Cornerbacks Preview: Can Longhorns Grad Transfer Darion Dunn Make An Impact?
With a new coaching staff in town, the cornerback position will provide opportunities for several players to establish themselves this season.
Alongside Chris Adimora (who played nickel corner), D’Shawn Jamison and Josh Thompson (back as juniors) are expected to play a pivotal role in Texas’s new defense. All three players started under coach Tom Herman last season.
Another potential ‘X’ factor will be McNeese State graduate transfer, CB Darion Dunn. Dunn will have the chance to compete for a starting role.
New Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian hired Terry Joseph to be the new cornerback coach. Joseph, armed with Power Five Experience (most recently at Notre Dame) is much more experienced than former cornerback Coach Jay Valai, who coached briefly at Rutgers before Texas.
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New defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, who is well-versed in the nickel position, will have to decide how to utilize Anthony Cook.
Cook, who was a backup nickel last season, entered the transfer portal frustrated by his move from pure cornerback to nickel. Sarkisian will surely give him a fair shot to prove he can play pure cornerback this season.
The Longhorns lost cornerback Jalen Green, who started multiple games throughout his career. Green, unmoved by Texas’s coaching change, took his talents to Mississippi State to reunite with Jason Washington, the coach who recruited him.
Backups Kitan Crawford and Jahdae Barron, who haven’t had much playing time, will continue to develop during their second seasons and get another chance to compete for a starting job.
Texas will also have two freshman four-star cornerbacks join the team: Jamier Johnson and Ishmael Ibraheem.
Looking towards 2022, Sarkisian has undoubtedly helped Texas turn the tide. Even after Quinn Ewers’s de-commitment, the Longhorns retained Jaylon Guilbeau.
The big prize will be 2022 five-star prospect Denver Harris, who is believed to choose between Texas and Texas A&M.
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