Head Coach Steve Sarkisian Praises the Texas Defense: “Strength of Our Team”

 The Texas Longhorns are just two days away from their third matchup of the season against the UTEP Miners. Texas is entering the season with a 1-1 record after a loss to No. 1 Ohio State and a victory over San Jose State.

Entering the season, many predicted that a high-powered offense would headline the 2025 Texas team, thanks to new starting quarterback Arch Manning at the helm, along with key pieces such as running back Tre Wisner and wide receiver Ryan Wingo.

Well, as many have seen over two games, it seems as though the Longhorns’ senior defense will be the star of the show. But it wasn’t unexpected that the defense would also be as good as it is.

Sarkisian brought back plenty of starters and returners with experience, and the results are showing. The defense is looking championship-caliber, like it could play a major role in a deep postseason run.

Even in the 14-7 loss to Ohio State, the defense still looked great. Aside from a few penalties, the Longhorns were able to hold the now No. 1-ranked Buckeyes to just 14 points, locking down their talented receivers for most of the game.

As Texas prepares for its third game on Saturday, Sarkisian has been praising the defense.

“These guys are physical, they’re fast, they’re smart, they’re ball-hawking. We are balanced on defense, meaning we can stop the run, we can stop the pass,” Sarkisian said. “The strength of our team, and we’ve got really good depth over there.”

As many say, defense wins championships, and Texas has the talent to do so. The depth, experience, and leadership are what highlight such a high-quality defense all-around. But it’s what’s in the backfield that specifically stands out.

With linebackers Anthony Hill Jr., Liona Lefau, and Ty’Anthony Smith, and defensive backs Malik Muhammed, Graceson Littleton, Michael Taaffe, and others, the Texas defense can play physical and force turnovers.

That’s exactly what it did last week, too. Against San Jose State, the Longhorns on defense created four total turnovers: one interception and three forced fumbles. Two of the fumbles were forced by Hill.

Along with the whole defense, Sarkisian specifically spoke on linebackers Hill, Lefau, and Smith.

“Really good players see opportunities to get the ball, whether they’re the second man in, they’re coming in from behind, and they punch the ball out from behind,” Sarkisian said. “They know they have him squared up, and they can punch on the ball and still wrap tackle. We look for some of that stuff, but when we get them here, we definitely train it, we drill it, we work on it.”

Whether it’s natural skill or the development behind the scenes in Austin, whatever Texas is doing, it’s working. The results are showing on the field, and the defense is looking like it’s ready to win it all.

The defense can’t do it all, though. Texas will look to gather some momentum and develop some consistency and chemistry as the season progresses, but hopefully rather quickly, as a matchup with the Gators in The Swamp is on the horizon.

Fans can catch the Longhorns’ defense back in action on Saturday, alongside an offense still trying to find some identity, when Texas takes on UTEP in Austin at 3:15 p.m. CT on SEC Network.