The nickel position, called Star in the Texas defense, has been the home to possibly the most intriguing battle in the Longhorns' preseason. Jaylon Guilbeau, who started at the position last season, has made the move to cornerback ahead of his senior year. That means the Longhorns are looking in the entire defensive back corps for his successor.
The nickel position, called Star in the Texas defense, has been the home to possibly the most intriguing battle in the Longhorns’ preseason. Jaylon Guilbeau, who started at the position last season, has made the move to cornerback ahead of his senior year. That means the Longhorns are looking in the entire defensive back corps for his successor.
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There have been a number of players who have lined up at the position. True freshman Graceson Littleton took the first snaps there during portions of practice open to the media and has remained a mainstay at the top of the depth chart. He is battling it out with Wardell Mack, a redshirt freshman. But more names are taking snaps at the position and are possibly in line to start.
The “depth chart” that goes Littleton, Mack, then Jonathan Cunningham doesn’t tell the whole story. It rarely does at Texas. The Longhorns have tried a number of different players at Star during camp, including Michael Taaffe and Jelani McDonald. In fact, McDonald is likely the preferred option for Star for Texas’ defense right now.
What will determine who gets the nod at Star for Texas? Age isn’t the relevant factor for Steve Sarkisian and company. Rather, it’s reliability.
“I don’t look for what year you are,” Sarkisian said earlier this week. “I’m not concerned. Michael Taaffe is a fifth-year senior. Graceson Littleton is a true freshman. Can I trust you? At the end of the day, I’m looking for a player that can play steady football consistently and not one that makes highlight plays, then the next play is a bust in coverage, then the next play is a pick-six, then the next play is a bust in coverage. How consistent can you play, and can you play a brand of football that’s fast and physical that we require?”
Star is one of the most difficult positions to play in the Texas defense. They are typically an “Apex” player in the formation, meaning they are the first underneath defender inside of a cornerback. They are subject to two-way go’s for receivers and can sometimes be forced to carry vertical routes all the way up the field.
The spot has run game responsibilities, too. Rarely does it have to set an edge, but it does have to get involved and at least slow down ball-carriers until the rest of the cavalry shows up.
As a result, there are sometimes different needs at the position. Guilbeau saw most of the action last year, but there were times when Jahdae Barron slid back over to his old position to provide help against quality slot receivers. There were also occasions where McDonald played the role, bringing a more physical presence at nearly 200 pounds compared to the 183-pound Guilbeau. McDonald saw a considerable amount of action against Arizona State in this way.
It may be the role he plays most this season, especially as the 200-pound thumper. His versatility allows Texas to remain in a normal nickel defense with him on the field and not think it loses anything as far as physicality in the run game. When teams run more spread oriented offenses, one of the competing defensive backs, possibly Littleton, could find his way to the field. Of course, these roles aren’t completely fixed. McDonald is going to have to play in coverage against 11 personnel, and Littleton (or Mack) could find himself stuck on the field when teams have more run-centric personnel.
Multiple players on the defense may have to take on Star responsibilities. If motion causes the defense to have to rotate, one of the deep safeties may rotate down while the Star rotates back. Last year, Andrew Mukuba was credited with 71 snaps over the “slot” according to Pro Football Focus. Taaffe, who as mentioned is receiving some reps at the position despite an All-American season at deep safety in 2024, played 99 snaps there.
It’s all part of an effort to replace Guilbeau, who played 532 snaps over the slot last season. And it takes a unique skill set to do what Guilbeau did last season and Barron did the year prior.
“It takes a savvy player,” Sarkisian said. “It’s one of the more difficult positions to play in most defenses. There are some defenses where you can hide guys depending on the coverages you play. If you’re going to play man coverage, if you’re going to stop the run, if you’re going to blitz the quarterback, if you’re going to be savvy enough to play in zone and the variety of zones, he’s got to have a real high sense of football IQ, but you also have to have the athleticism to play the coverages that you want to play too. It’s just such an important position.”
Star may be the position that’s had the most names cycle through it this preseason. Part of that is the talent available, but part of that is also the coaches being thorough. Each opponent presents different issues and problems to solve. Some players may be more suited to help the Longhorns as a Star one week and as safety the next. Some players may not see much action one week then find themselves on the field for 50 or more snaps the next.
Getting all those players ready is critical, even if it means training star safeties at Star.
“We’re training all of them because different situations are going to require different things,” Sarkisian said. “Who is the opponent? What does their slot look like? There’s times we play nickel to base, to 12 personnel offenses and that’s where Jelani maybe can get down there and play that position. There’s a lot of variety that we’re toying with.”
McDonald’s status as an easy-to-rattle-off name shows where Sarkisian, Pete Kwiatkowski, and Duane Akina see McDonald in the role, at least at this juncture. But there’s plenty going on at that position, and plenty of time for competition left between McDonald, Littleton, and Mack to determine who might be able to fit at Star versus just about any offense.
Category: General Sports
