Texas Football: Longhorns Most Impactful Players of 2014

Charlie Strong's first season in Austin did not end with the record Texas fans would have liked to see. But many of the Longhorns showed significant progress in 2014, especially the defense.

The Texas defense was the laughingstock of the Longhorns in 2012 and 2013. But the unit as a whole is part of the reason the Longhorns saw success in Strong's first year as head coach.

The statistical rankings show how much the defense has improved.

	Interceptions	Passing Yards Allowed	Rushing Defense	Red Zone Defense	Scoring Defense	Total Defense
2012	No. 26 | 15 INT	No. 36 | 212 YPG	No. 88 | 192 YPG	No. 115 | 91 PCT	No. 73 | 29 PPG	No. 67 | 404 YPG
2013	No. 82 | 10 INT	No. 53 | 224 YPG	No. 83 | 183 YPP	No. 92 | 87 PCT	No. 57 | 26 PPG	No. 68 | 407 YPG
2014	No. 16 | 15 INT	No. 13 | 186 YPG	No. 65 | 162 YPG	No. 29 | 77 PCT	No. 32 | 23 PPG	No. 26 | 348 YPG

The offense did not experience the same improvements as the defense in year one of the Strong regime, but anyone who expected to see increased numbers from the group was setting themselves up for failure.

It's very rare for an offense to be successful when the offensive line features first-year starters at every position, there is no depth or rotation on the line and a first-time starting quarterback—who admitted he never expected to start a game for his team—is under center.

But that's the hand that was dealt to the Texas offensive coaches.

With the regular season in the past, it's time to take a look at some of the most impactful players for the Longhorns in 2014, counting down from an honorable mention to the best overall player on the roster.

Honorable Mention: Hassan Ridgeway

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway was not expected to become a starter as a sophomore. But Ridgeway was called to duty after defensive tackle Desmond Jackson suffered a season-ending foot injury in the third game of the year.

The sophomore, nicknamed "The Green Mile" for his size and gentle-giant demeanor, has significant upside if he continues to develop.

"One of these days Hassan is actually going to get mad," defensive coordinator Vance Bedford said. "He is one of the nicest young people I've ever been around. If he ever gets mad, I'm going to be the first person to leave the room because he will hurt somebody. My man could be a beast."

The 6'4", 307-pound defensive tackle finished the regular season with six sacks and 10 tackles for loss. The Green Mile proved to be a reliable replacement for Jackson and could be a difference-maker for Texas in the future, which is why he deserves the honorable mention award for the Longhorns most impactful players of 2014.

No. 4: Quandre Diggs

Four-year starter Quandre Diggs is one of the most physical players on the Texas roster and has been since he arrived in Austin.

The 5'10" defensive back is not the biggest guy on the field, but he plays like a 7-footer, which is why he earned the nickname "Quandre the Giant" as a true freshman in 2011. Two of his best qualities are his win at all cost mentality and his drive to be the best player on the field.

Diggs is not afraid to speak his mind, whether it is trash-talking opposing wide receivers, calling out his teammates for being too accepting of losing or telling the media he only shows up to Monday press conferences for the free Plucker's food.

But he can get away with his candor because he backs it up on the field and takes full responsibility if he struggles. 

Diggs' final regular-season game did not go as he had hoped. The senior struggled in defending TCU's Josh Doctson and had a miscue as a punt returner when the ball went off his leg and was recovered by TCU on the Texas 19-yard line.

Rather than hiding after his performance, Diggs faced the media and took accountability for his mistakes.

"I feel like I let me team down. I didn't play the way I'm supposed to," Diggs said following the Thanksgiving loss. "We all have off days, and this was mine. I didn't play the way I expected, but I will bounce back. I'm a confident young man. I'm sure I'll knock it out in the bowl game."

But one off game does not define Diggs' senior season.

Diggs was a reliable option at corner and nickel in 2014 and finished the regular season with 68 tackles, five tackles for loss, two sacks, three interceptions, five pass breakups and a forced fumble.

His reliability, physical play and demeanor earn him the No. 4 most impactful player for the Texas Longhorns.

No. 3: John Harris

John Weast/Getty Images

Even though there were limited bright spots on the Texas offense this season, nobody can argue that the most impactful offensive player in 2014 was wide receiver John Harris.

The fifth-year senior's road to this season was anything but ordinary. Harris came to Austin as a highly touted, 4-star recruit, according to Rivals.com. But the wide receiver's career at Texas was plagued by injury, which ultimately led to him being buried in the depth chart behind younger players.

Harris contemplated walking away from football following the 2013 season but decided to tough it out and prove himself to the new coaching staff.

And he was rewarded for his hard work.

Harris led the team with 1,015 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2014 and is now one of eight receivers in Texas football history to have more than 1,000 receiving yards in one season. And to think he reached this milestone with inconsistent quarterback play.

One could only imagine what Harris' season could have been if David Ash was the starting quarterback. Regardless, Harris' breakout senior year ranks him as the No. 3 most impactful Longhorn in 2014.

No. 2: Malcom Brown

USA TODAY Sports

Bedford, who has coached in college and the NFL, believes junior defensive tackle Malcom Brown is one of the best defensive tackles he has seen and will be a future first-round pick in the NFL draft.

"He's one of the better 3-techniques I've coached. I've been at Michigan, Florida, in the NFL and I think the kid is an NFL talent," Bedford said of Brown. "I think the young man is a first-round pick. I think he will be a 3-technique in the NFL. He has great football awareness, plays with great leverage, is very strong and extremely explosive and that's what the NFL is looking for in a 3-technique."

The 6'2", 320-pound tackle quickly became opposing quarterbacks' worst nightmare in his junior season and is arguably one of the best defensive tackles in college football.

Brown led the Longhorns with 6.5 sacks, 14 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles and leads all Big 12 defensive tackles in tackles, tackles for loss and sacks.

His junior season helped him to be named a finalist for the Outland Trophy, given to the nation's best interior lineman, and the Nagurski Trophy, awarded to the best defensive player in college football.

Brown has a bright future ahead of him, and this year should only help his chances of being a top pick in the NFL draft.

Brown could very easily be the co-most impactful player for Texas, but since there are no ties in college football, the defensive tackle comes in as the second-most impactful Longhorn in 2014.

No. 1: Jordan Hicks

Eric Gay/Associated Press

The reason linebacker Jordan Hicks tops the list of the most impactful players for the Longhorns is very simple: The guy is a difference-maker.

Some may not agree with that assessment or his placement on this list, but let's look at the facts.

Fact No. 1: Hicks led the Longhorns with 138 tackles in 12 games.

Fact No. 2: He was practically a defensive coach on the field throughout the entire season.

Fact No. 3: The linebacker group and the defense as a whole were better by leaps and bounds when Hicks was on the field compared to when he was not.

Prior to this season, it was difficult to expect Hicks to be a reliable player for the Longhorns because of his injury-prone past.

Hicks suffered a groin/hip injury that sidelined him for the majority of the 2012 season, and a freak, non-contact torn Achilles in 2013, which caused him to miss nine games, off season workouts and spring practice.

But the fifth-year senior returned with a vengeance and finished the regular season with 13 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, two interceptions and four quarterback hurries.

His leadership, skill of making one-on-one tackles and ability to help put guys in the right position before the snap were tremendous all year and are the reasons why Hicks is the most impactful player for the Longhorns in 2014.

Unless otherwise noted, all quotes were obtained firsthand.

Taylor Gaspar is Bleacher Report's featured columnist covering the Texas Longhorns. Follow Taylor on Twitter: @Taylor_Gaspar.