IT Roundtable: The most important offseason developments for the Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns football returns, at least to the practice field, this Wednesday. That means the offseason is coming to a close, and the preseason is set to start.

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What were the most important events during the offseason? Biggest additions to the coaching staff? Best development from spring football and summer workouts? The IT staff answers.

What was the most important offseason development for the Longhorns after losing the Cotton Bowl?

Eric Nahlin – To me there is only one answer—it was retention in the immediate days following that loss to Ohio State. The portal automatically opened for five days with schools across the country working to get elite Texas players to transfer. The end result was not a single player was lost but things were shaky there for a few days.

Justin Wells – Restocking the defensive line, retaining highly-sought players, and Arch Manning taking over the locker room.

Ian Boyd – It was probably the development of some young players who are going to show out in a major way this coming fall. Which players I’m not entirely certain. Hopefully some of the defensive backs.

Joe Cook – I saw Adam Schefter tweet today that Keondre Coburn was claimed off waivers by the Las Vegas Raiders, which is a nice reminder that Texas has had NFL draft picks at defensive tackle as a floor for the last three seasons. Kenny Baker not only added front-line depth with players like Cole Brevard, Travis Shaw, and Maraad Watson, adding players like Watson, Hero Kanu, and Lavon Johnson make up for some mishaps in the cycles prior to 2025. Defensive tackle is all right now because of 2025 recruiting and portal adds, plus what’s on the way in 2026.

Charlie Williams – Jack Endries. I think he’ll be targeted a lot, he’s a safety blanket for Arch.

Paul Wadlington – Adding five defensive tackles of varying attributes and type to fill a glaring need that would have really hurt us if left unfilled was a huge deal. Jack Endries was a nice second place.

RT Young – Retention. Getting Michael Taaffe and Trey Moore back for another year ensures the Longhorn defense won’t see much of a drop off from a historic unit in 2024.

Evan Vieth – As boring as it may be, the emphasis of adding in positive players on special teams was extremely important. Texas wins at least one more game last year with improved special teams play, and the Longhorns upgraded at kicker with Mason Shipley and punter with Jack Bouwmeester. The Longhorns will likely be able to return players like Quintrevion Wisner and Michael Taaffe to special teams units in big games.

What assistant coach addition are you most excited about STRICTLY for on-field play?

Eric Nahlin – That has to be Duane Akina who will have the greatest say in scheme and deployment. Familiarity and trust with Johnny Nansen from their time in Arizona increases trust and very likely Akina’s say in how the secondary ties into the rest of the defense.

Justin Wells – Duane Akina: King of DBU. He’s back, baby!

Ian Boyd – I love that they added LaAllan Clark to help work with all the edge-rushers on the team. Colin Simmons with high level skills is going to be really fun and interesting to watch and he’s far from the only one who has some major potential.

Joe Cook – LaAllan Clark’s arrival at Texas coincides with getting two years of Colin Simmons, who might be one of the best players he gets to coach in his career (so far).

Charlie Williams – LaAllan Clark. The development of the guys behind Simmons and Moore. If Texas has little to no drop off, this team can be really dangerous.

Paul Wadlington – The STRICTLY on-field restriction made me Google around to see if there were any more monkey incidents. I have heard fantastic things about Mark Orphey from Rutgers folks, but the addition of pass rushing specialist LaAllan Clark has me very intrigued. I think he’ll be key in our pass rushers maximizing.

RT Young – Duane Akina. The technician is back not for his recruiting chops at 68 years old, but for his on field acumen and his ability to coach up young DBs into future NFL prospects.

Evan Vieth – I think Duane Akina is going to turn some of these fringe star defensive backs into NFL first round picks. The development on Xavier Filsaime communicating better already shows his work is already translating, but he will be a big reason Malik Muhammad turns into a star this season. Same with Jelani McDonald and Derek Williams.

Which insider tidbit/injury update was your favorite to hear over the course of the spring?

Eric Nahlin – I’m hoping the light has truly come on for Neto Umeozulu, or at least will come on in August. Hearing he was in the best shape he’s ever been after having nearly a month off from structured workouts offers hope that he’s putting in extra work. CJ Baxter returning in June, rather than for fall camp, was also a big development but I still think the staff will bring him along a bit slowly during the season.

Justin Wells – The development of the WR room, CJ Baxter’s health, and the team being more player-led.

Ian Boyd – Christian Clark coming back and running around like nothing ever happened was both remarkable and encouraging as I’ve suspected he’s the most talented back in the room.

Joe Cook – While we may not have been treated to the Arch Manning fourth down package if CJ Baxter were healthy last year, it’s not a big stretch to think Baxter would have helped Texas alleviate tight red zone issues. Baxter making progress and sounding like a player who can help Texas in some form or fashion not just in 2025 but in week one is a big deal.

Charlie Williams – Christian Clark coming back healthy. Seeing him do front squats let me know he was on track. He can be special.

Paul Wadlington – Derek Williams trending back towards health is a big development. Not a lot of him running around in college football.

RT Young – The emergence of DJ Campbell as not only a leader, but the “Dude” who Texas fans expected him to be back when he and Kelvin Banks signed with Steve Sarkisian.

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Evan Vieth – Everything that we’ve heard about pass catchers. Ryan Wingo is ready to be a star, DeAndre Moore is operating like a veteran on a contract year, Parker Livingstone is fighting for the WR3 spot, Emaree Winston and Daylan McCutcheon are looking good early. Everything has been extremely positive.