Texas, fresh off the program’s first conference championship and best record since 2009, is widely regarded as having one of the best rosters in the nation entering the 2024 season.
Many prominent contributors return on both sides of the ball despite eleven Longhorns being selected in the 2024 NFL Draft. So, who will join the ranks of “Longhorns in the pros” as soon as next season? ESPN projects that Steve Sarkisian’s squad could send nearly a dozen players once again.
Starting quarterback Quinn Ewers is currently seen as a second—or third-round prospect, despite the 2025 class not projecting to be as deep as the 2024 Draft at quarterback. Scouts see him as inconsistent, but they believe he has the arm talent to make any throw on the field, which is a characterization many Texas fans would agree with.
However, if Ewers impresses this year with a new, likely worse, group of pass catchers, he should be able to play his way, and recent transfer arrival Isaiah Bond's way, into the first round. Team success certainly wouldn’t hurt either.
Despite losing T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy II to the 2024 draft, the Texas defensive front is still loaded. Returning defensive ends Barryn Sorrell and Ethan Burke and defensive tackle Alfred Collins are all projected to be playing on Sundays. Game-wrecking defensive end Trey Moore, the 2023 AAC Defensive Player of the Year who transferred from UTSA, should be a day 2 pick.
Kelvin Banks Jr. is regarded as one of, if not the best, tackles in the draft, so he projects to be the only Longhorn selected in the top ten.
"He gets by a lot off of his natural ability in pass pro, but you can't coach the natural gifts that he has," an NFC area scout told ESPN.
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Finally, two members of the secondary safeties, Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba, will likely be drafted. Barron, entering his fifth and final year of eligibility, has been a stalwart in the Texas secondary, having started 41 games in burnt orange and white. He is seen as one of the draft's most intriguing nickel corner prospects.
Mukuba is a senior free safety who chose to return home to Austin from Clemson in the transfer portal this offseason. The LBJ High School product, rated as the 3rd best safety in the portal by 247sports, is seen as a day 3 draft pick in next year’s draft.
It’s worth noting that any of this can change, as draft status can be more fickle than almost anything in sports. Still, teams with National Championship aspirations typically have a plethora of future NFL players.
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