During the open portion of the first spring practice for the Texas Longhorns on Monday, sophomore defensive lineman Justus Terry was not present. Shortly thereafter, sources revealed why to Inside Texas — the Georgia product is expected to miss spring practice due to injury.
It’s a setback to the development of the former consensus five-star prospect and critical missed reps to acclimate to Will Muschamp’s new defensive scheme, which is expected to include more three-down looks that could feature
feature the 6’5, 287-pounder.
Projected as a defensive tackle when Texas won the bidding war for Terry to close the early signing period in the 2025 recruiting class, Terry played last season at 268 pounds, making him more of a tweener in Pete Kwiatkowski’s scheme. But as an four-technique defensive end, Terry is a strong fit if Muschamp wants to play in a tite front more often to allow star edge Colin Simmons to attack from different angles.
Terry played in eight games last season, seeing 74 snaps for the Longhorns and flashing late in the season with four tackles and three defensive stops against the Bulldogs in just seven snaps. In the blowout win over Arkansas, Terry saw a season-high 21 snaps, but didn’t play in the Citrus Bowl, presumably because of the injury that could cause him to miss spring practice.
Ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect and the No. 2 defensive tackle in the 247Sports Composite rankings, Terry remains a critical asset to Muschamp’s defense and the Longhorns need him healthy for the 2026 season.
