In the modern era of college football, teams that miss the College Football Playoff often see NFL hopefuls opt out of bowl games to avoid injuries and prepare for the pre-draft process. While many lament this trend, it opens the door for freshmen or players otherwise buried on the depth chart to audition for prominent roles moving forward. The Texas Longhorns have had 28 players taken over the past three NFL drafts, and are poised to add to that total with several more players projected to be selected next spring. With multiple opt-outs at key positions, here are two Longhorns in particular to watch closely in the Citrus Bowl against Michigan on Wednesday.
Michael Terry III
This season, there has been more upheaval at running back for Texas than any other position group. Counting both mid-season and December transfer portal announcements, the Longhorns have lost four backs, leaving them with only three against the Wolverines: redshirt freshman Christian Clark and true freshmen James Simon and Michael Terry III. Clark and Simon have seen game action, but the Citrus Bowl will be the first opportunity for Terry at running back.
Terry was a consensus four-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting cycle and played multiple positions at Alamo Heights H.S. (San Antonio, TX), including wide receiver, running back, and tight end. He began his career at Texas playing wide receiver before moving to running back in October after Jerrick Gibson left the program.
With so much turnover at the position, Terry has a prime opportunity on Wednesday to show head coach Steve Sarkisian and new running backs coach Jabbar Juluke that he can be a valuable weapon at the running back position heading into 2026.
Lance Jackson
With senior Ethan Burke opting out of the Citrus Bowl, the Longhorns have a gap at the defensive end position opposite All-American Colin Simmons heading into their season finale. Enter true freshman Lance Jackson.
The five-star recruit from Pleasant Grove H.S. (Texarkana, TX) was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team in 2025 after appearing in all 12 regular-season games, logging 15 total tackles and a pair of sacks. Jackson’s best performance came in Week 7 against Oklahoma, where he recorded four pressures, two quarterback hits, and a half sack in just 11 snaps. That week, Jackson received a Pro Football Focus grade of 87.0, the highest out of all true freshman EDGE rushers in the country.
With Sarkisian directly naming Jackson as an ideal fit in new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp’s system, there is growing excitement surrounding Jackson both for this week’s bowl game and beyond.
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No. 13 Texas (9–3) will face No. 18 Michigan (9–3) on Wednesday, December 31, in the 80th edition of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, with kickoff set for 3:00 PM ET (2:00 PM CT) on ABC.