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Texas is doing it again at defensive tackle with regular rotation from top-flight players

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook8 hours agojosephcook89
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Kenny Baker, Hero Kanu (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Throughout the last couple of years, the Texas Longhorns defensive tackles have made big play after big play. Whether it was T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy, or Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton, or even Bill Norton and Jermayne Lole stepping up, Texas has gotten clutch and consistent play from its defensive tackles dating back to when Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo were manning the middle.

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Though there isn’t any one standout this year quite yet, the whole group has been a part of Texas’ defensive dominance. No matter who rotates in at defensive tackle, the big boys in burnt orange make things happen both for themselves and for others.

According to ESPN’s Max Olson, the Longhorns are No. 3 in stop rate. The Longhorns are top five in a number of other advanced analytical metrics. According to CFB-Graphs, Texas is top five in…

  • Defensive Net Points/Drive – No. 4 – 0.67
  • EPA/Rush – No. 3 – -0.128
  • Quality drive rate – No. 2 – 21.4%
  • Field position – No. 3 – 24.79

Much of that can be credited to Texas’ dominant defensive front. In addition, the Longhorns are top 10 in five other defensive metrics CFB-Graphs measure and top 25 in numerous others.

It’s not just a one-man show. Hero Kanu is leading the room in most stats, but four other Texas defensive tackles are seeing at least 15 snaps per game. Plus, new additions Justus Terry and Lavon Johnson have earned opportunities to get into the fray.

While Texas does have a couple of players, namely Kanu, Alex January, and Maraad Watson, who see more snaps than the others in the group, the Longhorns are 6.0-deep at defensive tackle with Kanu, Watson, January, Cole Brevard, and Travis Shaw making up the top five and Terry and Johnson splitting sixth-man duties.

PlayerDefensive snapsSnaps per game (Games)TacklesTFLSacksPFF ‘Stops’
Hero Kanu24735 (7)192.51.010
Maraad Watson16528 (6)161.51.55
Cole Brevard15422 (7)111.004
Alex January13634 (4)6005
Travis Shaw10815 (7)61.003
Justus Terry297 (4)1000
Lavon Johnson289 (3)41.002

Stops are defined as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense.”

Numbers can only say so much. Following in the footsteps of players like Murphy, Sweat, Collins, and Norton, the Longhorn defensive tackles of 2025 authored their own fourth down and goal line moments this past week against Kentucky.

“A lot of people get discouraged at the goal line, but we take pride in that,” Kanu said Monday. “We stopped them on fourth down. We stopped them on goal line. It’s got to be mentality. You can’t go in there with a sad face. Big plays happen. You’ve just got to go in there and play.”

The depth at DT has allowed for Texas’ trench warriors to stay as fresh as 300-pounders can late into ballgames. That helped in 2023, it helped in 2024, and it’s helping in 2025.

“Having this depth all over the place is amazing for us,” Kanu said. “It allows us to get bigger, or just put in the next wave. Their offensive line gets tired too, let me tell you that. Then you’ve got a fresh wave of guys coming in? It’s really advantageous.”

For Texas to go to the portal and stock up on defensive tackles for a second straight year and hit once again with players like Kanu, Shaw, Watson, and Brevard on the heels of signing Terry, Josiah Sharma, and Myron Charles means Kenny Baker will have talent to work with in the coming years with proper scholarship numbers in each class.

A good 2026 class, something that looks very likely with James Johnson, Vodney Cleveland, Dylan Berymon, and Corey Wells, has the pipeline looking big and strong for Baker and Pete Kwiatkowski. Of course, January, who has been playing great when on the field, stands as a homegrown product worth advertising.

Those players will write their own stories eventually. The 2025 Texas defensive tackles? They’re authoring a tale of excellent play and even dominance, just like the groups from 2023 and 2024 did in the Longhorn defense, all while sharing the load.

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