92 days until Texas Football: Colton Vasek gears up for his first season in Austin
Inside Texas is putting a new twist on long-time photographer Will Gallagher’s countdown to Texas football kickoff. In addition to Will’s great pictures, the Inside Texas staff will go through every player on the roster by jersey number and offer a season outlook for each, from five-star to walk-on.
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We’ll also look back at other greats to wear that day’s number, with special reverence to some of Texas’ best.
Today is 92 days until kickoff. No. 92 will be worn in 2023 by Colton Vasek, a freshman EDGE.
Colton Vasek season outlook
Diligence on the recruiting trail from Steve Sarkisian, Pete Kwiatkowski, and 2023 Texas pledges, plus Oklahoma’s woes during Brent Venables‘ first season as head coach of the Sooners, opened the door for UT to flip the Longhorn legacy turned OU commit. A few days after Texas defeated Kansas State in Manhattan, Kan., Vasek completed the flip and made the choice to continue his football career at the school his father, Brian, starred at in the 1990s.
Vasek was part of several dominant Austin (Texas) Westlake state championship defenses, working in tandem with fellow EDGE and now fellow Longhorn, Ethan Burke. His senior season, Vasek improved upon his strong junior year by totaling 71 tackles with 14 sacks and 19 hurries.
Listed at 6-foot-5, 230 pounds, Vasek has a frame with room to grow in preparation for a career as the Jack end in Kwiatkowski’s 2-4-5 system. He may not see a heavy conventional snap worklead this year with Barryn Sorrell possessing a strong hold on the first-string spot and Justice Finkley also factoring in at the position, but there’s opportunity for Vasek with only two names ahead of him. Much of it depends on how much he develops physically during the summer.
Special teams coordinator Jeff Banks likes to place EDGEs and tight ends behind the front line on kick return. Vasek could occupy that role as part of his playing time this year.
Colton Vasek as a recruit
Vasek was ranked as the No. 96 overall prospect, the No. 12 EDGE, and the No. 18 player in Texas in the 2022 On3 Industry Ranking, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. Vasek originally committed to Oklahoma on August 1, 2022 but flipped to Texas on November 8, 2022.
Most recent wearer of No. 92: Myron Warren
Warren played in three games in his Texas career, recording three tackles.
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All-Americans to wear No. 92:
James Patton, DE, 1991
Steve Habel contributed to this post
