Texas fish stand out after stellar season
AUSTIN, Texas — Freshmen phenoms Caden Sterns and Samuel Cosmi caught the eyes of Texas, and from there, the nation.
The two standout newcomers to the Texas football team earned Freshman All-American honors from USA Today, the national publication announced today.
Sterns, who has hounded opposing offenses all season as the Longhorns starting safety, has racked up the awards and honors all season long. Dubbed “The Wolf of DKR” by those on the inside — and now the outside — of the program, the true freshman from Cibolo earned the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year award and was named to the All Big 12 first team by both the Associated Press and by coaches. Not to mention, Sterns was named a freshman All-American by The Athletic and a true freshman All-American by ESPN.com.
“I’m just trying to go out there and have fun and win for our team,” Sterns said earlier this season.
On the other side, Cosmi admirably stepped onto the offensive line and boosted the team’s passing and running prowess alongside the veterans on the line. After the opening loss to Maryland, Cosmi became the starting right tackle and stayed ensconced there the final 12 games of the season as the ‘Horns finished 9-3 in those contests. On the field for 460 pass plays, Cosmi allowed a mere four sacks and only eight pressures during all those offensive snaps, earning him respect and accolades on into the postseason.
Furthermore, Cosmi also earned honorable mention as the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and graded out at 85 percent on a total of 985 snaps played this season. He had 57 knockdowns and 68 first-down or touchdown blocks for a team that scored 407 total points.
The four interceptions by Sterns this season are tied for the most-ever collected by a Texas’ true freshman, and he also nabbed four pass breakups, a sack, 62 tackles and three tackles for a loss. One of the highlights of the ‘Horns season was Sterns blocked field goal against USC, which was returned for a touchdown.
Standing at No. 15 in the College Football Playoff Rankings, Texas squares off with highly-touted No. 5 Georgia, which nearly made it into the CFP. The Bulldogs are 11-2 overall, and the Longhorns are 9-4 heading into the contest slated to play in the Sugar Bowl on New Year’s Day at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, La. at 7:45 p.m. CT on ESPN.
