If and when the 2020 college football season ultimately kicks off, the Texas Longhorns’ defense will feature two talents who are expected to be among the nation’s elite at their positions in junior safety Caden Sterns and junior linebacker Joseph Ossai.
On Monday, those expectations materialized in the form of Sterns being named to the Jim Thorpe Award Watch List, which honors the nation’s top defensive back annually, while Ossai was named to the Butkus Award Watch List, which honors the nation’s top linebacker annually.
Following a Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and First-Team All-Big 12 campaign in 2018, Sterns was limited by injuries in 2019, seeing action in only nine of Texas’ 13 outings.