AUSTIN, Texas — Even fellow defensive tackles aren’t spared from the strength of 6’5, 375-pound Texas Longhorns senior Ian Geffrard.
“We go individual drills in practice and I’m over there getting knocked all over the field. It’s like, ‘Dang, I thought I’m a pretty big guy, too,‘” said 6’5, 309-pound Hero Kanu this week.
“He’s got some juice out there, bouncing around,” said fifth-year center Connor Robertson, who has to block Geffrard in practice.
On the first two Saturdays of the season, Kanu and
Robertson has gotten a break from trying to handle the Arkansas transfer, whose six tackles and five defensive stops over 50 snaps don’t fully encapsulate the impact that Geffrard is having on games.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian named Geffard one of the defensive standouts for the Longhorns.
“Ian Geffrard is a guy who we’re really excited about. I think that he has really stepped into becoming the dominant player that we were hopeful he could be,” Sarkisian said.
Geffrard didn’t waste any time making an impact, grading out at 86.3 by Pro Football Focus against Texas State after recording four tackles ad three defensive stops in 20 snaps, prompting college football analyst Landon Tengwall to buy into Geffrard as one of the most dominant run-stopping defensive tackles in the country.
When the Bobcats doubled Geffrard, he was either able to anchor well enough to make a play anyway or ensure that linebackers like Justin Cryer could make clean downhill run fits to stuff the Texas State running backs. Against single blocks, Geffrard’s massive strength allowed him to consistently get extension to control opposing offensive linemen.
Things didn’t get any easier for Ohio State, either, a more talented group. In 30 stats, Geffrard didn’t have the same statistical impact with two tackles, but he flashed some of that juice with two quarterback hurries after causing only eight last season in 462 snaps for the Razorbacks.
Did Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin want anything to do with 375 pounds rumbling at him? No, dear readers, he did not. And that’s fair.
The influence against the run remained for Geffrard. When Ohio State tried to negate Geffrard by getting him on the move against outside zone, forcing him to use his lateral quickness, Geffrard responded by discarding the center and making the tackle.
Left guard Luke Montgomery got some, too.
Sarkisian lauded Geffrard’s improved conditioning since arriving on the Forty Acres — officially, he’s down at 12 pounds since last year — but the biggest key early is ensuring that the big guy stays fresh.
In 2025, Geffrard averaged close to 40 snaps per game, including three games of 40-plus snaps. Against Texas A&M, Geffrard played 62 snaps and had his second-lowest run grade of the season from PFF, hardly a coincidence.
The heavy reliance on Geffrard was likely a result of a lack of depth for the Hogs, Sarkisian believes.
“That’s a lot for a really big human being like him. I think one thing he learned here, and it took time, is to understand we’ve got a rotation. You don’t have to play 65 snaps as an interior defensive lineman for us. But man, if you give us really good 20 to 25, and that’s maximum effort, great technique, then your quality of film that you’re putting out there is a better product,” Sarkisian said.
“I think that’s what he’s understood, that he doesn’t have to preserve himself, he doesn’t have to think about, ‘Man, I hope I’m there in the fourth quarter because I know I’m going to have to keep playing.‘ We’ve got a good rotation. We’ve got plenty of bodies in there, and I think he’s understanding that, and he’s becoming a dominant player for us that way on the inside.”
