Texas football roster countdown: Nos. 9-0

The 2025 season is here. The countdown to kickoff is complete. But before toe meets leather, here’s a look at players wearing Nos. 9-0.

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• Here’s Nos. 99-89. 
• Here’s Nos. 88-77.
• Here’s Nos. 76-60.
• Here’s Nos. 59-55.
• Here’s Nos. 54-50.
• Here are defensive players added to the updated roster.
• Here are offensive players added to the updated roster.
• Here’s Nos. 49-45.
• Here’s Nos. 44-40.
• Here’s Nos. 39-35.
• Here’s Nos. 34-25.
• Here’s Nos. 24-20.
• Here’s Nos. 19-15.
• Here’s Nos. 14-10.

9 Jonah Williams, DB

Williams’ athleticism was on display earlier this year at UFCU Disch-Falk Field as the Longhorns’ left fielder. A lingering hamstring issue has slowed him down in the fall, but the program knows that they have a special player in Williams. Expect him to see some special teams action but his opportunities on standard downs may be limited.

9 Jerrick Gibson, RB

With CJ Baxter, Tre Wisner, Christian Clark, and Ryan Niblett all ahead of Gibson on the depth chart, carries may be limited even compared to his freshman season. However, with the position group finally healthy, Gibson might be a real impactful player on special teams.

8 Trey Moore, LB

Moore’s return sees him moving off ball. That’s to prime his skill set for the next level but also to make room for Colin Simmons to play Buck full time. Moore’s versatility will be on display at Mike, Sam, and even Buck in some pass rush situations. Expect No. 8 to make a lot of plays in 2025.

8 KJ Lacey, QB

Lacey will likely redshirt behind Arch Manning, Trey Owens, and Matthew Caldwell this year.

7 Kaliq Lockett, WR

Is there a freshman who can crack the starting rotation? With the top three looking like Ryan Wingo, DeAndre Moore, and Parker Livingstone, Lockett may be the next man up along with Daylan McCutcheon. Emmett Mosley’s injury issues give Lockett, who did see some first string snaps in camp, the chance to see some time. That said, Steve Sarkisian and company keep a tight rotation at wideout. Opportunities may be limited against teams like Ohio State.

6 Christian Clark, RB

Finally healthy, there’s a lot of excitement surrounding Clark as he returns from an Achilles injury. Even with Baxter and Wisner ahead, there still will be opportunities for Clark this season. It’s just good to see No. 6 back in action after a major injury.

6 Kobe Black, DB

Black had a strong camp, battling Jaylon Guilbeau for the boundary corner position. While Guilbeau will get the nod as the starter, Black will play plenty and see significant snaps against opponents’ top receivers.

5 Quintrevion Wisner, RB

The 1B to Baxter’s 1A, Wisner is the team’s Energizer Bunny. He will do just about anything to pick up yardage, and he’ll be more capable doing that with a slightly larger frame. His best work is when he doesn’t have to be a bell cow, and it looks like he’ll have that chance this year thanks to Baxter.

5 Malik Muhammad, RB

Put simply, it is a contract year for Muhammad. He views himself as a three-and-out player who can make an impact in the NFL next season. Despite a rough end to the 2024 campaign, he posted a strong season opposite Jahdae Barron. He’ll need to get his interception numbers up, but if he can be the type of corner opposing teams don’t care to threaten too often, he’ll earn an early round pick.

4 Jelani McDonald, DB

One of the most versatile players on the Texas roster, McDonald will play a lot of different roles for the Longhorns in 2025. His main responsibility to start the season will be at deep safety alongside Michael Taaffe, but don’t be surprised if he moves closer to the line of scrimmage to play some Star.

4 CJ Baxter, RB

Good to see you, Baxter. A preseason knee injury kept the former five-star sidelined for the entire 2024 season. He’s not only rehabbed to be playable, he’s rehabbed to be the 1A running back in 2025. How well he can run will be something worth tracking, but he’s on pace to be the main back with Wisner in 2025.

3 Emmett Mosley V, WR

Texas has been cautious with Mosley, who Sarkisian described as limited earlier this week. When he’s healthy, he’ll be one of the wideouts that gets put into the main playing rotation. The main question will be how many snaps he sees. Is he worth putting on the field over Parker Livingstone, DeAndre Moore, or Ryan Wingo? He’ll be able to answer that question better when healthy.

3 Jaylon Guilbeau, CB

After a tough battle with Kobe Black in preseason camp, Guilbeau won the starting role at boundary corner. He’ll split snaps with Black, but the Longhorns will ask Guilbeau to do something similar to what Barron did in 2024.

2 Derek Williams, DB

Williams was playing fantastic football before his season ending injury during the Oklahoma game. That did allow for Andrew Mukuba to step up and become an impact player, but the Longhorns would have liked to have had Williams at their disposal. He’ll rotate in behind Taaffe and McDonald at deep safety, and gives the Longhorns a fantastic safety trio to utilize against top teams.

2 Jaime Ffrench, WR

Ffrench may be a year away from contributing, though he has impressive receiver skills.

1 Ryan Wingo, WR

Last year, Wingo was a great athlete but lacked some of the soft receiver skills needed to put himself into the category of the Jeremiah Smiths or Ryan Williamses or Cam Colemans. He’s worked all offseason to become a better receiver and by all IT accounts his recent practices have been some of his best. He’ll be an impact player for Texas at the important Z position.

1 Colin Simmons, EDGE

Could Simmons be the best defensive player in America? He has a chance to be a terror for opposing offenses this year every single down. There’s no question he has the pass rush ability to get after any quarterback. If he can shore up his run defense, he’ll be in the top five pick conversation for the 2027 draft.

0 Anthony Hill, LB

The man in the middle of the Texas defense, Hill has made the athlete to linebacker transition since earning plenty of playing time in 2023. There’s no doubt that Texas’ defense needs Hill to be all over the field to be successful, but that’s what Hill does best. Any additional progress in pass coverage and Hill will set himself up well to be one of the first linebackers picked in the 2026 draft.

0 DeAndre Moore, WR

The successor to Jordan Whittington, Moore will have an important role playing multiple receiver spots in 2025. Most of his action will be in the slot considering, again, he’s the successor to Jordan Whittington. Blocking, catches over the middle, and slot fades will be key for Moore. It’s hard to call a star receiver a glue guy, but that could be Moore.