texas back to the promised land of the College Football Playoffs last season. He’ll have a new cast of characters around him, but if Ewers and Steve Sarkisian can replicate the magic that was created to the tune of 289.9 yards per game, 22 touchdowns and just six interceptions, folks wearing burnt orange will be just fine.
Of course, the competition is raised to another level coming to the SEC, and it won’t be easy for Ewers as he tries to connect with new playmakers. Each of Ewers’ top five targets from last season are in then NFL now, and while they’ve been replaced with plenty talented options like Alabama’s Isaiah Bond and other transfer portal pickups, there’s still chemistry that must be created. Keep an eye on Johntay Cook, a former five-star recruit, to be one of Ewers’ go-to guys alongside those that have an experience advantage over him in Bond, Matthew Goldin and Silas Boldin, as well as tight end Amari Niblack.
Same goes for the Texas ground game. For a second straight season, a Longhorn was the first running back off the board in the NFL Draft. In 2023, it was Bijan Robinson, and he was replaced by Jonathan Brooks. This year, it’s Brooks that must have his shoes filled. Lucky for the Longhorns, CJ Baxter got his fair share of work last season, carrying it 138 times in 13 games. His averages weren’t quite as high as those of the ones that have come before him, but with more opportunities, the now second-year back might be able to up his production – especially behind one of the nation’s top offensive lines as four starters return up front.
Defensive Overview
Defensively, even fewer starters return. Edge defenders Barryn Sorrell and Ethan Burke are both back, as are linebackers Anthony Hill and David Gbenda. However, up front, there’s a massive overhaul on the line of scrimmage and just as much in the secondary on the back end.
Hill, a five-star from the Class of 2023, finished second on the team in tackles last season as just a freshman. The combo of him and Gbenda gives Texas a combined 117 tackles returning between the two of them. Still, losing the 101 of Jaylan Ford won’t be easy, especially behind a defensive line that featured a few early NFL Draft selections. Texas tried its best to address the need in the transfer portal, but the Longhorns came up relatively empty. That creates a hole on the defense – one we’ve seen at times show its hand for Georgia.
Texas did bolster itself on the EDGE with the addition of UTSA transfer Trey Moore. The AAC Defensive Player of the Year in 2023, Moore recorded a school-record 14 sacks last season and 17.5 tackles for loss, just one season after setting the program mark with 18 TFLs in 2022. Moore was considered one of the bigger pickups out of the transfer portal by anybody and should help Texas through somewhat of a transition up front.
As for the secondary, the Longhorns were hoping to get more here from the transfer portal too. While Andrew Mukuba of Clemson is a strong addition to play alongside the likes of Jahdae Barron (nickel) and Michael Taaffee (safety), it wouldn’t be surprising to see Texas counting on a couple of youngsters: two top-100 freshman Kobe Black and Xavier Filsaime. Malik Muhammad, the nation’s No. 5 corner in the Class of 2023, takes over as a starter in all likelihood. It’s going to be a much younger unit all around for the Texas defense in 2024, and that could very much be on display at its two ends: on the line of scrimmage and in the secondary.
In Case You Missed It…
Clemson Tigers
Kentucky Wildcats
Alabama Crimson Tide
Auburn Tigers
Mississippi State Bulldogs
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