Texas football: Malcolm Roach says the Defense is 'more experienced than it shows on paper'

The Longhorns have eight new starters, but most aren't strangers to the field

With only three full-time starters returning from last year's defense, it would be easy for one to call the Longhorns 'young' or 'inexperienced' on that side of the ball, but defensive lineman Malcolm Roach has seen the younger players step into games and believes this has played enough ball to be ready. 

Of the projected new starters, two are seniors in linebacker Jeffery McCulloch and nose tackle Gerald Wilbon. Nickels Josh Thompson  and B.J. Foster are a junior and sophomore, respectively, linebacker Joseph Ossai is a sohpmore and both cornerbacks Jalen Green and Anthony Cook are sophmores as well. 

Only one freshman - redshirt freshman Adeoye Ayodele is expected to start and he played in the maximum four games last year to keep his redshirt eligibility.  

After a stellar 2017, Texas fell off a bit on defense last season, but closed strong with a suffocating performance against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl win. 

Can this year's defense get back to elite status and propel Texas to the next level? The players certainly seem to think so.