Pete Kwiatkowski's honesty has helped him mold a vastly improved Longhorn defense

Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is, among many things, honest.

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Ahead of the 2022 season while fielding a question about his 2021 defense’s inability to get after the quarterback, Kwiatkowski quipped “what pass rush?”

Last year his unit ranked No. 94 in third down defense, allowing 41.31 percent of opportunities to reach the line to gain. And on Thursday during his media availability ahead of the No. 3 Longhorns’ Allstate Sugar Bowl matchup with the No. 2 Washington Huskies, he noted just how poor the 2022 team was in that metric.

“It starts with we’ve made an emphasis because we weren’t as good last year on third downs, so it was a huge emphasis in the offseason through camp and all season long,” Kwiatkowski said.

Kwiatkowski’s defense has made significant progress since a disastrous debut season in Austin in 2021. That year, the Longhorns were No. 100 in total defense allowing 425.6 yards per game. This season as part of Texas’ push to the College Football Playoff? The Longhorns are No. 25, allowing a significantly better 321.7 per contest.

Those improvements have come, but the honesty remains.

“Yeah, we had some good ones at Boise and Washington,” Kwiatkowski said. “And this is definitely right up there with them for sure.”

Kwiatkowski can be honest about how much better this defense featuring two All-Americans and the Outland Trophy winner with ease now. After the dismal 5-7 campaign, Texas is 12-1, won the Big 12 Championship, and earned a berth in the College Football Playoff thanks to a defense that ranks No. 26 in yards per play allowed. The Horns ranked No. 102 in that stat 2021.

But there are other statistical measures that show just how much better the Longhorns are and why they’re competing in the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns are third nationally in rushing defense, allowing just 80.8 yards per game. They’re second in third-down defense, trailing top-ranked Georgia by one thousandth. They defend in the red zone at an elite level, too. The Longhorns are tied for third in red zone defense.

It wasn’t always easy, but Kwiatkowski, and to a certain extent head coach Steve Sarkisian, stuck with the process and are reaping the benefits as a result.

“I’ve been doing this for 35 years, and there’s great seasons and there’s tough seasons,” Kwiatkowski said. “And then it always comes back to football is football. Don’t make it more than it is and stick to the process of growing and getting better.”

There were players on that 2021 defense who had to go through that growing and getting better process even without many positive results to work with from year one. Though Texas improved in 2022, there was still room to grow for players and coaches alike.

Kwiatkowski, who described himself as a reserved guy, said Thursday he chooses his places to speak carefully. One of those times was with arguably the best player on the Longhorn defense in T’Vondre Sweat.

Sweat had a decision to make after last year: return to Texas for one more run or declare for the NFL draft. He elected to stay in Austin, and became one of the most decorated defensive players in UT history. He earned the Outland Trophy as the nation’s top interior lineman. He was selected as a unanimous All-American. He was the Big 12 defensive player of the year.

None of that would have happened if it weren’t for a preseason conversation where Kwiatkowski was honest with Sweat about where he needed to improve.

“I would say I learned to believe and to trust,” Sweat said. “He helped me believe. He’s one of those guys who helped me believe in what we had going on. I sat down and talked with him also before the season like I talked to Sark. They just told me to trust them and believe in him. Now we’re here.”

The laid-back persona is just what’s on the surface for a coach who is obsessed with details.

“He is a reserved guy, but he’s focused on those details,” Barryn Sorrell said. “So when he does say things, you kind of think about it and want to put more emphasis on hitting those details and doing those things right. I think that’s why I am the player I am today.”

For Kwiatkowski, the Sugar Bowl will be a repeat reunion of sorts. He was at Washington as defensive coordinator or co-defensive coordinator from 2014 to 2020. He saw the Huskies in the Alamo Bowl last season, a contest where Texas fell to Washington 27-20.

The Longhorn defense had its moments versus the Michael Penix Jr. led offense last season, but the Huskies simply had more. Two touchdown passes by Penix Jr. plus a 42-yard scoring run by Wayne Taulapapa put UW over the top for its 11th win.

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He’s familiar with the Huskies and knows how corralling the teamwith the No. 1 passing offense will be a challenge. He was honest in describing the difficulty of stopping Penix Jr. and the rest of the Husky offense.

But he was also honest in describing what he wants the end result to be.

“As competitors, you always want to get another shot at somebody that’s beaten you,” Kwiatkowski said. “So that’s no different in this instance.”