The 2024 season had it all for the Longhorns. First year in a new conference, Texas reached the SEC Championship game and even made it to the semis of the playoffs. Despite all that success, the season will be remembered with a lot of ‘what-ifs’. What if Ewers hadn’t fumbled the ball against the Buckeyes? What if the Longhorns deployed Arch Manning more? Well, with Ewers moving on, Arch will see a lot of action next season. However, he can’t do it alone. Much of the success will depend on their recruitment.

The Longhorns lost Vernon Broughton and Alfred Collins to the NFL Draft, however, they tried to fill the void by bringing in two transfers, Travis Shaw (North Carolina) and Cole Brevard (Purdue). But it’s not safe for Steve Sarkisian to let the spree stop this soon. They need more security around the defense to ensure a better 2025.

Sarkisian needs to be more active on the defensive hunt on the portal

Texas’ offensive line will see a new leader in Arch Manning who will command his right after a prolonged wait. Veterans see a huge silver lining in Manning’s continuous growth, high-flying numbers, and relentless urge to make a difference at the starting gig. He doesn’t get the same support as Quinn as many offensive weapons left the building at the end of the season, but Manning will still have CJ Baxter, Ryan Wingo, Kaliq Lockett, and many more promising newbies by his side. The next priority on the line is defense. It certainly contains a lot of depth now, but the pundits still see some room.

”You think they’re going to go for one more during the spring portal possibly because look all they have really coming back from last year right now is Alex January because Aaron Bryant and Jaray Bledsoe also transferred out on top of the top four rotational players leaving due to graduation,” insider Bobby Burton said. Gerry Hamilton chimed in, shedding light on a very overlooked aspect of having good depth- giving enough time and space for the freshmen to grow without rushing them to the wheel.

” I guess three get to four and then all of a sudden you start building that depth at that defensive tackle spot that Texas really wants and needs because you never know when an injury could take place or what have you. They’ve got to have depth there because you don’t want to just get run over in SEC where they have these big humans,” he added. The injury scare is real. The Longhorns got their mojo restricted by a series of injuries this season. Be it wide receiver Isaiah Bond’s high ankle hurt or Quinn Ewers’ periodic issues, the team had to pay off in a big way. So, it’s always better to have extra arms on the board.

Well, in a bird’s eye view, Texas isn’t slow at manipulating the portal, but the stat says they are still lagging behind the top dog schools. So far, Texas has only signed four players from the portal for the 2025 season while losing eight from the defensive line and linebacker corps. So, the ratio is quite poor and Steve Sarkisian doesn’t have any option but to add more stacks to the roster. However, the newest defensive lineman, the Ohio Day transfer Hero Kanu is already making rounds.

Hero Kany brings promise to Steve Sarkisian’s D-line 

Texas football added its third defensive lineman on Wednesday when former OSU DT Hero Kanu cemented his commitment to the Longhorns via a social media post. The 6-foot-5, 305-pound German native had a decent high school career in Santa Margarita Catholic in California to flaunt, perfectly followed by his Ohio State supremacy.

Kanu had been an instrumental figure for the Buckeyes, leading them to a national championship last season. He suited up for 123 snaps in 16 games. He amassed a total of 14 tackles and one sack in 29 career games. As he still has two years of his eligibility left on his card, we can expect a lot more productivity in the coming years, and this time in a burnt orange jersey.

As insider Gerry Hamilton noted, Texas has good elements in the run-stopping game but all they need is a disrupter in the defense; Kanu could ideally be the answer. He will join the rank of Purdue’s Cole Brevard and North Carolina’s Travis Shaw as the added support on that spot.

It will be a treat to see what Kanu will bring to the table of Steve Sarkisian’s highly touted defense and how it makes a difference in a fresh season.