Texas defensive backs look to bounce back following the bye

Over the last two weeks, Texas’ pass defense and defensive back room have been a major topic of discussion among Longhorn fans.

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That’s for good reason. Texas gave up over 360 passing yards in both of its last two games against Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. While the Bulldogs entered the game as a pass-heavy team, fans were shocked to see a team like the Commodores, more known for trickery and quick concepts than downfield passing, succeed through the air.

In the fourth quarter, Texas was without four of its starting defensive backs at times. The inexperience showed on plays like a 60+ yard touchdown on a busted coverage and a 4th-and-19 conversion deep in Vanderbilt’s own territory.

While some of the problems from the past two contests could be tracked down to issues in preparation, there’s no denying Texas was missing No. 16, Michael Taaffe: the team captain and leader of the defense.

But thanks to a much-needed bye week, Texas’ secondary will be the healthiest it’s been all season.

“Well, let’s start with getting 16 back, getting 4 back. Getting 17 back healthy. I mean, those three guys are factors for us,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said about his group.

While Taaffe had been recovering from thumb surgery for the past two games, fellow starter and key backup Jelani McDonald and Xavier Filsaime also sustained injuries during the game. Sarkisian noted that McDonald practiced on Monday, now removed from concussion protocol, and indicated that Filsaime will be healthy.

Sarkisian acknowledged that having the safety room healthy allows for the cornerbacks to play a better game.

“I do think their play is affected by what we do inside,” Sarkisian said about his cornerbacks. “You know, when you have to try to protect things inside, that puts guys a little bit more on islands on the perimeter. But I think if we can play as one, as a unit, we’re pretty good back there.”

Sarkisian mentioned a few key names in that cornerback room. We know about starters like Malik Muhammad and Jaylon Guilbeau needing to get right for a game against Georgia this weekend, but Sarkisian highlighted three youngsters alongside Filsaime who are impactful for this game:

STAR Graceson Littleton, CB Kade Phillips, and S Jonah Williams.

His omission of Kobe Black, Warren Roberson, and Derek Williams may just be a compliment to the two as players, as guys who have matured past the “young player” titles, but Sarkisian is often practical with who he mentions in these pressers.

Phillips is a player who played nearly 20 snaps against the Commodores and impressed Sarkisian directly after the game. With a bye behind him, the true freshman may be in line to be a priority depth piece on the biggest stage yet: a night game in Athens.

Littleton has been a starter for a while, but as a fellow true freshman in the class, he’s still getting acclimated to the life of a starter in the SEC.

“As a true freshman, playing the amount of snaps he’s playing, I think him having a bye week to kind of get his body refreshed is big for him. But all those guys that I touch on affect what we do on the perimeter,” Sarkisian said about Littleton.

This is the healthiest Texas secondary has been all season, but the bye poses the chance for these young players to truly step up at the biggest time of the year.

“When you get thrown in the fire, you’ve got to learn a lot. So you can prepare and practice for every situation, but until it’s live bullets, that’s when you truly learn,” Taaffe said about his young teammates. “They’ve done a lot of good things and are taking a lot of good steps.”

This will be the biggest test of SEC play for the Longhorn secondary: a Georgia team that has succeeded in throwing the ball all year, with a mixture of established recruits and high-impact transfers creating explosive plays through all 60 minutes.

Still, even after two of Texas’ worst pass-defending weeks of the last two seasons, there’s confidence in the building of a true turnaround from the defensive backs. With Taaffe and McDonald back in the fray, it’s hard to bet against them.

“I often say that our team is always going up. We’re always getting better. You know, we still haven’t hit our peak, and so me and Jelani talk about that for sure,” Taaffe said about McDonald.