The One Position That Could Keep Texas From Winning a National Championship

The Texas Longhorns flexed the true might of their resources this offseason, retaining sure-fire NFL draft picks like Arch Manning and Trevor Goosby and bringing in the No. 3 transfer portal class in the nation. That means one thing for head coach Steve Sarkisian: bigger expectations than ever.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns made the national semifinal in back-to-back seasons before a 9-3 regular season derailed that streak in 2025. Accordingly, Texas gave him the strongest roster he has ever had, leaving him no excuses in 2026.

Still, as talented as this roster is, they do have a weakness that could spell doom for one of the most anticipated seasons in Texas football history.

Why Texas' Safeties Could Sink Its Season

Texas Longhorns defensive back Jelani McDonald scratches his helmet after making a tackle during the second half against the Arkansas Razorbacks | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Longhorns are handing new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp an absolutely loaded defense, which he will no doubt make the most of. Texas has stars like Colin Simmons, Rasheem Biles and Graceson Littleton at every level, but some question marks remain.

The biggest of those uncertainties is the safety position.

That is not to say that Texas has no good safeties or that the group is some huge liability, rather that if anything is going to sink Texas' season, it will be the inexperience of their backend.

Strong safety Jelani McDonald gives this group a known quantity at strong safety, as he provided tone-setting play in the box last season. However, the player who will start next to him will be much less proven.

Currently slated starting free safety Xavier Filsaime was decent in pass coverage and filled his lanes well in the run game last season, but was an abysmal tackler, missing a third of his tackles and registering a PFF tackling grade of just 40.8. Derek Williams Jr., the only other Longhorn who took at least 75 snaps in 2025, is certainly a better tackler than Filsaime but lacks any inspiring aspects to his game.

Neither Filsaime, Williams, nor some combination of the two can make up for the loss of long-time deep safety and leader Michael Taaffe, whom the Longhorns lost this offseason to the NFL Draft; however, there exists one final hope.

Jonah Williams is currently the Longhorns' third-choice safety but is the most talented player in the group. The former No. 6 overall high school recruit saw a very limited sample of snaps in 2025 and dealt with an injury this offseason, making him a total unknown for Muschamp.

However, his talent remains there, and if Muschamp can help coax the best version of Jonah Williams out of him, Texas' safeties could go from a weakness to a strength in 2026.

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