Rasheem Biles is college football’s next defensive superstar, you just don’t know it yet

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Ohio might not usually send linebackers to the SEC. But Pickerington, Ohio, just might have produced one of the next best stars in College Football. Rasheem Biles grew up in a suburb east of Columbus, not exactly a pipeline for Power Four defensive stars. He played at Pickerington Central High School as a two-way weapon, lining up at wide receiver, running back, and defensive back. He racked up four pick-sixes in his prep career and didn’t settle into a full-time defensive role until his junior year of high school.

When Pittsburgh came calling, he signed as a three-star athlete with no positional certainty. He arrived to suit up for the Pitt Panthers as a project. He’s leaving as one of the most decorated linebackers in recent ACC history. Now he’s a Longhorn. And if spring practice in Austin is any indication, the rest of the SEC is going to have a serious problem on its hands.

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Three Years of Building Something

Biles didn’t burst onto the scene at Pitt. He built toward it, layer by layer. As a freshman in 2023, he made his mark almost entirely on special teams, tying the Pitt single-season record with three blocked punts, a national-best figure that season. It was a signal that his instincts and explosiveness were elite even before the defensive system fully unlocked him.

In 2024, the linebacker room opened up, and Biles stepped in. He started nine games and posted 82 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, nine pass breakups, and one pick-six. That earned him second-team All-ACC recognition from the Associated Press. It also earned him ACC Linebacker of the Week after a performance against Syracuse that included 12 tackles, a sack, and a 35-yard pick-six on the opening drive.

Then came 2025. Playing in only 10 games, Biles put up a line that stopped people cold when they read it: 101 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, 4.5 sacks, two interceptions, both returned for touchdowns, two forced fumbles, a fumble recovery, and six pass breakups. Pro Football Focus graded him 83.7 overall and ranked him No. 90 on their list of the top 101 college players of the season. He led the ACC in tackles for loss. He was named second-team All-ACC. The national linebacker conversation was starting to find his name.

A Special Play

One play from that season captured everything. Against Louisville in late September, Biles picked off a pass over the middle, pulled off a 360-degree spin to regain his footing, and sprinted 75 yards for a house call. His own safeties coach at Pitt, Cory Sanders, was left searching for words. “I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a linebacker catch an interception, 360, land, sprint 75 yards later and make three people miss,” Sanders said.

Biles’ explanation for the play was pure instinct. “That just kind of happened by being a ballplayer, for real,” he said. “I’ve been playing offense since I was probably 4 years old. I was an offensive guy, probably until my junior year of high school. So whenever I get the ball, I know I need to score.”

Texas Was Never Going to Let This One Slip

When Biles entered the portal at the end of 2025, the feeding frenzy was immediate. Multiple national championship-caliber programs came calling. Will Muschamp, in his first act as Texas’s new defensive coordinator, made Biles his top defensive priority. The pursuit was so relentless that Muschamp had actually been texting Biles for a while before getting a response, because he had the wrong number.

When it finally got sorted out, Biles committed to Texas in January. “I would have been here earlier if I’d gotten his texts,” Biles said.

Steve Sarkisian wasted no time making clear what he expected from his new linebacker. During spring practice, he described Biles as more of a complete player than anticipated. “I had an idea we were going to get a flashy player,” Sarkisian said. “He had three pick-sixes in his career at linebacker. He’s a very good pass rusher, he’s physical, he’s smart.”

That last part, the smart part, is what separates Biles from being merely a playmaker and makes him something closer to a defensive chess piece. PFF analysts noted his play recognition and processing speed as what sets him apart from the majority of linebackers at the Power Four level. Muschamp has already been publicly clear about his intentions. “Our job is to put him in situations where the defense can’t ID him all of the time,” Muschamp said. “I’ve been very impressed with how he’s embraced that.”

Spring Game Confirms Biles’ Potential

At Texas’s Orange-White spring game, with most of the offensive starters held out of live action, Biles dominated. Operating as an edge rusher and delayed interior blitzer, he blew past backup offensive linemen repeatedly, racking up multiple theoretical sacks. 

Reports from the afternoon described him as the standout performer on either side of the ball. He has since been slotted as the starter at WILL linebacker on the post-spring depth chart.

His reception in Austin has been warm on and off the field. He landed an NIL deal with Panini America, joining Arch Manning in the trading card brand’s college football portfolio. He has been vocal and enthusiastic about the program, though he did note one significant adjustment to life in Austin. “The parking tickets,” Biles said when asked about the biggest difference between Pitt and Texas. “I’ve gotten like 15 tickets already. At Pitt, the most I got was like 3.”

The Comparison That Should Raise Eyebrows

One Texas-focused outlet drew a statistical comparison between Biles’s 2025 season and Jordan Hicks’s final year at Texas, who went on to a 10-year NFL career after being drafted in the third round in 2015. The PFF grades were nearly identical. The pressure numbers were nearly identical. The stops and passer rating allowed were nearly identical. Hicks played under Will Muschamp for one season in Austin and left as an All-American.

Muschamp is back. The linebacker is here. The comparison writes itself.

Biles enters 2026 as the most accomplished transfer Texas landed in the portal window, stepping into one of the most storied linebacker traditions at a program that’s produced Tommy Nobis, Johnny Treadwell, Derrick Johnson, Britt Hager and more recently Jordan Hicks. 

Biles left Ohio as a three-star unknown. He arrives in Austin as one of the most dangerous linebackers in the country. The rest of the SEC is about to find out.

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