Texas football roster countdown: Nos. 34-25

Texas is just under four weeks from the season opener, where the No. 1 (in the Coaches Poll) Longhorns will try to enact revenge against defending national champions (and No. 2 in the Coaches Poll) Ohio State. With Lee Corso’s final College Gameday in Columbus, the days can’t go by any faster. In preparation, we’re checking in on every Longhorn grouped by jersey number.

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Up next, Nos. 34-25.

Here’s Nos. 99-89. 

Here’s Nos. 88-77.

Here’s Nos. 76-60.

Here’s Nos. 59-55.

Here’s Nos. 54-50.

Here are defensive players added to the updated roster.

Here are offensive players added to the updated roster.

Here’s Nos. 49-45.

Here’s Nos. 44-40.

Here’s Nos. 39-35.

No. 34 – Retired for Ricky Williams

Williams won the program’s second and most recent Heisman Trophy in 1998, breaking the all-time NCAA rushing record in the process. His No. 34 was retired in 2000.

No. 33 – Myron Charles, DL

Charles enrolled early as part of a recruiting class that featured Justus Terry and Josiah Sharma. Though the future is bright for the 6-foot-4, 319 pounder, there are a lot of experienced players that Texas brought in from the portal ahead of him. He may see some action during Texas’ non-Ohio State non-conference games, but a redshirt is likely in order.

No. 32 – Brady Sarkisian, LB

The son of head coach Steve Sarkisian, Brady Sarkisian has appeared in two games in his time at Texas. He is a member of the Longhorns’ walk-on corps and could see some time on special teams during the season, but his contributions are likely to be limited.

No. 31 – James Simon, RB

Simon and fellow freshman Rickey Stewart Jr. enrolled early in order to get the offense down and get accustomed to college football. Carries may be tough to come by, but there may be opportunity still for Simon. Last year, once Texas lost CJ Baxter and Christian Clark for the season, Jeff Banks elected to take every running back off of special teams. As long as the Longhorns don’t suffer multiple serious injuries, there’s a strong likelihood running backs will be back on the main teams units. An athletic 5-foot-11, 205-pounder like Simon fits the physical specs preferred by Banks on special teams, so expect to see Simon’s contributions be on fourth downs and kickoffs or returns this fall.

No. 30 – Carson Marshall, DB

Marshall played versus UTSA and ULM, two appearances that go down as his only career in-game action to date. He is a member of Texas’ walk-on corps.

No. 30 – Elijah Barnes, LB

This is a big year for Barnes to learn. He has an All-American in Anthony Hill in front of him, as well as other veterans like Trey Moore, Liona Lefau, and Ty’Anthony Smith. Running with the threes at mike, there may not be a lot of standard down non-blowout opportunities for Barnes this year. Maybe a handful, but not a lot. However, Barnes was singled out by Banks as a player who, at 6-foot-1 and 244 pounds, would be utilized on special teams.

No. 29 – Graceson Littleton, DB

Quite possibly the star of the 2025 class so far in preseason camp, Littleton took the field with the ones to open camp at the Star position. Even with other veterans ahead of him, including some players further down this countdown, Littleton was the one who got the nod. That indicates a significant amount of trust from the coaches in the Tampa (Fla.) product and it shows that the great spring he had as an early-enrollee translated through the summer into the preseason. Even if Littleton doesn’t earn the No. 1 Star spot, he’s making it known he’ll be a key part of the defense this year and a valuable part of Banks’ special teams.

No. 28 – Santana Wilson, DB

Pete Kwiatkowski mentioned that the main four at cornerback entering camp were Kobe Black, Jaylon Guilbeau, Malik Muhammad, and Warren Roberson. Wilson is fighting to join their company as a redshirt freshman after not seeing any action last year. At 6-foot-0, 174 pounds, Wilson seems likely to factor in at field corner. He’ll also see his usage on special teams pick up this year.

No. 27 – Colin Page, RB

The pride of Anderson High, Page logged a handful of carries last year, 18 for 99 yards to be exact. Most of those came against Texas’ non-conference opponents though he did see some SEC action against Florida. Page won’t be vying for carries against SEC teams most likely, but he represents a quality floor set by the walk-on position at the running back spot.

No. 27 – Wardell Mack, DB

One of the players that is competing at Star with Littleton (and general secondary mixing and matching) is Mack. Mack only had 25 defensive snaps last year a true freshman, but he made the most of them. He logged an interception against Colorado State to maintain a shutout put his name in the stat sheet against UTSA and Florida. He’s contending to be part of Texas’ plans this year.

No. 26 – Ty’Anthony Smith, LB

Smith’s highlight from the 2024 season was an interception logged versus Florida. That was his main defensive contribution, but Smith was a part of Texas’ special teams units. He played in all 16 games and had reps on kick return, kick coverage, and punt return. He’ll continue to be a key part of Banks’ teams units and also will be asked to do more as a will linebacker behind Lefau.

No. 25 – Luke Dunham, QB

Dunham is a walk-on from Austin McCallum. He logged 2635 passing yards and 653 rushing yards for the Knights last year.

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No. 25 – Caleb Chester, CB

Chester is working through his first training camp as a Longhorn and will contend for some special teams snaps but might redshirt like Wilson did last season.