College football’s 10 most important freshmen in 2015

Jefferson is the type of player you can build a defense around and begin to change the culture at Texas to get the Longhorns back to where they are competing for Big 12 titles on an annual basis. I think Jefferson can do for Texas what Derrick Brooks did for Florida State in the early 90s.

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7

Malik Jefferson

OLB, Texas

Charlie Strong was the happiest man in America when he landed the commitment from Malik Jefferson in a hotly contested recruiting war with former Big 12 rival Texas A&M.

The 6-2, 222-pound outside linebacker was the nation’s No. 10 overall recruit and the No. 1 player at his position and could pass Dalton Santos, a senior and two-time letter winner, for the starting middle linebacker spot. Jefferson is simply too talented to leave on the sideline with Strong needing to find a face for his program and a leader he can built around for the next few years.

Jefferson is the type of player you can build a defense around and begin to change the culture at Texas to get the Longhorns back to where they are competing for Big 12 titles on an annual basis. I think Jefferson can do for Texas what Derrick Brooks did for Florida State in the early 90s.

Next: Martez Ivey