Longhorn Jaylan Ford Thinks Defensive Unity 'Speaks Volumes'

The Texas Longhorns' defense played a major role in their victory against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Walking into the locker room at half time on Saturday at DKR Stadium, the Texas Longhorns had almost doubled the Kansas Jayhawks' yards on offense. However, the Horns were only leading by 6 points. How do those dots connect?

Instead of lashing out in frustration or panicking to the verge of distraction, Texas was able to more evenly match its game statistics to the final score. The Longhorns demolished Kansas was a 40-14 win, and Texas' defense was a defiant factor in their dominant success.

Texas Longhorn defensive back Malik Muhammad puts quarterback pressure on Jason Bean.

© Sara Diggins, Austin American-Statesman

The Longhorn's defense only allowed Kansas to score a single touchdown and extra point in the entire second half. The Jayhawks only recorded a total of 260 yards while the Longhorns' powerhouse offense totaled 661 yards. Senior linebacker Jaylan Ford blames their impressive defensive performance as a team effort accomplishment. 

"Everybody that's on that field has a job to do and has an assignment," Ford said. "So it's not just one person doing it, you know, it's the whole team. It's the whole defense. And I think that just speaks volumes to the unity we have on defense and you know, the ability that whoever rolls in, you know, they can get the job done."

Looking forward, now that the Longhorns have successfully secured their second Big 12 win of the season against Kansas, Texas' defensive roster can now start looking towards and preparing for the Red River Rivalry matchup against the Oklahoma Sooners this upcoming Saturday in Dallas. 

"You know, now that we've got Kansas behind us, I definitely think we can finally start to focus on OU," Ford said. "It'll start tomorrow as far as preparation. I think just another challenge though, that's kind of what you play football for. That's what you do all those workouts and you know, all that extra work that you do in the summer is for games like this, to go out there and continue to show how good you are."