Texas football's David Gbenda: Transfer players fit in fine with Longhorns' team culture
Linebacker David Gbenda has seen it all in his five previous seasons on the Texas football team.
Two head coaches. Multiple defensive schemes. Countless teammates. Lots of wins. Too many losses. And one particular setback in the College Football Playoff — a 37-31 loss to Washington on Jan. 1 in New Orleans — that still stings after three months.
“We went from years where we (were) barely even contending for a Big 12 title to 12 yards away from winning and getting to the national championship,” Gbenda said Wednesday after the Longhorns’ morning practice. “I want the younger guys to understand that we were literally this close to being a part of history. If you’re a competitor, being that close would piss me off. Maybe that's just me personally.”
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But that’s why Gbenda is making it his personal mission this spring to remind all the new faces on defense — freshmen and transfers alike — of the small gap between losing and playing for a national title.
“I always reiterate the fact that we were this close,” he said, holding his thumb and forefinger about a half-inch apart, which was about the distance between Texas receiver Adonai Mitchell’s hands and the potential winning touchdown catch against Washington. “I’m just allowing them to understand that if we put in the right amount of work, we clean up a little details and just improve that much, we could do it. We could win the natty.”
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Defensive transfers come from winning backgrounds
Fortunately for Gbenda, it’s not hard to catch the ear of the new defensive transfers, considering their pedigree.
Whether by circumstance or recruiting design, all five defensive transfers expected to see action this fall come from successful collegiate backgrounds. Edge rusher Trey Moore (UTSA), defensive tackle Tiaoalii Savea (Arizona), defensive back Andrew Mukuba (Clemson) and linebacker Kendrick Blackshire (Alabama) went a combined 40-13 a year ago, with each competing for a winning, bowl-eligible team.
With that level of winning come the right work habits, Gbenda said. Now he just wants to do what he can to ease the transition for the veteran players into a new system and help a Texas team that went 12-2 a year ago with a Big 12 championship contend in the SEC.
“There’s a responsibility, but it's more just helping them to understand how we go about this (at Texas),” he said. “I understood what work it took for us to get to that (CFP) point. So it's really just laying out the blueprint and letting them understand that this is what it takes to do what we need to do to win.”
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Andrew Mukuba, Kendrick Blackshire, others impress Gbenda
And what have been some early impressions of the defensive transfers two weeks into spring practice? Gbenda loves the question, as evidenced by the smile that pops up when he is asked about his new teammates.
He said Moore plays with an intensity up front that will complement edge returners Ethan Burke and Barryn Sorrell. And the study habits of Savea, part of a revamped interior rotation that must replace All-Americans Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat, have already caught Gbenda’s eye.
“Tia (Savea), I watched him look at his notes the other day, and his notes almost looked like mine, and I'm a linebacker,” Gbenda said. “That's very detailed for a D-tackle. The new tackles, they understand the job that they have to uphold. And they're not shying away from the fact; they're pushing themselves and stretching themselves.”
How about Mukuba, the Austin native and LBJ graduate who started three seasons at safety for Clemson?
“He's a good guy,” Gbenda said. “I've had many conversations with him. With him coming back from Austin, he's just fit right into the culture. He's been an amazing addition to the defense.”
And Blackshire, the brickhouse of an inside linebacker who stands 6 feet 2 and weighs 261 pounds?
“Oh, man, he's a strong dude,” Gbenda said. “But he's also a great person who's willing to come in and do the hard things and work. I remember one time during winter conditioning, I remember seeing he was a little tired and a little hurt, but he toughed it out. And he is open to learning new things, no matter how hard it was, no matter how hard the work we demanded, because our program is very demanding in the offseason. But for a guy like that to come in and just take it all in and learn, he has my respect.”
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Longhorns' David Gbenda says transfer football players fit the culture
