Texas is trying to widen the net in the secondary, but the Longhorns haven’t made that easy on themselves.
Through seven games, Will Muschamp has leaned hard on his most trusted defenders in the back seven. Senior linebackers Justin Cryer and Rasheem Biles have been on the field almost constantly, while senior safety Jelani McDonald, junior nickel back Graceson Littleton, sophomore cornerback Kade Phillips, and senior cornerback Bo Mascoe aren’t far behind. Those seven are the only Longhorns who have cleared 400 defensive snaps this season.
That kind of workload is exactly what Steve Sarkisian wants to ease. The head coach said Monday that Texas is still searching for enough depth at star and corner to let Mascoe shift into a different role.
“I think we’re still trying to find the depth at star or the depth at corner, so we can move Bo to star,” Sarkisian said Monday. “We just need more bodies that can guard people and cover people.”
A healthier safety rotation would help, too. Senior Kobe Black, who starts alongside McDonald and missed the wins over UTSA and Ole Miss, is not on this week’s injury report.
“Naturally, getting Kobe back healthy, 100-percent healthy, is going to be big for us,” Sarkisian said Thursday.
Behind the starters, the picture gets murkier. Sarkisian said Jonah Williams and Toray Davis have both been making progress, though neither has broken into a true defensive role.
“I think Jonah [Williams] has been making strides. I think Toray Davis has been making strides for us there. All those guys, kind of in that circle,” Sarkisian said.
Davis was something of a preseason surprise and saw some special teams work against the Bobcats and Roadrunners, plus brief defensive snaps. He resurfaced against Ole Miss with five snaps on kick coverage, but a meaningful defensive role still looks unlikely right now.
Williams’ situation is a little different, and a little more frustrating. The consensus five-star prospect in the 2025 class flashed during camp, but he still hasn’t earned a defensive snap outside the two non-conference games against overmatched opponents. He has played close to 90 special teams snaps and has become a steady presence on kick coverage and kick return, yet his defensive workload has stalled.
That may say as much about McDonald as it does about Williams. McDonald has been the steady hand on the back end and is simply too important to pull off the field, which helps explain why Sarkisian’s concerns have centered more on corner and Star than safety.
Texas has rotated several players through the slot this season, including McDonald, Mascoe, Black, and both starting linebackers, but Littleton has taken most of those snaps. That works because Littleton has played well. The bigger concern is what happens if Mascoe needs to move inside, since he is listed as nearly 20 pounds heavier than Littleton.
That would put more pressure on freshman Smoke Matthews, and Sarkisian said the staff is starting to trust him more.
“I think Smoke Matthews is a guy that’s continuing to grow and he’s found a more of a niche on special teams,” Sarkisian said. “How’s he getting a niche on special teams? We’re gaining trust in him to continue to grow into the player that we want to be.”
Matthews played on both coverage units for the first time since the opener in Saturday’s game, a sign that his role is still being built piece by piece.
Before the season, junior Xavier Filsaime looked like the top backup to Littleton after moving over from safety. But offseason shoulder surgery changed that plan. Filsaime wore a harness during preseason camp, missed early-season action, and still has not played in 2026.
One veteran who was not mentioned by Sarkisian was Warren Roberson. The senior cornerback had been a core special teams player over the last two seasons, but he has fallen out of favor this year, likely because of penalty issues.
His defensive snaps have reflected that slide. Against Ole Miss, Roberson played a season-low three snaps after giving up too much cushion to Deuce Alexander, then missing the tackle on a 36-yard gain - the Rebels’ longest play of the game. He also had trouble against Ohio State, where Jeremiah Smith beat him on a double move for a 43-yard gain and nearly turned a late chance into a game-sealing touchdown when Julian Sayin missed a wide-open receiver Roberson had lost in coverage.
According to Pro Football Focus, Roberson has allowed eight completions on 12 targets, a 66.7 percent rate, for 122 yards.
For Texas, the issue is not just who can play - it’s finding enough situations to let them play. The Longhorns have stayed in too many tight games to freely spread the workload, and Sarkisian admitted that has limited his ability to cycle in reserves.
“Sometimes the games dictate when we can roll guys in there more. We haven’t had that luxury - we’ve been in so many tight games this year, but we’re going to have to find a way and a time to get some of these guys in there,” Sarkisian said.
“Some just to get them some of that experience because you just don’t want to have to only play the five guys that you have out there the entire game.”
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