What the dismissal of Ty’Anthony Smith means for Texas at LB

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With Friday’s dismissal of Texas Longhorns junior linebacker Ty’Anthony Smith for “conduct detrimental to the team,” position coach Johnny Nansen now returns less than 100 snaps from last year’s group after Anthony Hill Jr. declared for the NFL Draft, Trey Moore and Marshall Landwehr exhausted their eligibility, and Liona Lefau and Bo Barnes entered the NCAA transfer portal.

Smith’s dismissal leaves 450 snaps for Nansen to replace at a position that landed three players from the NCAA transfer portal and three freshmen to join hybrid edge/linebacker Brad Spence, who projects as the strong-side linebacker in the base defense after struggling as an inside linebacker during limited snaps last season.

Here’s what Smith’s departure means for the Texas linebacker corps.

More pressure on Justin Cryer

As Smith missed time during spring practice while rehabilitating from offseason shoulder surgery, Florida State transfer Justin Cryer took advantage of the opportunity to emerge as the projected starter next to Pitt transfer Rasheem Biles.

A Brookshire Royal product who initially enrolled at Northwestern before landing in Tallahassee, Cryer is built like an old-school middle linebacker at 246 pounds. With the Seminoles, Cryer emerged as a regular starter in 2025 after returning from a season-ending injury, recording 43 tackles, five tackles for loss, and one sack as a junior.

Since arriving in Austin, Cryer quickly earned the trust of his coaching staff.

“Every player, when they come into our program, whether they’re transfers or freshmen, whatever that looks like, everybody’s path and journey is always a little bit different than others,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Saturday. “I will say this about Justin Cryer — this guy is doing everything in his power to maximize this opportunity this season for his personal growth and success, but also to be part of a championship-caliber team.”

It starts with Cryer’s mindset and maturity.

“You can feel it in the way that he walks into the building every single day, his intent in meetings, his intent in Culture Wednesdays, his intent in walkthroughs, his ability to communicate Coach [Will] Muschamp’s defense, the way he practices, the level of intensity that he plays at, and I think that’s why his teammates rave so much about him,” Sarkisian said.

As a former consensus three-star prospect ranked outside the top 1,000 prospects nationally in the 2023 recruiting class, Cryer has had to earn things the hard way.

“This guy is squeezing every ounce of juice that he can out of this opportunity to be at Texas, and it’s greatly appreciated, and I think it serves as a great model for a lot of the other transfers — this guy didn’t wait and feel it feel it out to where do I fit in. He’s gone for it, and I think he’s reaping the benefits of it. He’s playing it at a high level for us right now,” Sarkisian said.

With Smith’s departure, Cryer could end up playing even more snaps at the middle linebacker position.

An opportunity for Kosi Okpala

Initially viewed as an option at the strong-side linebacker position after primarily playing on the edge at Katy Mayde Creek, Okpala looked natural playing inside linebacker during the spring-ending open practice and has drawn positive buzz during preseason camp.

Sophomore defensive end Lance Jackson recently named the 6’3, 235-pounder as one of the three young defenders surprising during preseason camp, building on a spring that was positive enough for Nansen to set the expectation of early playing time for Okpala.

“Kosi, I think, is going to be really good — he’s not really talked about enough,” Jackson said. “He’s going to have to play a lot.”

In addition to natural instincts that help Okpala fit gaps against the running game, one play during Saturday’s scrimmage, the second of preseason camp, provided an insight into his instincts in coverage — Sarkisian said that Okpala made an interception he was able to return for a touchdown. Undercutting a route by junior wide receiver Emmett Mosley, Okpala tipped the pass to himself to spark his return.

According to Bobby Burton’s scrimmage report, Okpala was working with the second team and fared well in pass coverage throughout the scrimmage.

With Smith gone, it looks like the future is now for Okpala, whose trajectory has skyrocketed in the last 13 games as he went from a modestly-ranked prospect to just outside the top-50 nationally to expectations of significant early playing time, for which he currently appears well prepared.

The Horns will need their depth

Back in the spring, new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp cited linebacker depth as his biggest concern heading into the 2026, a concern further heightened now.

The expanded roster size allowed Texas to add depth during spring practice with the commitment of former Michigan State linebacker Darius Snow, who is entering his seventh year of college football following a number of injury setbacks that have impacted his athleticism.

Still, his experience will be valuable for the Longhorns, just like it was during the first scrimmage when a number of linebackers were absent.

“You take a guy late in the portal in Darius Snow, days like today you’re really, really glad you got him because he’s a smart football player, he’s savvy, he can get in there and go play,” said Sarkisian.

Texas may also need its other two freshman linebackers — former consensus five-star prospect Tyler Atkinson and Rocky Cummings, another young defender named by Jackson as a surprise during camp.

“He’s a stud,” Nansen said of Cummings during the spring. “He can run, he’s rangy, he can rush the passer. He’s got it all, and he’s a very smart football player.”

Surprisingly, there’s been less buzz around Atkinson considering his recruiting pedigree, but at 6’1, 219 pounds, Atkinson has a similar physical and athletic profile to Smith, so he could spell Biles on the weak side when Muschamp wants to ensure he still has plenty of range on the field at the position.

In Saturday’s scrimmage, Atkinson flashed in coverage by breaking up a pass.

As most modern defenses primarily play with a nickel back and two inside linebackers on the field, there’s limited need for three linebackers to be on the field at the same time. But the lack of experience at the position does pose a challenge for the Longhorns.

“You want as many healthy, good players as you can have at every position, right? But part of this is we recruit some high-level people, too, and and how fast can we get them ready to go? We’ve got three really good young players… so those guys are coming,” Sarkisian said. “We also know we’ve got great experience in Cryer and Biles, and Brad Spence is an experienced guy who gives us position flex and versatility. But guys are going to have to grow into certain roles.”

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