Texas Longhorns Football Schedule 2024
The Texas football team will face college football playoff contenders such as Michigan, Georgia and Oklahoma.
This is a new era for Texas football. New rivals. New talent on the other side of the ball.
The Longhorns, ranked No. 4 in the country, begin their first season as a member of the prestigious Southeastern Conference on Saturday against Colorado State, followed by nonconference games at Michigan and at home against UTSA and Louisiana-Monroe.
Then the conference fun begins for the Longhorns with a home game against Mississippi State and back-to-back games against Oklahoma and Georgia, a two-game series that could determine whether Texas is a strong contender for a College Football Playoff spot. The rest of UT’s SEC schedule includes games against Vanderbilt, Florida, Arkansas and Kentucky before the season-ending game against Texas A&M.
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The Longhorns’ roster is loaded with next-generation talent, but who are the top players Texas will face? The American-Statesman lists the top 24 opposing players in 2024:
24. Maxwell Hairston, cornerback from Kentucky
The junior is the anchor of one of the nation’s most underrated defenses. Don’t believe it? Just ask the SEC quarterbacks a year ago, who saw Hairston lead the conference with five interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns – 68 tackles and six passes defensed.
23. Donyai Taylor, UTSA linebacker
Taylor, a senior from the small Texas town of Shiner, troubled his opponents last year, earning second-place honors in the American Athletic Conference with 31 solo tackles, seven tackles for loss and two sacks.
22. Trevor Etienne, running back for Georgia
The junior comes from Florida after rushing for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns over the past two seasons. Georgia traditionally likes to rotate its running backs, but the versatile Etienne may be too talented to keep him off the field.
21. Tre Wilson, receiver from Florida
The sophomore earned multiple All-Freshman honors last season after catching 61 passes for 538 yards and six touchdowns in 10 games. He appears poised for a bigger role in the Gators’ offense this season, even though Florida still has some unanswered questions at quarterback.
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20. Trey Zuhn III, Texas A&M offensive lineman
In his third season as a starter at left tackle, the junior offers new coach Mike Elko and Aggie quarterback Conner Weigman a proven safety on the edge. Zuhn received the fifth-highest rating among SEC tackles from PFF a year ago.
19. Cory Ellington, Mississippi State safety
There have been three head coaches for the struggling Bulldogs in the last three seasons, but the senior secondary anchor has played in 31 games in his four years, starting nine times, and set a career-high 66 tackles last season.
18. Kenneth Grant, Michigan defensive tackle
There is no team in the country with better interior defenders than Michigan, and the 6-foot-3, 335-pound Grant plays an important role. The junior had just 16 solo tackles and 3½ sacks last season, but his contribution to a strong Wolverine defense is similar to what T’Vondre Sweat did for Texas last season.
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17. Deion Burks, Oklahoma receiver
The junior transfer from Purdue gives the Sooners one of the quickest slot receivers in the country. He resembles Drake Stoops, but is faster. Last year, Burks scored seven touchdowns on 47 passes caught and had a catch of at least 42 yards in four consecutive games.
16. Landon Jackson, Arkansas Rand
The senior is an NFL prototype at 6’1″ and 280 pounds and is one of the best pass rushers in the SEC – a strong statement considering the next generation of talent at the position is emerging in the conference. Last season, he totaled 44 tackles and had 6.5 sacks.
15. Michigan running back Donovan Edwards
With star quarterback JJ McCarthy now in the NFL, the junior will likely be the centerpiece of a revamped offense, a potential he flashed with 104 yards and two touchdowns on just six carries in last year’s 34-13 win over Washington in the national championship game.
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14. Billy Bowman Jr., safety from Oklahoma
The veteran, now in his final season, brings a ton of experience to the Sooners’ secondary. Bowman also has plenty of playmaking talent; the first-team All-Big 12 player in 2023 ranked second in the nation with six interceptions and 63 tackles.
