Rasheem Biles has wasted no time making himself felt at Texas.
Steve Sarkisian said Monday that the transfer linebacker has been exactly the kind of disruptive force the Longhorns hoped they were getting, comparing the pressure Biles is putting on the offense in camp to the impact Colin Simmons made in the spring.
“That effect, I’m seeing that with Rasheem Biles. I mean, he’s a problem. Guy’s a problem when he rushes, he can do it on special teams, I mean, he does it a lot of different ways,” Sarkisian said on Monday.
Biles arrives in Austin with a résumé built on impact plays. At Pitt, he began as a special teams weapon, leading the nation and tying the school’s single-season record with three punt blocks as a freshman in 2023. Last season, he moved mostly to the field-goal block unit, but his special teams background also includes work on kick return, kick coverage and punt return units.
Texas still has to sort out exactly how coordinator Jeff Banks will use him in that phase of the game. On defense, though, the plan is much clearer. The 6-foot-1, 222-pound Biles is projected to start at Will linebacker for Will Muschamp.
Sarkisian has liked what he’s seen from the start of camp. Even without pads, Biles showed up in a hurry during the first practice last Wednesday, breaking up a pass about 40 yards downfield.
That kind of range fits the profile Texas targeted in the portal. Biles was a high school running back, wide receiver and defensive back at Pickerington Central in Ohio, and that ball skills background still shows up now.
He has three career interceptions at linebacker, and all three turned into touchdowns. One of them was a 75-yard return against Louisville last season.
The production doesn’t stop there. Biles has 12 career sacks and 14 hurries, along with 183 tackles and 31.5 tackles for loss over the last two seasons. For Texas, that combination of coverage ability and downhill punch is exactly what stood out.
“I was fired up about him when I turned on his tape and was like, this guy’s picking off balls and running back for touchdowns and sacking the quarterback,” Sarkisian said. “I was like, that’s our kind of guy, right?”
Muschamp saw the same thing early, even if reaching Biles took a little longer than expected. The issue wasn’t lack of interest. It was a bad phone number.
“I got down here for dinner and Coach Muschamp told me he had been trying to get me for a while, but he showed me his phone and he was texting my old phone,” Biles said in April. “If he had the right number, I would have been at Texas sooner.”
The move to Texas checked the boxes Biles was looking for when he entered the portal. He said he wanted a chance to chase a national championship and compete at the highest level, and he believes Texas offers that opportunity.
“That was one of the top things I was looking at in a school out of the portal,” Biles said. “I was looking for an opportunity to win a national championship and compete at a top level and I feel like that’s all here.”
He also said Muschamp’s defensive approach made the fit even easier.
“He’s going to put you in position to play to your strengths and he’s never going to put you in a bad position,” Biles said. “This defense is meant for everybody to make plays. Everybody can get to the ball, get your sacks, interceptions, tackles for loss, you just need to do your part and it will come to you.”
For now, Texas is seeing that playmaking in practice, and Sarkisian wants that edge to keep showing up every day.
“I want Colin to make it hard on Trevor [Goosby] and Melvin [Siani] every day,“ Sarkisian said. ”I want Rasheem to make it hard on our guards and make it hard on our backs every day because that’s iron sharpens iron, and that’s how we’re going to get better offensively.“
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Sarkisian May Have 2 Freshmen He Can't Keep Off Texas' Offense
Steve Sarkisian spent the offseason making sure Texas had more veteran help where it needed it, bringing in running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown along with offensive linemen Melvin Siani and Laurence Seymore. The idea was straightforward enough: add proven depth, give the Longhorns more immediate options, and make sure the roster had players who could help right away once the season got rolling.
Even with those additions, a couple of freshmen have kept themselves in the conversation during fall camp. Derrek Cooper has caught the staff's attention and could be in line for early work in the backfield, while Jermaine Bishop Jr. looks like the rookie most likely to find a path onto the field through offense or special teams. Sarkisian has said the transfers were brought in to contribute immediately, but Texas may still have young players forcing their way into the mix before long. [Read more 🡒]
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The broader national attention has caught up to him too, with The Athletic placing him No. 10 on its College football Freaks List because of his explosiveness and athleticism. For Texas, the appeal is obvious: Simmons is no longer just a high-end recruit with a lot of upside, but one of the players around whom real defensive hopes can be built. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Just Got Extra Fuel For Its Ohio State Showdown
Rasheem Biles has already found a place in Texas defense, and now the linebacker is headed toward a second-week matchup with a bit more personal edge than most. The Ohio State native came to Austin after three productive seasons at Pitt, where he developed into a steady, versatile defender before transferring to the Longhorns. Steve Sarkisian has praised Biles for the way he can move around the defense and make an impact in different roles, which is exactly why Texas expects him to be part of the plan when the Longhorns line up against the Buckeyes.
The backdrop makes the showdown a little more interesting, because Biles has never hidden how he feels about the school just up the road. He grew up near Ohio State, but the Buckeyes passed on recruiting him out of high school, and that slight still lingers as Texas prepares for one of its biggest early-season tests. For a Longhorns defense looking for any extra edge, Biles brings both experience and a little added motivation into a game that already had plenty of attention. [Read more 🡒]