Texas linebacker Rasheem Biles keeps piling up weekly hardware, and now he’s got another one to add to the shelf.
The No. 10/11 Longhorn senior was named the Bednarik Award’s National Player of the Week on Tuesday, according to the Maxwell Football Club.
It’s the first time Biles has earned that specific honor, and he becomes the second Texas player this season to do it after junior EDGE Colin Simmons picked up the same recognition on Sept. 29.
Biles also added another SEC honor on Monday, landing his third SEC Co-Defensive Player of the Week award of the season. He entered the year on the Bednarik Award preseason watch list and was named a Butkus Award semifinalist on Oct. 28.
The award comes after one of Biles’ biggest performances of the season in Texas’ 31-3 win over Mississippi State on Oct. 31 at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. The Longhorns’ defense smothered the Bulldogs, holding them to 187 total yards, 2.8 yards per play and just three points.
Mississippi State managed only 68 rushing yards and 119 through the air, well below its 439.1 yards per game and 6.3 yards per play entering the matchup. Texas’ defense finished with seven sacks and nine tackles for loss.
Biles was right in the middle of it. He finished with eight tackles, three sacks for 26 yards lost, four tackles for loss totaling 27 yards and two forced fumbles.
One of those forced fumbles was returned 61 yards for a touchdown by Maraad Watson. The three sacks and two forced fumbles were both career highs, and the three sacks matched the most by a true linebacker in an FBS game this season.
His first game-changing play came just before halftime, with Texas up 10-0 and Mississippi State at the Longhorns’ 34. Biles dropped the quarterback, jarred the ball loose and set up Watson’s 61-yard return, pushing the lead to 17-0 at the break.
Later, in the third quarter, after Texas turned the ball over at its own 28 and the Bulldogs advanced to the 14, Biles came through again. What looked like a pass attempt by a receiver turned into a sack and then a backward throw that bounced out of bounds, ending as a fumble for a 15-yard loss.
Two plays later, Mississippi State settled for a field goal, its only points of the night.
Biles also opened the game with a tackle for loss on first down of Mississippi State’s first possession. Then early in the fourth quarter, he recorded his third sack, helping force a three-and-out and giving Texas’ offense the ball back before it finished off the 31-3 result.
Through the season, Biles now leads the SEC with three forced fumbles, which ranks sixth in the FBS. He also leads Texas with three interceptions, good for third in the SEC and 16th nationally, and seven pressures.
He’s second on the team in tackles with 61, sacks with four and tackles for loss with 9.5, while also tying for second in pass breakups with four. His 9.5 tackles for loss rank fourth in the SEC and 23rd in the FBS.
Biles is part of a Texas defense that ranks seventh nationally in team sacks at 3.25 per game, eighth in passing efficiency defense at 106.91, 10th in total defense at 273.1, 10th in defensive touchdowns with two, 12th in passing yards allowed at 170.8, 16th in red zone defense at 0.750, 19th in scoring defense at 17.1 and 24th in rushing defense at 102.4.
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