Several former Texas Longhorns are already making noise in NFL training camps, with a few climbing depth charts and others fighting to keep their pro dreams alive.
Anthony Hill Jr. has been one of the clearest early standouts. The second-round pick went 60th overall to the Tennessee Titans, and he has impressed enough that he’s viewed as part of the linebacker rotation as a rookie.
In Chicago, Malik Muhammad is forcing the issue at cornerback. Tyrique Stevenson is still listed as the starter at right corner, but Muhammad has done enough in camp to put real pressure on him for that job.
Miami has a pair of former Longhorns drawing attention. At linebacker, first-year head coach Jeff Hafley has used David Gbenda as a versatile piece, and he opened the Dolphins’ first 2026 depth chart as the starting strongside linebacker ahead of six-year veteran Willie Gay Jr.
Michael Taaffe has also outperformed expectations. Jordyn Brooks called him a "really, really smart rookie" who is "always in the right place."
With injuries thinning the safety room, Taaffe has worked with the second team, picked off a pass in coverage, and made a case for a bigger role. DJ Campbell, meanwhile, has been working at right guard and is listed as a third-teamer.
His path to the 53-man roster may depend on whether Miami keeps nine offensive linemen or 10.
Jack Endries has had a bumpier camp in Cincinnati, but he bounced back in the Bengals’ first preseason game. After a lost fumble and a drop on a wide-open shot at a touchdown in practice during the week, Endries caught three passes for 25 yards and scored Cincinnati’s only touchdown in a 16-14 win over the Lions. If he keeps stacking days like that, he has a shot at making a Bengals team that has carried five tight ends the last two seasons.
Among the undrafted group, Burke is making a case in Baltimore by getting pressure on quarterbacks and contributing on special teams. He and fellow undrafted rookie Aaron Graves turned heads on the third day of camp with multiple pressures, including a stunt that created disruption in the backfield. That kind of work has Burke in strong consideration for the Ravens’ 53-man roster or a practice squad spot.
Caldwell has also been productive, but the quarterback room has him buried. He’s listed as the fourth quarterback behind Matthew Stafford, Stetson Bennett and rookie first-round pick Ty Simpson, which makes his chances of making the Rams’ roster a long shot.
At defensive tackle, Cole Brevard is still on the Chiefs’ 90-man roster as of Aug. 17 and is listed as a third-team defensive tackle. He appears to be competing with second-year DT Marcus Harris for the final spot at the position, with second-year DT Omar Norman-Lott set to open the season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Travis Shaw’s path has been even more complicated. He didn’t last long with the Ravens, signed with the New England Patriots in May, was released by them on July 17, and then joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on July 29 after a training camp injury. Now he’s battling for a roster spot in Tampa Bay.
Jack Bouwmeester, who signed a three-year deal with the 49ers as an undrafted free agent, was waived on Aug. 12 after an open punter competition with veteran Corliss Waitman.
And Shipley, signed April 26 to compete with Charlie Smyth for the kicking job, was released on June 17 without getting into a preseason game. He has not been picked up by another team.
In Other News...
Texas Just Lost Another Dallas Area Defensive Line Prospect
Another Dallas-area defensive line prospect is on the move, and Texas fans have seen this pattern before. George Toia, a four-star UCLA commit and nationally ranked lineman, is transferring from Byron Nelson High School in Texas to Westminster Academy in Florida, continuing a high school career that has already taken him through three different states.
Toia is expected to join Westminster Academys football team for the upcoming season, and his move only adds to the growing sense that elite prospects in the Dallas area are becoming harder to keep close to home. For Texas, it is another reminder that the recruiting map around one of the states richest talent pools is getting more complicated by the year. [Read more 🡒]
Vince Young Just Made Texas Fans Love That USC Win Even More
A week before the 2006 BCS National Championship game, Vince Young says a run-in with USC fans at a T.G.I. Friday's in Los Angeles gave Texas an extra jolt heading into one of the biggest games in program history. On his podcast, Young recalled the negative encounter and how it stuck with him and his teammates as they prepared to face the Trojans for the title.
The memory adds another layer to what Longhorns fans already remember as one of the defining wins in school history. Young went on to put together one of the great championship performances, throwing for 267 yards and adding 200 more on the ground with three rushing touchdowns, and the story of what happened in that restaurant makes the payoff feel even sweeter in hindsight. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Is Carrying The Kind Of Hype Title Contenders Need
The preseason spotlight on Texas is getting brighter in a hurry, and the latest proof came with four Longhorns landing on the AP All-America first team. Offensive tackle Trevor Goosby, wide receiver Cam Coleman, linebacker Rasheem Biles and edge rusher Colin Simmons have all been showing up on preseason watch lists, and now theyve pushed Texas into the kind of early national conversation that usually follows the sports true title hopefuls.
For a program already expected to carry major weight in the race ahead, that kind of recognition matters because it signals depth at premium spots on both sides of the ball. It also raises the standard inside the building, where preseason praise is nice only if it turns into regular-season production, and Texas will spend the next few months trying to prove the hype is more than just August noise. [Read more 🡒]