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    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — The 2024 Texas defense was a national championship-caliber unit. Even when the offense struggled, the defense’s knack for the football and their ability to keep opponents out of the end zone positioned the Longhorns painfully close to getting over the College Football Playoff semifinal hump.
    One of the things that made Pete Kwiatkowski’s group elite was the defense’s ability to create havoc plays. When the curtain fell on a 16-game season, Texas ranked among the nation’s leaders with 22 interceptions (tied for first), 18 forced fumbles (No. 3) and 112 tackles for loss (No. 6).
    Calculating havoc rate isn’t complicated. It’s the combined number of tackles for loss, forced fumbles and passes defensed (combining pass breakups and interceptions) divided by the number of plays faced, which determines the rate at which a defense creates a negative play for the offense.
    Texas finished the 2024 season with an overall havoc rate of 21.1 percent, according to CollegeFootballData.com. The Longhorns’ overall havoc rate was the seventh-highest rate in FBS, trailing only national leader Ole Miss and Tennessee among SEC defenses. A front seven havoc rate of 13 percent tied for 12th nationally, while a defensive back havoc rate of 8.1 percent tied for eighth-best in the country.
    Historically, those rates were the highest marks during Kwiatkowski’s five seasons. Last season, however, the Texas defense’s havoc rate dropped to 17.9 percent, with the front seven (11.3 percent) and defensive back (6.6 percent) rated down from 2024.
    Beyond the overall production slipping, the Longhorns generated a staggeringly low number of havoc plays in their three losses.
    Whereas Texas averaged 13.4 havoc plays per game in its 10 wins (71 tackles for loss, 10 forced fumbles, 39 pass breakups and 14 interceptions), the defense netted only 21 total havoc plays in losses to Ohio State, (one tackle for loss and two pass breakups), Florida (three tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, two pass breakups and an interception) and Georgia (eight tackles for loss, one pass breakup and one interception. The dropoff was sharp decline compared to 2024, when the Longhorns recorded 11 havoc plays in a regular-season loss to the Bulldogs (four tackles for loss, three interceptions and two pass breakups), 20 in the SEC championship game (10 tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, five pass breakups and one interception) and eight in a Cotton Bowl loss to the Buckeyes (four tackles for loss, two pass breakups, one forced fumbles and one interception).
    The need to consistently cause havoc can’t be overlooked in the continued offseason examination of Steve Sarkisian's decision to part ways with Kwiatkowski in favor of Will Muschamp.
    “We want to create havoc,” Sarkisian said after Tuesday’s practice. “We did a tremendous job defensively (last) Saturday, in the scrimmage, of creating havoc plays — sacks and negative plays, turnovers.”
    Muschamp’s 2009 defense was one of the most opportunistic in program history, helping the Longhorns set a single-season school record for non-offensive touchdowns (11) while leading the nation with 25 interceptions.
    One of the byproducts of Texas playing more man coverage under Muschamp and getting more aggressive on the perimeter should be more opportunities for Longhorn defenders to make plays on the football. Graceson Littleton and Kade Phillips tied for the team lead with six pass breakups as true freshmen in 2025 — Littleton led the defense in passes defensed (eight, including two interceptions), while Phillips and Jelani McDonald (three interceptions and three pass breakups) tied for the second-most passes defensed last season — which speaks to the playmaking potential of Muschamp has in the secondary.
    McDonald, who chose to return for his senior season instead of entering the 2026 NFL Draft, said during Wednesday’s on-campus media availability that Muschamp’s scheme will let the safeties show off their versatility compared to what the position was asked to do under Kwiatkowski.
    “We're able to do more,” McDonald said. “We're jumping digs, we're on top of digs, we're in man coverage — everything. We're able to blitz.
    “It's going to give me more things to put on my résumé.”
    Hopefully, McDonald and the Longhorn defenders' renewed focus on finding the football leads to the defense causing havoc more consistently in 2026.
    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — Part of what endeared Will Muschamp to Texas football fans the way Mike Campbell and Leon Fuller did before him was his intensity and demand for physicality, which were traits his Longhorn defenses showed during his first stint as defensive coordinator.
    What Muschamp doesn’t get enough credit for is his attention to detail. Playing for Muschamp requires a razor-sharp focus, which bred discipline that helped Muschamp field championship-caliber defenses and change the football culture on the Forty Acres during his three seasons under Mack Brown (2008-10).
    Unlike his first tour of duty with the Longhorns, Muschamp’s return hasn’t tasked him with creating something from scratch. It’s more of a case of Muschamp helping Sarkisian clear a hurdle he’s reached along his climb to college football’s summit.
    Regardless, Muschamp’s impact in his second Texas tenure is being felt in how the Longhorns practice. The expected Muschamp hallmarks are evident (the “No Thud = No Play” mantra chief among them). Muschamp’s detailing of Steve Sarkisian’s defensive practice plan for spring ball during his media availability last Tuesday, however, revealed how Sarkisian is giving Muschamp the tools he needs to help Texas regain the physical edge it lacked at times in 2025.
    For starters, Muschamp is familiar with the way Texas practices because Sarkisian’s practice structure, he said, is similar to what he experienced while working under Nick Saban and Kirby Smart.
