Texas Longhorns Cornerback Previews 'Killer Mindset' for 2025 Season

The Texas Longhorns' 2024 season was undoubtedly a success in terms of winning, but it certainly still didn't end the way that the team was hoping for.

The image of Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers lying down, defeated, as Ohio State linebacker Jack Sawyer took an 83-yard fumble recovery to the house for a game-sealing touchdown in the College Football Playoff Semifinal is still a bitter image that leaves a sour taste in the mouths of Longhorns fans.

And this is a reasonable anger, the Longhorns only lost one regular season game in their first season as SEC members, and had it not been for the Georgia Bulldogs, the Longhorns could've easily had a lighter path to the championship game.

But now, it's time for redemption.

"You've Gotta Treat It Like a Job."

Football in the state of Texas already runs deep, from pee-wee leagues all the way to AT&T Stadium and NRG Stadium in Arlington and Houston, the passion flows through the veins of players, coaches, and fans.

So, when Texas cornerback Jaydon Guilbeau was asked about his mentality going into his senior year as a perennial national championship contender, his answer was understandable.

"I would just say you've got to have that killer instinct/mindset, like, you can't come out here playing around, you know what I mean?" Guilbeau told the media Thursday. "You gotta treat this like a job. It's not for fun or anything like that. I have treated this like a job, like, I love what I do, so I'm gonna come out here and work hard."

A senior cornerback still searching for his first interception, Guilbeau had a breakout junior season in 2024, tallying 58 total tackles (35 solo), with 5.5 tackles going for loss and even recording a sack while successfully defending three passes.

The season opener against Colorado State saw Guilbeau mark a career high in tackles with eight, and had tackles for loss in each of Texas' three College Football Playoff games against Clemson, Arizona State, and Ohio State.

Working alongside fellow cornerback Malik Muhammad and safety Michael Taaffe in the secondary, Guilbeau will look to uphold the reputation that the Longhorns currently hold as one of, if not the, fiercest defenses in the entire country, and give Steve Sarkisian his first national championship as a head coach.

The Longhorns begin their revenge tour against the very catalyst that started it all, the Ohio State Buckeyes, on August 30 in Columbus.