Longhorns Country

Kansas State Wildcats Defensive Players to Watch vs. Texas Longhorns

The Wildcats have veteran talent in all three phases of their defense.

Matt Galatzan

In this story:

The Texas Longhorns go on the road after their bye week to face the Kansas State Wildcats in Week 10. The Longhorns lead the series all-time 12-10 and have won the last five matchups.

The Longhorns snapped their six-game losing streak in 2021 in a 22-17 battle against the Wildcats, which saw Texas running back Roschon Johnson rush for 179 yards.

Chris Klieman is 20-16 as the head coach of the Wildcats. He led the Wildcats to an 8-5 record in 2021 and capped it off with a 42-20 victory over LSU in the Texas bowl.

The Wildcats entered 2022 as arguably the most underrated team in the Big 12, and have not disappointed, sitting at 6-2 and at No. 13 in the country following a 48-0 drubbing of Oklahoma State.

The Longhorns themselves are coming off of a much-needed bye week, after a frustrating loss to Oklahoma State.

Be sure to stick with LonghornsCountry.com as we preview every aspect of the matchup with the Wildcats throughout the week. We’ve already done a general preview of the Wildcats and offensive players to watch. Now let’s take a look at Kansas State defensive players the Longhorns should watch out for.

DE Felix Anudike-Uzomah

Anudike-Uzomah is the leader for the Wildcats upfront. In the 2022 season he has once again been one of the top defensive linemen in the nation. This season, he has totaled 28 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks through eight games. 

Anudike-Uzomah earned a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2021 and a third-team All-American nod by Phil Steele. He should be well on his way to doing so again after another productive year. He provides the Wildcats with a consistent pass rush. The Texas offensive tackles will have trouble containing him in Week 10.

LB Austin Moore

Moore can do it all for the Wildcats on defense. He can tackle anyone in open space. He can also get behind the line of scrimmage in blitz packages. In 2022, he leads the team with 55 tackles to go along with seven tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. 

Linebacker has been a strength for the Wildcats in 2022. That is in large part thanks to the return of Moore. If Moore has another statement season, he could hear his name called in the 2023 NFL Draft.

CB Julius Brents

Brent has recorded 31 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, two interceptions, and two passes broken up. The former Iowa Hawkeye entered 2022 on the Jim Thorpe Watch List. He was also on the preseason All-Big 12 team. 

He is as a key piece of a much improved Wildcats secondary.

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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Published
Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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