Texas Longhorns Safety Acknowledges 'Challenge' Of Guarding Texas A&M's Offense

The Texas A&M Aggies and Texas Longhorns square off in what should be an electric regular season finale Friday night in Austin.

Nov 30, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Terry Bussey (2) runs with the ball as Texas Longhorns linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith (26) attempts to make a tackle during the fourth quarter at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

To quote UFC announcer Bruce Buffer: "It's time!"

For the first time since the 2010 season, the cinematic rivalry of the Texas A&M Aggies and the Texas Longhorns will take place inside the walls of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin as the regular season comes to a close for both teams.

There's no secret how deep this rivalry goes for the fans and alumni of the two Texas schools, and just like last year's renewal of the rivalry, there is plenty riding on the line playoff-wise for both teams.

What Texas Had To Say

Following the Longhorns' 52-37 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks Saturday, many of the team's stars were asked to give their thoughts on the upcoming edition of the rivalry game, and safety Michael Taaffe had exceptionally acclaiming things to say about the A&M offense, specifically wide receivers KC Concepcion and Mario Craver.

Nov 22, 2025; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) throws a pass during the first half against the Arkansas Razorbacks at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images | Scott Wachter-Imagn Images

"On the bye week, I've watched them (Concepcion and Craver)," Taaffe said. "Really explosive, speed, fast. They catch the ball and they get upfield. So, it's going to be a really good challenge for us."

The 2024 second-team All-American also gave credit to the challenge that quarterback Marcel Reed would provide while also stating that facing a Heisman Trophy candidate was nothing new to the Texas defense.

"We just played a Heisman candidate in Georgia, and now we're going to play one of the top three Heisman candidates. So, love the challenge for the defense."

Taaffe was a valuable part of the Longhorns team last year that came into Kyle Field and silenced the massive crowd, recording three total tackles and intercepting Reed once in the 17-7 win.

However, as we all know, this is a drastically different Texas A&M team from last November.

While still under the on-field leadership of Reed, the addition of Concepcion and Craver have given the Aggies a dual threat option at the wide receiver position that the team hasn't truly seen since Christian Kirk and Josh Reynolds were both in College Station in the mid-2010s.

In addition to the offensive trio, there is also the same exact A&M offensive line that opposed Texas last year, and potentially a healthy Le'Veon Moss at running back.

And that's just the offense.

On defense, Taurean York has only gotten better since November 30 of last year, and you can bet his personal emotion towards the rivalry stills runs at an all-time high.

And then there's Cashius Howell, who has blown through offensive lines and recorded sacks like a man gone insane, and even quarterback Arch Manning had to tip his cap to the work that Mike Elko's defense has put in during 2025.

"Yeah, they're good. They get after the ball. They're well coached, a lot of good players, so we're gonna be excited for that challenge," Manning said.

The 2025 Lone Star Showdown kicks off Friday night at 6:30 from DKR in Austin.