Texas Longhorns: 5 under-the-radar breakout candidates for 2025 football team

Posted by Admin January 19, 2025 Football

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Names like Ryan Wingo and Trevor Goosby are familiar to most Texas football fans by now.

Having already made an impact in 2024, they look set to be part of the next wave of stars primed to move into more prolific roles following the departures of key players.

But the Longhorns, who are losing at least 13 starters between offense and defense, will have to dig a little bit deeper into their reserves of young talent to replenish their depth and fill holes vacated players.

Texas will be coming off a College Football Playoff appearance and looking to top a 13-3 season that ended in the Cotton Bowl. It’s already been an active 2025 for the Longhorns with plenty of transfer portal activity and a reported new extension for head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Here’s a look at some under-the-radar breakout candidates for next season:

Alex January, sophomore DT

It was telling that the Longhorns turned to Alex January, a true freshman, to play seven big snaps in the Cotton Bowl against Ohio State.

Listed at 6-foot-5, 315 pounds, January already has a similar size profile to the departing Alfred Collins, who went down injured in that Ohio State game. Collins isn’t the only Longhorns defensive tackle who will be moving on — the top four interior defensive linemen on the Texas depth chart all exhausted their eligibility.

January will have a pair of transfers to compete with for playing time. The Longhorns added Cole Brevard from Purdue and Travis Shaw from North Carolina early in the transfer portal window. But January’s youth gives him a higher upside than both of those players.

Justus Terry, freshman DT

Defensive tackle isn’t typically a position where true freshmen make instant impacts. On top of the learning curve that all high school players face when they make the jump to college football, there’s a significant physical transformation that usually needs to take place as well.

Still, five-star Texas enrollee Justus Terry looks like he might be the kind of transcendent force who can overcome those obstacles and contribute quickly for the Longhorns.

Terry went viral in eighth grade for his muscular build. Four years later, he’s listed at 6-foot-5, 275 pounds. For all the reasons already listed when discussing January, there’s a big opportunity for Terry to play early.

Spencer Shannon, sophomore TE

Unless they make a transfer portal addition, the Longhorns will enter the 2025 season without a tight end who has made a reception at the college level. By necessity, a breakout is going to have to come from that position group.

At the moment, redshirt freshman Spencer Shannon looks like the man best placed to provide it. Shannon appeared in four games for the Longhorns in 2024, playing 56 snaps compared to 28 for Jordan Washington — Texas’ only other returner at tight end who played a down last year.

And Shannon’s size makes him an interesting target for soon-to-be starter Arch Manning. The native of California is listed at 6-foot-7, 255 pounds. Gunnar Helm, who served as Quinn Ewers’ security blanket during the 2024 season, stood at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds.

Jaime Ffrench Jr., freshman WR

From the looks of the current roster, Wingo (who will be a sophomore wide receiver) looks like the prohibitive favorite to step forward for the Longhorns as they look to replace a pair of quality receiving options in Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden.

But Texas has two spots to fill — not one. And top-40 freshman Jaime Ffrench Jr. has the athletic profile required to contribute quickly.

Listed at 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, Ffrench played both outside and in the slot in high school — versatility that could help him get on the field sooner rather than later. Look for highly-touted freshman Aaron Butler to stake a claim for playing time as a second-year player after redshirting in 2024, too.

Brandon Baker, sophomore OL

Four of the five members of the starting offensive line for Texas are moving onto the NFL, with guard DJ Campbell set to be the lone returner.

It looks like Goosby, who was effective in a backup role on both the left and the right, will slide forward to fill one of the tackle spots. But the Longhorns have a second tackle vacancy and haven’t yet bolstered their offensive line with any transfer additions.

Brandon Baker could be a strong bet to step in. A five-star signee in the 2024 class, Baker played 65 snaps on offense for the Longhorns as a true freshman.

Reach Texas Insider David Eckert via email at deckert@gannett.com. Follow the American-Statesman on Facebook and X for more. Your subscription makes work like this possible. Get access to all of our best content with this tremendous offer.