The Next Texas Players Who Could Follow Malik Muhammad To NFL

The Texas Longhorns are losing one of their centerpieces of their secondary in cornerback Malik Muhammad. The former four-star prospect had been an anchor of the Longhorns secondary since arriving on campus in 2023.

Now Muhammad takes the next step in his football career after three solid years in Austin as he heads to the NFL. The Longhorn standout will be taking his talents to the Chicago Bears after being selected in the fourth round at No. 124 overall.

The Longhorns are now left to search for a new cornerback to shut down one side of the field as Muhammad did throughout the 2025 season. And the Longhorns have two very talented options who in time will undoubtedly follow Muhammad to the NFL when their time comes to head to the NFL Draft.

Graceson Littleton

The most obvious option is sophomore cornerback Graceson Littleton. The cornerback was one of the surprising pieces of the Longhorns secondary a year ago, as Littleton was not necessarily expected to play a huge part in 2025.

However, Littleton saw the field from day one for the Longhorns, making plays in game one of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes and becoming a key piece to the Texas secondary as the season progressed.

Littleton saw his time on the field coming at STAR or nickel, which head coach Steve Sarkisian has openly talked about being one of the toughest positions to play on the defensive side of the ball.

The cornerback ended year one in Austin playing in all 13 games, earning eight starts as a true freshman. Littleton totaled 47 total tackles (33 solo), four tackles for loss, two interceptions, eight pass deflections, and two forced fumbles.

Now, in Will Muschamp's scheme, Littleton will get the chance to play a lot more aggressively and make plays on the football, which seems to come naturally to the young defensive back. Where he stays at nickel or moves out to be one of the outside cornerbacks, Littleton will undoubtedly be hearing his name called during the NFL Draft when his time comes.

Kade Phillips

Another young Texas cornerback who, down the line, will take his talents to the next level will be Kade Phillips. The former five-star prospect did not start early on during his freshman season, but towards the back end of the year, he became an essential piece of the secondary.

Phillips saw the field in 12 games as a freshman and earned three starts, all of which came in the final three games of the season in games against Arkansas, Texas A&M and Michigan. The cornerback tallied 22 total tackles (16 solo), two tackles for loss and six pass deflections.

The young cornerback will look to slide into the shoes of Muhammad and become a lockdown cornerback for the Longhorns and shut down one side of the field. And with Muschamp's scheme, that is catered to aggressiveness and playing the football, Phillips will thrive.

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