Steve Sarkisian and this Texas Longhorns staff have been busy this off-season. After a disappointing year one, Coach Sarkisian has bounced back in a huge way. Securing a consensus top-five recruiting class along with a handful of high-profile transfer portal additions. One of those additions was Ryan Watts, a defensive back from Ohio State.

Ryan Watts Before Coming To Austin

Ryan Watts was a four-star defensive back coming out of Little Elm, Texas. Ranked as the 202nd overall recruit in the 2020 class (per 247sports consensus rankings), Watts was a highly sought after recruit in the state of Texas.

Watts would go on to commit to Ohio State. The Buckeyes are beginning to create a brand where they are considered “DBU” (Defensive Back University) with their recent success of getting defensive backs into the NFL.

Ryan Watts would play in nineteen total games through two seasons (with one of the seasons being in 2020, therefore not counting against his eligibility or his redshirt status). Watts would play all over the secondary, spending time at cornerback and safety for Ohio State. Watts would then enter the transfer portal after the 2021 season and ultimately choose to come home to Texas and join the Longhorns.

What He Brings To The Longhorns

Ryan Watts comes into Austin as a “true” sophomore with plenty of experience. As mentioned above, Watts has played all over the secondary with one of the best college football programs in the country. His experience is invaluable for this secondary that has lost a starting cornerback and both of their starting safeties from the 2021 season.

Ryan Watts has shown this spring that he will be one of the starting outside cornerbacks. Standing at 6’3” and weighing 215 pounds, Watts has the frame to play a physical brand of football at any position in the secondary, however. Watts’ versatility will help manufacture experienced depth for a secondary lacking in experience. His familiarity with playing safety gives Terry Joseph and Pete Kwiatkowski another option if they have an injury to one of the starting safeties.

Ryan Watts’ size and play-style, along with the type of recruits Terry Joseph has brought into the 2022 class, signals a philosophical change to this defense. These defensive backs will be playing very physically in 2022.

You should expect a heavy dose of press-coverage, where the cornerbacks are in the wide receivers face and chest as soon as the ball is snapped. The way the backend of the defense plays could influence how the front seven plays as well.

While the cornerbacks press the receivers at the line of scrimmage, Coach P.K. Could decide to bring more blitzes this season. Without a true pass rusher on the team, bringing blitzes and over-loading the offensive line would be a great way to pressure the quarterback.

Closing

Overall, Ryan Watts is just one piece of the secondary. However, his presence is the signal of a schematic change from the 2021 season. The fact that Coach P.K., Coach Sarkisian, and Coach Terry Joseph identified what was wrong with the defense and are actively making changes is very encouraging. We are in the midst of off-season hype, however don’t let that stop you from drinking some of the Texas kool-aid.

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