2023 College Football Catalog: Previewing the Texas Longhorns
Josh Frey
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Just like the NFL season is right around the corner, college campuses are preparing to welcome back their football squads for the fall season.
As the summer progresses we will be taking a look into how many of the FBS college football programs fared in 2022, what they did during the offseason, and how they can find success during the 2023 season. We put a bow on our Big Ten conference previews, and now, we are moving south to the Big 12. After discussing the two top dogs from 2022, the TCU Horned Frogs and Kansas State Wildcats, we now move on to the up-and-coming Texas Longhorns.
Overview
2022 Results
- W vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 52-10
- L vs. (1) Alabama, 19-20
- W vs. UTSA, 41-20
- L @ Texas Tech, 34-37
- W vs. West Virginia, 38-20
- W vs. Oklahoma, 49-0
- W vs. Iowa State, 24-21
- L @ (11) Oklahoma State, 34-41
- W @ (13) Kansas State, 34-27
- L vs. (4) TCU, 10-17
- W vs. Kansas, 55-14
- W vs. Baylor, 38-27
- L vs. Washington, 20-27 (Alamo Bowl)
Overall Record: 8-5 (6-3)
All-Big 12 Members
- RB Bijan Robinson (First-Team)
- WR Xavier Worthy (Second-Team)
- TE Ja’Tavion Sanders (First-Team)
- OL Kelvin Banks (Second-Team)
- DL Keondre Coburn (Second-Team)
- LB Jaylan Ford (First-Team)
- LB DeMarvion Overshown (First-Team)
Recent Vikings Draft Picks
- CB Kris Boyd (2019 Draft; R7, P217)
Every Kwesi Adofo-Mensah Draft Pick
2023 Draft Selections
- R1, P8: RB Bijan Robinson (Atlanta Falcons)
- R3, P90: LB DeMarvion Overshown (Dallas Cowboys)
- R4, P115: RB Roschon Johnson (Chicago Bears)
- R6, P194: DT Keondre Coburn (Kansas City Chiefs)
- R7, P249: DE Moro Ojomo (Philadelphia Eagles)
2023 Schedule
- 9/2 vs. Rice
- 9/9 @ Alabama
- 9/16 vs. Wyoming
- 9/23 @ Baylor
- 9/30 vs. Kansas
- 10/7 vs. Oklahoma
- 10/21 @ Houston
- 10/28 vs. BYU
- 11/4 vs. Kansas State
- 11/11 @ TCU
- 11/18 @ Iowa State
- 11/24 vs. Texas Tech
Notable Additions
- QB Arch Manning (five-star recruit)
- RB CJ Baxter (five-star recruit)
- WR Johntay Cook II (four-star recruit)
- WR Adonati Mitchell (transfer portal, Georgia)
- WR DeAndre Moore (four-star recruit)
- WR Ryan Niblett (four-star recruit)
- OT Payton Kirkland (four-star recruit)
- DL Trill Carter (transfer portal, Minnesota)
- EDGE Colton Vasek (four-star recruit)
- LB Anthony Hill (five-star recruit)
- LB Tausili Akana (four-star recruit)
- LB Derion Gullette (four-star recruit)
- LB Liona Lefau (four-star recruit)
- CB Gavin Holmes (transfer portal, Wake Forest
- CB Malik Muhammad (four-star recruit)
- S Jalen Catalon (transfer portal, Arkansas)
- S Jelain McDonald (four-star recruit)
- S Warren Robinson (four-star recruit)
- S Derek Williams (four-star recruit)
Recruit/transfer information can be found at 24/7 Sports
Notable Losses
- QB Hudson Card (transfer portal, Purdue)
- RB Bijan Robinson (NFL Draft, Atlanta Falcons)
- RB Roschon Johnson (NFL Draft, Chicago Bears)
- WR Jaden Alexis (transfer portal, USF)
- WR Troy Omeire (transfer portal, Arizona State)
- WR Brenen Thomspon (transfer portal, Oklahoma)
- OT Andrej Karic (transfer portal, Tennessee)
- IOL Junior Angilau (transfer portal, Oregon)
- IOL Logan Parr (transfer portal, SMU)
- DE Moro Ojomo (NFL Draft, Philadelphia Eagles)
- DT Keondre Coburn (NFL Draft, Kansas City Chiefs)
- EDGE Prince Dorbah (transfer portal, Arizona State)
- EDGE D.J. Harris (transfer portal, USF)
- EDGE Ovie Oghoufo (transfer portal, LSU)
- LB DeMarvion Overshown (NFL Draft, Dallas Cowboys)
- LB Derrick Brown (transfer portal, Texas State)
- LB Trevell Johnson (transfer portal, Louisiana-Monroe)
- CB Jamier Johnson (transfer portal, Indiana)
- S JD Coffee (transfer portal, San Diego State)
Keys to 2023
Is Quinn Ewers the Real Deal?
QB Quinn Ewers is back and likely to be part of the 2024 Draft class if things go well this year. However, despite a strong start to the 2022 season, the end of the year was a bit of a mixed bag after coming back from injury. The losses to Oklahoma State and TCU were tough to watch, but he also put together strong games against Iowa State and Washington.
He loses Bijan Robinson in the backfield, but he also gets to throw to Adonai Mitchell, a top transfer from the national champion Georgia Bulldogs. Mitchell put together 38 catches for 560 yards and 7 TDs in the past two seasons at Georgia, and he should become one of Ewers’ favorite targets this season.
A Ridiculous Recruiting Class
Everyone has been talking about the fact that Arch Manning opted to commit to Texas, but he is far from the only top recruit that the Longhorns landed heading into the 2023 season. More importantly, the others will be able to make an immediate impact on the team while Manning likely sits behind Ewers for a season.
Particularly on offense, it seems that Texas has their long-term plan at running back to replace Bijan Robinson on the depth chart. Time will tell if he is anywhere near as good as Robinson, but CJ Baxter was the top RB recruit in the nation among the Class of 2023. Meanwhile, a trio of four-star receivers also should be explosive playmakers for Ewers in the offense this fall.
Veteran Leadership on Defense
While the Longhorns will be relying on a lot of young talent offensively, their defense has some terrific veteran talent returning to the fold. They are led in the front by beefy defensive tackles T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II while Barryn Sorrell will provide a pass-rushing presence off the edge.
Their secondary isn’t too shabby, either. LB Jaylan Ford is back in the middle after recording four interceptions last year, and CB Jahdae Barron had 11.5 tackles for loss out of the nickel spot. They also added Arkansas transfer safety Jalen Catalon, who missed most of the 2022 season, but he had a pair of interceptions during 2021.
Prediction
- W vs. Rice
- L @ Alabama
- W vs. Wyoming
- W @ Baylor
- W vs. Kansas
- W vs. Oklahoma
- W @ Houston
- W vs. BYU
- W vs. Kansas State
- W @ TCU
- W @ Iowa State
- W vs. Texas Tech
Overall Record: 11-1 (9-0)
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.