Texas Longhorns Freshman Flashes As Potential Star In The Making vs. Ohio State

The Texas Longhorns got their 2025 season off to a rocky start after a close loss to the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes on the road, and while the end result was not what many expected, there were a few specific performances the Longhorns could take away with them.

The Longhorns' running game was productive, totaling 166 rushing yards on 37 total carries for an average of 4.4 yards per carry. The Texas defense played as expected, giving up just 14 points, which in many cases should have put the Longhorns on the winning end of the game. Among Texas's talented defensive players, one in particular stood out against the Buckeyes' offense.

On a field that featured some of the top defensive players in college football, in the likes of Texas's edge rusher Colin Simmons and linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., and Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles and safety Caleb Downs, it was Longhorns true freshman cornerback Graceson Littleton who was the highest graded player per PFF in the opener against Ohio State with a performance grade of 86.6.

#Texas freshman CB Graceson Littleton (86.6) was the highest graded player per PFF in the opener vs. Ohio State.
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) August 31, 2025

Graceson Littleton's Performance

Texas Longhorns cornerback Graceson Littleton — Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Brandon Inniss (1) attempts to make a catch over Texas Longhorns defensive back Graceson Littleton (29) | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Littleton's had been one of the top stories from Longhorns training camp, as the true freshman found himself competing for first-team reps in a very crowded Texas secondary room. The freshmen had also been receiving praise throughout the offseason, and with his performance on Saturday, it's clear to see why the Longhorns have been coaching staff has been raving about Littleton.

Though the box score reads just a single tackle and a pass deflection for Littleton, his involvement in the game was bigger than what the final stat sheet entails. The pass deflection came while being in coverage against possibly the best receiver in College Football, in Jeremiah Smith, as Littleton chased him across the entire field, keeping up with Smith and making a play on the ball to break up the pass along the sideline.

Littleton was targeted again on the very next play, this time against wide receiver Brandon Inniss, and once more the freshman made a good play in coverage. With quarterback Julian Sayin throwing the ball deep on a slot fade to Inniss, with Littleton matching him stride for stride, forcing the incompletion. A penalty on the third-down play awarded the Buckeyes a first down, but the play showed Littleton's potential in big moments.

Graceson Littleton has two great plays back to back to stop Ohio State but a facemask from Colin Simmons gives OSU the first down pic.twitter.com/Tn7TyRHvcG
— Nash (@NashTalksTexas) August 30, 2025

Steve Sarkisian praised a big third-down tackle by the true freshman postgame, which came on third down to give the Longhorns offense the ball back with an opportunity to win the game with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. Sarkisian also mentioned how the experience against Ohio State will be vital for younger players like Littleton to have down the stretch of the season.

"I thought Graceson makes a heck of a play on third down, a tackle, on their sidelines," Sarkisian said. "I just think it's important, we're going to be in these environments this season, those guys are going to continue to develop... and so I needed to expose them to this, I need to expose them to the level of intensity in games like this."

Littleton will get the opportunity to continue impressing as the Longhorns should get back on track against the San Jose State Spartans, who travel to Austin on Sep. 6 for Texas's home opener.