Texas' defense is built to be nasty. New DC Will Muschamp plans to make it even nastier | Bohls

AUSTIN - Without so much as a single football game as evidence, it's still inherently safe to make some assumptions about this Texas defense.

For one, it's going to be nasty. Underline and boldface nasty.

For two, Will Muschamp will be - shall we say - enthusiastic. OK, maybe even bordering on maniacal.

For three, edge rusher Colin Simmons figures to be so impactful, he will be a Heisman candidate by Halloween. That's saying something because only two defensive players have ever won the trophy, Michigan 's Charles Woodson in 1997 and Colorado cornerback Travis Hunter in 2024 although the latter also had to catch 96 passes for 1,258 yards and 15 touchdowns to impress the voters.

For four, put down the Longhorns as a top-20 unit in both total and scoring defense, maybe even top 10 despite a daunting schedule. Muschamp's three Texas defenses from 2008-10 all ranked in the top 20 nationally in scoring defense and top 10 in total yardage allowed.

OK, let's kick off and see how it all shakes out.

Yeah, you could surmise expectations are high for this Longhorn group.

All the above are the reasons head coach Steve Sarkisian made a change at defensive coordinator, fired a very outstanding Pete Kwiatkowski and hired a new boss on that side of the ball who may be the Hannibal Lecter of defensive coordinators.

Muschamp eats up offenses. I mean, devours them, chew by chew. With some fava beans and a nice Chianti.

Sarkisian called it an "in-your-face mentality" and said, "it's aggressive, but it's not reckless. It's tactical."

Heck, linebacker Rasheem Biles got his introduction to the defensive wizard early in spring practice after he had endured a few tough days and blew some assignments.

"One day in spring, I messed up a couple of calls," said Biles, an All-ACC linebacker at Pittsburgh who transferred to Texas. "And then (Muschamp) just went like crazy. You just look him in his eyes and you just know you don't want this to happen again."

So are you saying Muschamp had some homicidal thoughts?

Maybe a little bit, fellow linebacker Justin Cryer said, holding his thumb and index finger an inch apart.

If Muschamp's last days in Austin are any indication of what's to come, his defenses will adjust quickly. They will be blitz-happy and come after the quarterback like he owes them money.

"We're going to get after it," Biles said. "We're going to do a lot of different things on defense. Coach Muschamp is someone who likes to be aggressive on defense, and we're going to show that."

So the defense will be asked to come up with sacks in addition to stuffing running backs and dropping into coverage? After all, Muschamp's defenses claimed 119 sacks in his three seasons here in his first go-around.

"He wants us to do everything," Cryer said.

Phil Steele's highly regarded preseason magazine ranks every phase of college football's 138 FBS teams.

He picked Texas' defensive line the fourth-best in the nation. He has the Longhorn linebackers at third.

Muschamp's defensive backs? OK they're lower at 19th, according to Steele, which I consider way too underrated. After all, safety Jelani McDonald figures to be drafted in the second round next spring, sophomore nickel back Graceson Littleton is a budding star and Sarkisian has raved about Rutgers transfer Bo Mascoe's level of play at cornerback.

No wonder Sarkisian feels so energized by his defense in 2026.

As many have intimated, he's got stars all over the place, including Simmons and Biles as near certain first-round draft picks.

"I think the defense really has bought into Coach Muschamp's scheme, style and mentality, and that bodes well for us," Sarkisian said. "We have some real alphas on defense. We haven't been perfect on defense but our level of consistency has grown. We'll find out if we're going to be better. We have to go out and put it on tape."

They'll get the chance against G.J. Kinne's traditional high-power offense at Texas State and will be tested by his system of wide splits to create bigger running lanes and his fast-paced uptempo offense and a dual-threat quarterback in Brad Jackson . The Bobcats scored 36.5 points a game last season with a 7-6 record and ranked fifth in total offense with 473 yards a game. Their style of play mimics that of Ole Miss (second) and Tennessee (seventh), both of whom also ranked in the top 10 in offense.

Luckily for Texas, the Longhorn defense appears ready for the challenge.

When I asked Sarkisian on Monday if the defense was way ahead of his offense as training camp comes to a close leading up to Saturday's season opener at home against Texas State, he demurred.

After all, he himself said the defense won the first scrimmage and all but said that side won the second as well because he credited the defense with four takeaways and knocked his offense for being inefficient and sloppy.

"I would say, from an offensive perspective naturally in camp, defenses are somewhat going to be a little ahead of the offense," Sarkisian said during his 30-minute press conference. "You know they've been seeing the same plays. But I credit the offense because they continue to find explosive plays, and the explosive play component to our offense is really important that we can generate those."

Translation: The defense always knows what's coming. They know they can't hit Arch Manning or any of the black-shirted quarterbacks. They're so familiar with the receivers, they can stick by them step for step.

"That's what our practices should look like when we go good on good," Sarkisian said. "It should be really hard for both sides, and that's been that way on the best teams I've been on. Today, the offense got them. The next day, the defense got them. That's what the good teams do. If one side is just dominating the other, that's never a good sign for the future."

But that's hardly the case in Austin where Sarkisian preaches balance and excellence on both sides of the ball.

So how would Biles describe this new defense that Muschamp desires?