David Gbenda eyeing a return to the starting lineup to "contribute to the team and help us win the Big 12"

David Gbenda is entering his fifth year with the Longhorn football program. He’s seen two head coaches, had a brief stint in the running back room, and has seen a significant number of members from his class of 2019 come and go.

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Last season, Gbenda was in line to spell DeMarvion Overshown at the Will off-ball linebacker spot. But after spring practice, the coaches decided to add FCS transfer Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey to the roster, bumping Gbenda down a place in the pecking order.

Gbenda, who had already made 24 appearances with two starts in his Texas career at that juncture, didn’t take that as a slight. He saw it as an opportunity.

“My initial reaction was, I looked at his addition to the team as someone I can learn from,” Gbenda said Tuesday. “I looked at his film, they were bringing him in for a reason, so let me take some pieces and things here and there from his game. At first, I was just very eager to learn from him and be under his wing at that position.”

Gbenda said he became more intentional in what he did on and off the field after learning from not only Tucker-Dorsey, but also Overshown, Jaylan Ford, and other teammates. That knowledge and his four-year developmental track has him yearning to showcase his talents in the starting lineup, but not for selfish reasons.

“I don’t want to start and get that just because I started (in the past),” Gbenda said. “I want to start and contribute to the team and help us win the Big 12. That’s my goal. To help us get to the Big 12 and then to the national championship.”

Gbenda has 55 tackles with 2.0 for loss and one sack along with one interception during his 32-game career. A 6-foot-0, 225-pounder out of Katy (Texas) Cinco Ranch, Gbenda saw 71 non-special teams snaps across all 13 games last season according to PFF. He played in each of the Longhorns’ first four games, including a start versus Texas Tech in place of a targeting-suspended Overshown. But in the final nine contests, he was on the field for 26 total plays.

That type of diminished playing time after four years on campus would have led a lot of current college football players to the transfer portal. Not Gbenda, one of three remaining members along with Jordan Whittington and T’Vondre Sweat from the class of 2019.

“Even from high school, I never really was a guy to just quit,” Gbenda said. “I believed in this university. I told myself I was going to get a degree here. When I 100 percent committed to this university, I was committed to this university regardless of anything going on.”

Now, Gbenda may be the leading candidate to start alongside Ford at the Will linebacker spot. Gbenda said Tuesday seeing Ford go from spot-player to All-American was a positive influence for him.

However, Gbenda isn’t without his weaknesses. Those weaknesses aren’t related to athleticism as Gbenda ran a 11.06 100m for Cinco Ranch during the 2019 season. Rather, the ability for Gbenda to properly process the image in front of him has been the area needing improvement.

In trying to bolster that Will position, Texas has Morice Blackwell competing with Gbenda. Even though they’re battling each other, Gbenda took an opportunity to praise Blackwell, who he called the “slim reaper.”

“He’s a physical guy, great footwork, good zone drops,” Gbenda said.

He’d later add about Blackwell’s listed 6-foot-1, 208-pound frame: “don’t let that fool you, he packs a lot of bite.”

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No matter what happens at the position, Gbenda is confident in the Longhorns’ ability to follow through on lofty expectations during the 2023 season. His own efforts are one reason, the efforts of those around him are another.

“What I look at is the team’s work ethic and how our mindset is,” Gbenda said. “We’re not paying attention to the rankings. We’re not paying attention to the awards or stuff like that.

“Team run, I’m seeing groups of running backs over here getting an extra arm. I’m seeing QBs work on core. I’m seeing the linebackers, even the younger guys, we’re all coming together working the arms together.

“From the top down, from the older guys to the younger guys, I’m seeing a lot of buy-in. That’s why I truly believe this team is going to be the one that makes that breakthrough this year, because we’re all working.”