With Texas suddenly thin at inside linebacker, the Longhorns are turning to Jordon Johnson-Rubell for help.
According to a report from Inside Texas, the junior safety has been spun down to linebacker after the dismissal of junior Ty’Anthony Smith late last week left Texas with just seven scholarship inside linebackers. It’s a move built on necessity, and it gives the Longhorns another body in a room that needed one.
Johnson-Rubell arrived in Austin as a decorated recruit. The Fort Worth product finished his high school career at IMG Academy in Florida, earned Under Armour All-American honors, and signed with Texas in the 2024 class after choosing the Longhorns over finalists Michigan, Ohio State, and TCU. He had 35 offers in all, and the 247Sports Composite ranked him as the No. 206 player nationally and the No. 16 safety.
Texas has always viewed him as more of a long-term project than an instant impact player, and his first two seasons reflected that. As a true freshman, Johnson-Rubell logged 78 defensive snaps and 40 special teams snaps, mostly on kickoff return, and finished with eight tackles.
In 2025, his defensive role shrank, but his special teams workload expanded sharply. He played 236 special teams snaps and took on kickoff coverage, punt return, and punt coverage duties, finishing with nine tackles and two passes broken up.
The safety depth chart moved around him as Jonah Williams and Xavier Filsaime climbed ahead of him, and some coverage issues showed up along the way. Johnson-Rubell was charged with giving up a 43-yard catch against San Jose State, then was picked on often in the Citrus Bowl win over Michigan, where he allowed four receptions on five targets for 47 yards.
He also changed physically this offseason, going from 189 pounds to 212. That added bulk now fits the move to linebacker, even if it was originally meant for a bigger role at safety or in the box.
At 5-foot-10, Johnson-Rubell is now extremely undersized for the position, though his weight is close to Smith’s 214 pounds. Smith, listed at 6-foot-1, was the smallest linebacker on the Texas roster.
Even with the size concern, Johnson-Rubell brings traits that can help him make the switch. His physicality, range, and open-field tackling should translate, but the real challenge will be dealing with offensive linemen climbing to the second level. For now, he projects as the lowest linebacker on the depth chart, behind sophomore Akron transfer Markus Boswell and all three freshmen linebackers.
Texas will still likely keep using him on special teams, where he already made a real impact. Johnson-Rubell finished second on the team with four special teams tackles and proved more dependable at bringing opponents down than cornerback Warren Roberson, who was credited with six missed tackles.
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