Pro Football Focus' defensive team rankings for 2025 came out last night, and the Longhorns are expected to be very, very good this year on that side of the ball. Texas' defense, led by Anthony Hill Jr., Michael Taaffe, and Colin Simmons, officially comes in at No.2 overall, right behind Alabama.
According to PFF's Max Chadwick,
"The Longhorns’ back-seven on defense is easily the best in college football, featuring both the top linebacker unit and secondary in PFF’s offseason rankings.
Anthony Hill Jr. is college football's top returning linebacker, Michael Taaffe is a top-five safety and Malik Muhammad is the sixth-ranked cornerback.