Between the Hashes: Numbers Inside Week 3
Texas looks to start 3-0 for the first time since the 2012 season. Photo: Scott Wachter, USA Today
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It has been 11 years since Texas started a season 3-0, something they’ll be looking to do with a win over Wyoming this week. The 2012 Longhorns, led by quarterback David Ash and the running back committee of Malcolm Brown, Johnathan Gray, and Joe Bergeron, began the season with wins over Wyoming, New Mexico, and Ole Miss. A 4-0 start eventually gave way to a somewhat disappointing 9-4 season after an Alamo Bowl victory over Oregon State.
The 2023 edition closes non-conference play this week, and a win would give the Longhorns the kind of start fans have been dreaming of, to go undefeated over the first quarter of the season.
TE Ja’Tavion Sanders featured heavily vs. the Tide
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Zero. It represents the jersey numbers of Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders and freshman linebacker Anthony Hill, Jr. They both had incredible games against Alabama, with Sanders leading the team with 5 catches for 114 yards including on some crucial 4th quarter drives, and Hill having a coming out party for himself, recording 6 tackles including 2 sacks, at crucial moments in the game.
Sanders is a junior out of Denton, TX and a name fans have been very familiar with ever since he arrived on campus. He is beginning to grow into the type of player many of us thought he could be, and in my humble opinion he could end his career at Texas as one of the best, if not the best, tight end to have ever put on the burnt orange and white. The sky is the limit for Ja’Tavion.
The same could be said for Ant Hill. A true freshman out of - hold on - Denton! That’s right, the pair not only share a jersey number, they share the same high school, having been teammates on Denton Ryan’s 2020 5A state championship team. Hill was unleashed Saturday night and fans got to see an incredible display of the talent he was billed up to be.
Zero also represents the number of turnovers committed by the Longhorns through 2 games, not including turnovers on downs. Taking care of the football, and winning the turnover battle, could prove to be a vital part of this team’s DNA.
The Longhorns defensive line has been stout thus far in 2023. Photo: Nick Kelly, The Tuscaloosa News
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Texas currently ranks #1 in the nation in defensive efficiency. This metric basically measures how well a defense is playing relative to the strength of the opponents it has played. Led by defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, this group is turning into a menacing bunch for opponents to deal with. Giving up an average of just 17 points per game, the Texas defense has already accounted for 7 sacks and 5 turnovers this year.
The Horns have strength at every level of the defense, too. The defensive line might be our most dominant position group, with T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy leading the way on the interior, and Ethan Burke emerging as a premier edge threat. At linebacker, I’ve already mentioned the production of Hill, and that group is led by senior Jaylan Ford, who nearly recorded yet another turnover off a late throw over the middle by Jalen Milroe in the first half. The Longhorns secondary includes lockdown corner Ryan Watts, and a pair of safeties who recorded interceptions of Milroe in Jahdae Barron and Jerrin Thompson.
If Texas can continue to play the type of defense they have through the first two games of the season, there aren’t going to be any offenses they will face the rest of the way who will scare them - and this group could prove to be the key to a potential conference title run, and more.
Hook ‘em
