2025 Texas Longhorns football preview: New faces on interior defensive line, Simmons looks for sack record

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The one position group Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian heavily dipped into the transfer portal for was the defensive line.

Of the 10 transfers the Longhorns grabbed from the portal, five of them are defensive linemen, and at the rate Texas has been producing NFL draft picks at the position, it's no surprise players want to come to Austin.

2025 Texas Longhorns football positional previews

• Offensive line
• Running backs: July 3
• Linebackers: July 10
• Wide receivers/tight ends: July 17
• Quarterbacks: July 24
• Defensive backs and special teams: July 31

We'll include edge defenders in this position group even though, depending on the defensive front's alignment, they could be considered outside linebackers. Edge defenders, like Colin Simmons as an example, have a freakish level of athleticism that allows them to rush the passer effectively or drop back into coverage.

The new guys

According to 247Sports' transfer portal rankings, five of the top six transfers for the Longhorns are defensive linemen. Maraad Watson is coming in from Syracuse, Cole Brevard from Purdue and North Carolina's Travis Shaw are rated as 4-star transfers, while Ohio State's Hero Kanu and Maryland's LAvon Johnson are 3-star transfers. With Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton both going to the NFL and some roster attrition, Texas was a little thin at the position. Syrdir Mitchell, Aaron Bryant, Tiaoalii Savea and Jaray Bledsoe all left the program through the portal.

Watson started all 11 games as a freshman last year for the Orange, notching 31 tackles with a sack and a pass breakup. The 6-foot-3, 313-pounder was named a freshman All-American by 247Sports.

Brevard made 23 starts and played 37 games with the Boilermakers and has one year of eligibility remaining. Sarkisian liked what he saw from Brevard during spring ball.

"Some of the new faces on the defensive front, Hero Kanu and Cole have both been really solid players," he said. "They've been impressive. Cole is a really stout guy inside."

Kanu comes over after winning a national title with the Buckeyes and beating the Longhorns in the College Football Playoff semifinals to do it. He played in 15 games with four tackles last season.

Shaw spent three seasons with the Tar Heels, racking up 55 tackles with 5.5 for loss. He recovered two fumbles and broke up four pass attempts. Sarkisian said he's had a knee injury that's "lingered" throughout his career, so the coaching staff didn't want to "overdo it," with him in the spring.

Program returners

Colin Simmons could be one of the best defensive players in the country if he keeps improving. He won the Shaun Alexander National Freshman of the Year award last season and was a consensus freshman All-American. He had 48 tackles with nine sacks and three forced fumbles. He said during spring practices that he wants his name in the Texas record books when he's done.

"I've grown mentally, physically and spiritually, all in one year here," he said. "I need to improve on everything, though. I had a pretty solid freshman year, but I thought it could have been better. I'm trying the sack record."

Kiki DeAyala had 22.5 sacks in 1982, and he also has the career record with 40.5. Shane Dronett racked up five sacks in 1990 against Texas Tech.

Trey Moore is back for another year. He had 10.5 tackles for loss, including 6.5 sacks, last season.

The Westlake duo of Ethan Burke and Colton Vasek should be big contributors on the edge. Vasek had offseason shoulder surgery to fix a torn labrum.

Burke, a senior, has played in 40 career games and had 27 tackles last season, including nine for loss with two sacks. He also had an interception and five pass breakups.

Freshman Lance Jackson, a 4-star recruit from Texarkana, Texas, should factor into the rotation. His older brother, Landon, played for Arkansas from 2022-24 and is now in the NFL with the Buffalo Bills.

Sarkisian praised the work and improvement by Alex January and Melvin Hills III during spring ball. January, a 6-foot-5, 311-pound Duncanville native, played 11 games in his true freshman season with three tackles.

Hills, a 6-foot-3, 304-pound redshirt freshman from New Iberia, Louisiana, will help add depth to the position. He didn't play last season and utilized his redshirt.

Freshman Justus Terry, a 247Sports 5-star recruit and the No. 2 overall player in Georgia for the 2025 class, should also see some time. He enrolled early to participate in CFP practices and spring ball, and should have a good base of knowledge and conditioning going into training camp.

"Coach (Kenny) Baker has done a really nice job, kind of integrating them all," Sarkisian said. "With some guys moving on, and what all that is looking like, they're just like the rest of the team, not a finished product yet. We're fighting for more consistency up front, but you see the flashes of what I think we can be down the road."