A New Generation of Linebackers Ready to Take Over for Texas Longhorns

Pete Kwiatkowski and Steve Sarkisian are calling on youth to anchor the Texas Longhorns defense.

Nov 11, 2023; Fort Worth, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. (0) celebrates the win over the TCU Horned Frogs with Texas fans at Amon G. Carter Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY Sports / Aaron E. Martinez-USA TODAY Sports

For the last two seasons, the Texas Longhorns linebacker room has been anchored by veteran presence and elite captains for the team. 

In last year’s draft, senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown led a linebacker group that featured five upperclassmen in rotation: senior transfer Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, senior Jett Bush, and juniors David Gbenda and Jaylan Ford. Two years later, just one of these players remains, and head coach Steve Sarkisian has made the decisive shift to youth in the middle of the defense.

Overshown was taken 90th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft, while players like Tucker-Dorsey and former starter Luke Brockermeyer went undrafted. A year, and a second straight season of leading the Horns in tackles later, Ford was drafted in the fifth round of this year’s NFL Draft, as he's heading to the New Orleans Saints. Bush signed a UDFA contract with the New England Patriots after failing to get drafted. Just one full season later, Gbenda was the sole body left in the linebacker room that beat Oklahoma.

Gbenda will be returning for his sixth season with Texas, a huge return for the Longhorns as the only player in the room with over 70 tackles in his career. Gbenda bulked up in the offseason, initially weighing at 225 in 2023, now rocketing up to over 240 pounds. 

Texas Longhorns linebacker David Gbenda (33) runs onto the field in celebration after winning the game against Texas Tech at Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 24, 2023. / Mikala Compton/American-Statesman / USA

Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski has made an obvious change to what he wants from Gbenda. Formerly a pass-protecting, secondary tackler on the team, Gbenda now has the size to move quickly downhill and take down smaller running backs with huge tackles. The experience Gbenda brings will make it even easier for the Longhorns to stop the run, something they were one of the best in the country at in 2023.

But Gbenda isn’t the story of this linebacker room. That would be Freshman All-American Anthony Hill Jr. The No. 1 linebacker in the class of 2024, Hill registered 67 tackles, eight for loss, in his freshman year. Hill is poised to become one of, if not the best, linebacker in the SEC this next season, bringing an elite combo of size and speed at 6’3, 243 pounds. Hill also brings elite ability as a pass rusher, something many linebackers need to learn later on in their college careers. His five sacks, including two at Alabama in just his second game of his career, was second on the team in 2024.

Kwiatkowski loves to run five defensive back groupings, something that has become more and more popular in the last five years of football, meaning Gbenda and Hill will see the majority of the snaps in the linebacker room. Though this is the case, there are still some names that will rotate in and out of the lineup depending on play type, situation or just to give the other two a rest.

Senior Morice Blackwell returns for his third season as a rotational linebacker. Blackwell has jumped between being listed as a linebacker and a defensive back and excels in the passing game. While Gbenda and Hill stand at over 240 pounds, Blackwell doesn’t even eclipse 220. Though Blackwell is not the kind of player to throw out in early downs, he will likely see an expanded role in obvious passing downs as he enters his fourth season with the Longhorns.

One of the stories of the class of 2023 was the Hawaiian connection in the linebacker group. After Hill, Sarkisian and Kwiatkowski brought in Tausili Akana and Liona Lefau, both of whom have routes to the Island State. Lefau was the second highest rated Hawaiin recruit in the class of 2023, and Akana, a Texas native, has ties to Hawaii alongside his sister Keonilei, a national champion volleyball player for Texas.

Neither Akana nor Lefau played much last year, with Lefau registering all of the combined seven tackles, mostly on special teams. Akana will likely see the field on special teams in 2024, but his pass-rush upside could bring him on for defensive sets. He is a pass rusher at heart and likely doesn’t have the skill to play off the ball at the level the Longhorns want to be at, but a situational pass rush role could be on the horizon for the Skyridge product.

Lefau, on the other hand, could be a surprise breakout for Texas in 2024. Lefau plays with a game sense that has been praised by many around the defensive unit in Austin, including Ford himself. Lefau has yet to grow into an adequate playing weight to be a true Mike linebacker, still stuck at under 220 pounds, but his play recognition and hands are likely the best of any linebacker in the unit. Lefau may be a year away from becoming the team's true defensive captain and ‘quarterback of the defense’, but his skill set leads many to believe he can become an impact player early on in 2024.