Texas Football: Offseason Goals for the Longhorns Defense

The Longhorns defense was one of the few bright spots on the team in 2014. Head coach Charlie Strong took a unit that was once the worst statistical defense in school history in 2012 and transformed it to the No. 25 total defense in the nation.

The Longhorns' final defensive performance was not what Strong was used to. Texas gave up 351 total yards in the 31-7 loss to Arkansas in the Advocare V100 Texas Bowl. Strong was not thrilled with his defense's performance and understands he has a challenge ahead of him.

"Defensively, you can't give up the big play. You've got to play better. You've got to play smart. You have to be able to go out and stop. It doesn't matter what happens on offense. Defensively, you have to make plays. We just didn't do that and didn't get off the field," Strong said following the loss.

"We see there's a lot of work to be done, which is great. It's a great challenge. I don't mind it. I don't mind accepting it."

Texas had a lot of veteran players on the defensive side of the ball, and Strong needs to find the right replacements for the talent he has lost.

Linebackers

Name	2015 Class
Peter Jinkens	Senior
Timothy Cole	Junior
Edwin Freeman	Sophomore
Dalton Santos	Senior
Malik Jefferson	Freshman
Cecil Cherry	Freshman
Anthony Wheeler	Freshman
Cameron Townsend	Freshman
Breckyn Hager	Freshman

Part of the reason for the Longhorns' success was because of the veteran group of linebackers. Seniors Jordan Hicks and Steve Edmond were two of the most consistent players on the team last season, and their absence will be hard to replace in 2015.

The positive news for Texas fans is the Longhorns have a variety of options to replace the duo. The downfall is the lack of experience at the position.

Peter Jinkens is one of the most veteran returning starters at linebacker. Texas also has Dalton Santos, who played as a backup to Edmond in 2014. Aside from those two, the Longhorns have a group of linebackers with little to no experience.

Three names a lot of Texas fans are excited to see are incoming freshmen Malik Jefferson, Cecil Cherry and Anthony Wheeler. The highly touted commits could see playing time immediately, which could fill the void at linebacker.

With a group of inexperienced linebackers on campus, the Longhorns need to utilize this offseason to find viable replacements for Hicks and Edmond.

Defensive Line

Name	Position	2015 Class
Shiro Davis	DE	Senior
Naashon Hughes	DE	Redshirt Sophomore
Derick Roberson	DE	Sophomore
Caleb Bluiett	DE	Junior
Bryce Cottrell	DE	Junior
Charles Omenihu	DE	Freshman
Quincy Vasser	DE	Junior (JUCO transfer)
Hassan Ridgeway	DT	Junior
Desmond Jackson	DT	Redshirt Senior
Paul Boyette Jr.	DT	Junior
Poona Ford	DT	Sohpomore
Chris Nelson	DT	Sophomore
Du'Vonta Lampkin	DT	Freshman

Two of the highest-profile names on the Longhorns' list of departures are defensive end Cedric Reed and defensive tackle Malcom Brown. Replacing these two players will be difficult, but there is enough talent on the roster to make the drop-off a little less drastic.

Defensive tackles Hassan Ridgeway and Desmond Jackson are two veteran replacements for Brown. The Longhorns also have a variety of options at defensive end.

Shiro Davis and Caleb Bluiett will be back for their senior seasons and Naashon Hughes will return for his redshirt sophomore season. The problem does not lie within the starting defensive ends; the problem is with the inexperienced depth behind the starters. 

The backup defensive ends need to step up in order to continue the progress of the defensive line without Reed in the mix.

Defensive Backs

Name	Position	2015 Class
Duke Thomas	CB	SEnior
Bryson Echols	CB	Junior
Antwuan Davis	CB	Redshirt Sophomore
Jermaine Roberts Jr.	DB	Redshirt Freshman
John Bonney	DB	Redshirt Freshman
DaVante Davis	DB	Freshman
DeShon Elliott	DB	Freshman
Tim Irvin	DB	Freshman
Jamile Johnson	DB	Freshman
Dylan Haines	S	Junior
Jason Hall	S	Sophomore
Kevin Vaccaro	S	Junior
Adrian Colbert	S	Junior
Erik Huhn	S	Redshirt Sophomore

One of the biggest areas of need for Texas is at defensive back. The Longhorns will lose four-year starters Quandre Diggs and Mykkele Thompson. But Texas has a group of defensive backs who could replace the veteran duo.

Duke Thomas, Jason Hall and Dylan Haines return for another season, and the Longhorns have a number of defensive backs who could very well turn into starters in 2015.

But similar to the other positional groups, the issue lies with the lack of experience behind the starting defensive backs. The Longhorns need to determine which players can provide the needed depth for the position.

If you have not noticed, there is a common denominator for all of the defensive positional groups. The Longhorns have a lot of talent on the roster but need to have more depth in 2015.

Will this plague the Longhorns defense? Probably not, but an answer needs to be found during the offseason to continue the progress on the defensive side of the ball.

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.