    From the day he took the job, Sarkisian has implemented a lot of what he learned from Saban during his time as an Alabama assistant coach (2016, 2019-20). Still, Sarkisian using practice periods to run through half-line pass drills, for example, is a sign that Muschamp is getting everything he needs to make his mark on the 2026 squad.
    “When you do half-line pass, that's really a great teaching tool for the defense,” Muschamp said. “I hear a lot of offensive coaches, like, 'I never want to do that.' We always did that with Coach Saban because it’s really to teach the principles of the coverage to the defensive players. We do that here. Coach Sarkisian loves it, but he knows that it helps us probably more than it really helps our offense. If (the play is) a full-field read for the quarterback, he's only reading half the field and sometimes there's some coverages that are going to kill any route over there.”
    That might not sound like a big deal. But, Sarkisian, who points out time and again that “you get what you emphasize" in practice, tailoring practice periods to Muschamp’s liking speaks to a coach who wants to maximize a shift in defensive philosophy capable of elevating the program to the elusive next rung on the championship ladder.
    Muschamp likes the physicality of Sarkisian’s practice. Beyond that, and perhaps more important to Texas getting back to the College Football Playoff, Sarkisian’s understanding that the defense needs live snaps to hone their craft has Muschamp excited about what the team has accomplished in spring practice.
    “On offense, you can go out and do routes on air and really improve and get the timing and get all that,” Muschamp said. “On defense, you have to key and diagnose. You have to see something, you have to respond to it the right way, have your eyes in the right spot and in order for us to get better, we've got to go against people.”
    Jeff Howe
    Texas has secured the commitment of transfer forward David Punch, addressing one of its most significant roster needs for the 2026-27 season. Punch went public with his commitment Sunday night, posting the news on Instagram.
    A national top-100 recruit out of Harker Heights in the 2024 class, Punch joins the Longhorns after two seasons at TCU. As a sophomore, the 6-foot-7-inch, 245-pound Punch was an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection, averaging 14.1 points, 6.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
    Punch gives Texas a presence at the power forward spot it lacked during its run to the Sweet 16 in Sean Miller’s first season.
    Along with his ability to keep the ball moving on offense, Punch should immediately help the Longhorns improve on the defensive end of the floor. Punch blocked 66 shots and recorded 45 steals in 34 games; Punch doubled Matas Vokietaitis’ team-leading 33 blocked shots this past season and only Dailyn Swain’s 59 steals topped Punch’s totals among Texas players.
    The addition of Punch and the return of Vokietaitis give the Longhorns two tremendous frontcourt pieces for Miller’s second season. Currently, with Swain making himself eligible for the 2026 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility, Texas has four starting spots penciled in for next season: Punch, Vokietaitis, Colorado transfer guard Isaiah Johnson and McDonald’s All-American guard Austin Goosby.
    Jeff Howe
    Looking to rebound after suffering a 9-8 loss on Friday, No. 2 Texas succumbed to an eight-run first inning by No. 18 Texas A&M in an 11-4 loss to the Aggies at Blue Bell Park on Saturday.
    In their first series loss of the season, the Longhorns watched a 1-0 lead in the top of the first evaporate. Luke Harrison was tagged for two runs on three hits before the game entered a 98-minute rain delay, after which Harrison surrendered extra-base hits to three of the next four batters he faced.
    Texas (27-7, 9-5 SEC) yanked Harrison after 0.2 innings, with Texas A&M (27-7, 9-5) roughing up the Longhorn lefty for eight earned runs on six hits. Even though Max Grubbs, Brody Walls, Michael Winter and Cal Higgins combined to allow just three hits and two earned runs in 7.1 innings of work, the damage was done.
    Offensively, Texas benefitted from two solo home runs by Aiden Robbins and a solo shot from Josh Livingston. Unfortunately, the disastrous first inning doomed the Longhorns, who will look to avoid a series sweep at the hands of the Aggies on Sunday (1 p.m., SEC Network+).
    Following the loss, On Texas Football will have live updates from Jim Schlossnagle’s postgame Zoom call with reporters.
    Jeff Howe
    Texas forward Camden Heide is the program's first unexpected departure to the NCAA transfer portal.
    Jonathan Giovny of Draft Express first reported Heide's intent to enter the portal on Thursday. On Texas Football expected Heide to be a part of Sean Miller's club for the 2026-27 season, which will be Heide's last in college basketball after playing two seasons at Purdue before joining the Longhorns for the 2025-26 campaign.
    After playing in 75 career games for the Boilermakers, Heide saw action in 35 games for Texas. As a Longhorn, Heide set career-high marks for games started (29), scoring (5.9 points per game), assists (23), steals (15), 3-pointers made (49) and 3-point percentage (45.4).
    Heide made one of the most memorable plays of the season, hitting a 3-pointer from the corner with 14.7 seconds left in regulation to help Texas secure a 74-68 NCAA Tournament win over Gonzaga. The Longhorns finished the season in the Sweet 16, dropping a 79-77 decision to Purdue, with Heide scoring three points and grabbing five rebounds in 24 minutes.
    With Heide gone and Nic Codie both entering the transfer portal, Matas Vokietaitis is the only experienced frontcourt player returning to Texas for Miller's second season. John Clark and Lewis Obiorah are expected to return after both big men redshirted this past season.
    Before Heide's departure was known, sources told OTF that the power forward position is one the Longhorns were looking to upgrade with a transfer portal acquisition.
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