Texas football: 5 breakout players to watch in 2020

It’s not just the balance the Longhorns are going to have on offense that makes this team potentially a scary-good team. They might have an incredible defense in the Big 12 this year. We touched on linebacker Joseph Ossai already as a potential stud on this defense. Now, let’s turn our attention to an up-and-coming wrecking ball beast in the trenches in Keondre Coburn.

Coburn enters his redshirt sophomore season with the ‘Horns. He played three games as a true freshman in 2018, recording only two tackles. Last season, Coburn appeared in all 13 games, making 12 starts. He had 24 total tackles (17 solo, seven assists), 4.5 went for a loss of yardage and two were sacks. Coburn also forced a fumble in his redshirt freshman campaign.

At 6-foot-2 and 348 pounds, Coburn has the frame to be an incredible interior pass rusher akin to what Fletcher Cox was at Mississippi State, Aaron Donald was a Pitt and Grady Jarrett was a Clemson. If you can draw any comparisons to those guys, you’re doing something great. This is why Coburn will likely be an all-conference player in the trenches for the Longhorns in 2020.

Usually, the team that plays with the most defensive prowess ends up winning more games in the Big 12. Offensively, it’s pretty much a given everybody will be able to put up points. However, there are pieces in place all over this Texas defense that should have Longhorns fans excited about what could potentially happen this college football season, should we even have one.