The Texas Longhorns carry big national championship aspirations heading into the 2025 season, with much of the attention focused on the new look Texas offense.
However, the Longhorns’ secondary will play a big role in those championship goals, standing out as one of the best units in the country.
Per Max Chadwick of PFF, the Longhorns enter the 2025 season as the top-ranked secondary in all of college football, followed by the Alabama Crimson Tide, Notre Dame Fighting Irish, Clemson Tigers, and Ohio State Buckeyes, respectively.
The Texas secondary allowed 173.8 passing yards per game, which ranked as the seventh-lowest passing yards per game allowed in the country, and was tied for first in college football in interceptions, finishing the season with 22.
The Texas secondary will be losing two big pieces of the puzzle in Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba. Barron was drafted No. 20 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft by the Denver Broncos after a Jim Thorpe Award-winning and consensus first-team All-American season. Mukuba also moved on to the NFL and was selected in the second round by the Philadelphia Eagles.
The secondary in 2025 will be led by former walk-on turned All-American Michael Taaffe, who returned to the Longhorns for his final season of eligibility. Taaffe was named an AP second-team All-American with 78 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, and two interceptions in 2024.
Malik Muhammad, who, on the opposite side of Barron, finished the 2024 season with 36 tackles and eight pass deflections, could be seen as the Longhorns’ No. 1 cornerback by next season’s end.
Elsewhere, former four-star and second-year players Kobe Black, Wardell Mack, and Xavier Filsaime will be called upon to slide into the Longhorns’ secondary. Out of the three, Black got the most playing time in his freshman season, seeing action in all 16 games of the 2024 season, recording 13 tackles and one pass deflection. Filsaime played in five games, recording five tackles, and Mack played in just four games, with just two tackles, but did get his first career interception against the Colorado State Rams.
Texas also has exciting five-star freshmen in Jonah Williams and Kade Phillips, who could be expected to contribute right away. Both freshmen were highly touted in their recruiting class as Williams was ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the class and No. 1 at his position per 247Sports, while Phillips ranked as the No. 23 player and No. 4 at his position.
Suffice it to say, Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski can look towards their plethora of young talent to take a leap forward and step up in the Texas secondary.