13. Eli Cox, offensive lineman from Kentucky
The senior is the anchor of the Wildcats’ offense. He has started 35 consecutive games at various interior positions but has established himself as one of the nation’s best centers. If Cox stays healthy, the team captain will finish his college career with at least 56 appearances.
12. CJ Taylor, Vanderbilt defensive back
While he’s on the Commodores’ roster as a safety, the versatile senior was all over the back seven a year ago. His performance is a testament to that versatility; in 2023, Taylor led the team in interceptions and forced fumbles and ranked second in tackles and sacks.
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11. Mykel Williams, Georgia Rand
The junior is expected to be selected in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He has the size, speed, length and explosiveness to disrupt any offense. He started 10 games for a strong defense in 2023, collecting 18 tackles and 4½ sacks, but it looks like the best is yet to come.
10. Tory Horton, Colorado State receiver
The most dangerous offensive player on the Rams’ roster is arguably the most dangerous offensive player Texas will face this season. The senior has 167 catches for 2,267 yards and 16 touchdowns over the past two seasons and will pose a tough early challenge for the Longhorns’ secondary.
9. Nic Scourton, Texas A&M forward
Will the Purdue transfer be the best edge rusher in the SEC this season? The junior has certainly proven his worth over the past two seasons with the Boilermakers: 72 tackles, 17 tackles for loss and 12 sacks, including a Big Ten top-10 last season.
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8. Colston Loveland, Michigan tight end
The 6-foot-5, 225-pound junior looks like an NFL tight end and played like an NFL tight end as a sophomore. Loveland caught 45 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns last season, fourth-most among Power Four tight ends, and he could lead a revamped lineup of targets for Michigan.
7. Danny Stutsman, linebacker from Oklahoma
The senior is only bumped up this list because of how he tormented Texas in the Red River Showdown. Stutsman, who was named to the All-Big 12 first team last season, led the Sooners with 104 total tackles, 51 solo tackles and 16 tackles for loss, along with three sacks and two forced fumbles.
6. Tate Ratledge, offensive lineman from Georgia
The senior guard, who was named a second-team All-American last season, is one of the best interior linemen in the country and will be a key part of the league’s best pass-blocking unit in 2023. Trust the numbers to back that statement up: The Bulldogs had a pass-blocking rating of 87.4, which is an SEC-best, and a pressure rate of 1.3% allowed.
5. Will Johnson, Michigan cornerback
Johnson, who was an All-Big Ten selection as a sophomore, looks like a future pro in 2023. Last season, the tenacious man-to-man cornerback had four interceptions and intercepted four passes while earning a conference-lowest rating from opposing quarterbacks at 4.3.
4. Mason Graham, Michigan defensive tackle
The second-team All-American is returning for at least one more season before exploring his NFL options, and the Wolverines are happy to have him back. The 320-pound junior had 23 solo tackles and 7½ stops for the nation’s top defense in 2023.
3. Carson Beck, Georgia quarterback
A favorite for the Heisman Trophy and a candidate to be the first overall pick in next year’s NFL Draft, the senior returns after a remarkable debut as a starter. A year ago, Beck ranked third nationally and first in the SEC with 3,941 passing yards. He completed 72.4% of his passes, ranking fourth nationally, and threw 24 touchdown passes.
2. Deone Walker, Kentucky defensive tackle
Perhaps the most overlooked superstar in college football, the first-team All-SEC player does it all in the middle of the Wildcats’ defense. The 6-6, 348-pound junior, who has started 24 straight games, led the Wildcats last season with 12½ tackles for loss and finished eighth in the SEC with 7½ sacks while bolstering Kentucky’s run defense.
1. Malaki Starks, defensive back from Georgia
A three-year starter and named All-American last season for one of the stingiest defenses in the country, the junior embodies the modern safety. He primarily plays free safety but can also keep up with receivers on the outside and in the slot. He can also tackle, as evidenced by his 52 total stops, along with three interceptions and seven passes defensed in 2023.
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