'Cayden Lee a problem' for beat-up Texas football. Why freshman DB Samari Matthews helps.
· Yahoo Sports
No receiver in the SEC gets more targets than Missouri's Cayden Lee and no receiver has more yards.
So, how can No. 10 Texas football (6-2, 3-2) slow down a wideout like Lee, a 5-foot-11, 180-pound senior who has racked up 756 yards and five touchdowns on 53 catches?
Visit extonnews.click for more information.
It's a question the Longhorns have to answer in Saturday's crucial SEC road game despite a reshuffled secondary battling some key injuries.
"Cayden Lee's a problem," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday during a weekly Zoom meeting with reporters.
MORE: Texas hasn't give up a 100-yard rusher yet, but faces a 1,000-yard RB in Jamal Roberts
So is the health for a beat-up Texas squad, especially in the secondary. Second-year slot corner Graceson Littleton has played at an all-conference level this season but left last week's win over Mississippi State with an undisclosed lower-leg injury. Texas listed him as questionable on this week's initial injury report, but he could miss multiple weeks.
Texas Longhorns defensive back Warren Roberson (24) celebrates a defensive play with his teammates during the first quarter of the Lone Star Showdown, the rivalry match-up between the Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Nov. 28, 2025. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)Outside cornerback Kade Phillips also left last week's game with a lower-leg injury and is questionable for Saturday's game.
GOLDEN: Defense is Texas' pathway to playoff, but Arch Manning's legs are useful, too
Samari Matthews, Bo Mascoe could fill new roles vs Missouri
Texas has compensated by moving its best outside cornerback in Bo Mascoe to Littleton's spot in the slot. Veteran Warren Roberson and freshman Samari Matthews will likely get the most snaps on the outside if Phillips misses Saturday's game.
Mascoe's move inside testifies to the importance of the slot corner in defensive coordinator Will Muschamp's scheme, said Sarkisian.
"You've got to have a high football IQ to play that position," he said. "You've got to have ability, but at the same token, you've got to have a real sense of toughness about you because you're in and around the box. You've got to make some of those tackles. You've got to blitz off the edge, but yet we're asking you to play man coverage. We're asking you to disguise coverages. We're asking you to dissect formations and who's where in a bunch set and how we want to play the bunch.
"All those things add up. You need to have a skillset about you to play a complete game and have that versatility about your game."
The 6-foot, 189-pound Roberson has never started in his four seasons at Texas but has appeared in 36 games. That experience means Missouri could target Matthews, a 6-1, 198-pound former four-star recruit from the suburbs of Charlotte, N.C. He's appeared in just four games this season but played most of the second half in last week's game against Mississippi State after the injuries to Littleton and Phillips.
"Samari, he's a really mature guy," Sarkisian said. "He kind of reminds me of a of a younger Graceson Littleton that way with the mindset. Football is important to him; he works at his craft. He's humble enough to know what he doesn't know, and he's willing to be coached. But he has a physical presence about him. I mean, if you guys have been around (6-foot-1, 197-pound) Samari, he's not a small guy. He's got length. He's got size about him. I think he's confident in his ability, and he takes to coaching."
MORE: Derrick Johnson returns to Austin to talk Longhorns, Colin Simmons - and to read to kids
Cayden Lee stern test for Texas secondary,
Accolades aside, few receivers in the nation can test inexperienced defensive backs as much as Lee. He caught 101 balls for 1,509 yards over his previous two season at Ole Miss, where he played with current Missouri quarterback Austin Simmons. His 78 targets this season rank 18th in the nation and tie him with Mississippi State's Anthony Evans III for the most in the SEC.
According to Sarkisian, Lee's savvy as well as creative play-calling from first-year Missouri offensive coordinator Chip Lindsey maximize the receiver's ability to get open. In each game this season, Lee has recorded a catch of 23 yards or longer and he has several receptions that span 40 or more yards.
"You can tell he's got a high football IQ," Sarkisian said. "He understands leverage. He understands how to run routes. And then you can obviously tell Austin has a lot of trust and faith in him. You don't have (78) targets in eight games if the quarterback doesn't trust and believe in you. He's a guy they like to target and Austin likes to throw too. And generally, the results are pretty good for him."
Sign up for the Daily Briefing from the Austin American-Statesman. Start your day with the must-read headlines from Austin's most trusted news source.This article originally published at 'Cayden Lee a problem' for beat-up Texas football. Why freshman DB Samari Matthews helps..