CJ Vogel
Steve Sarkisian has made the hire of former Rutgers CB coach Mark Orphey to the staff as of Wednesday evening.
What might that mean for the Longhorns moving forward other than a new body to coach defensive backs? Well, let's take a look.
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Coaching Resume
Orphey has quickly ascended the coaching ranks and already in his tenure has experience in six bowl games, the FCS Playoffs and the College Football Playoff National Title game while at Alabama.
Texas Southern (2011-2012): Cornerbacks coach
South Carolina (2013-2016)
Quality control assistant (2013)
Defensive graduate assistant (2014-2016)
Montana State (2017-2018): Secondary coach
Utah State (2019-2020): Secondary coach
Alabama (2021): Senior defensive analyst
Rutgers (2022-2024): Cornerbacks coach
Orphey, 35 years old, will join Texas as the youngest coach on the staff for Steve Sarkisian as well.
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Developmental History
NFL Draft selections.
Texas Southern CB Tray Walker – Drafted by Ravens in 4th round of 2015 NFL Draft (All-American)
Rutgers CB Christian Braswell – Drafted by Jags in 6th round of 2022 NFL Draft
Rutgers CB Max Melton – Drafted by Cardinals in 2nd round of 2024 NFL Draft
All-Conference Players at South Carolina During his stint (2013–2016)
DB Chris Lammons (2014) – All-SEC freshman team
CB Al Harris Jr. (2014) – All-SEC freshman team
DB Brison Williams (2014) – Preseason 3rd Team All-SEC Team
CB Victor Hampton (2013) – A.P. All-SEC 2nd Team
All-Conference Players at Montana State during his stint (2017–2018)
DB Jahque Alleyn (2018) - All-Big Sky Honorable Mention... Led conference with 5 INT in 11 games
CB Greg Filer (2018) - All-Big Sky Honorable Mention
DB Brayden Konkol (2018) - All-Big Sky Honorable Mention
DB Bryson McCabe (2017) - 2nd Team All-Big Sky ... Lead team with 9 PBU
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On the Recruiting Trail
First and foremost, it is worth mentioning that Orphey played his high school ball at North Shore high school in Houston, a school which has become synonymous with producing defensive backs. Most recently, five-stars Denver Harris and Devin Sanchez, but also 2026 DB Chace Calicut which Texas is leading for at the moment.
A quick rundown of the cycles he had to recruit while at Rutgers (hired March 14, 2022):
2023 Class
3-star Bo Macoe – Kissimmee (Fla.) Osceola High ... 4th highest rated prospect in class
Akron Transfer Charles Amankwaa ... Led Akron in INT and PBU in 2021
Northern Illinois Transfer Eric Rogers ... Started 6 games before transferring to Rutgers
2024 Class
3-star Kevin Levy – West Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman High ... ran 10.6 100m, 5th highest rated prospect in class
2025 Class
4-star Michael Clayton – Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside High ... 2nd highest rated prospect in class (0.90)
3-star Renick Dorillas – Ramsay (NJ) Don Bosco Prep ...
Penn State Transfer Cam Miller ... 40 games, 5 starts in three years at PSU
Marshall Transfer Jacobie Henderson ... started 13 games in 2024
Florida and Georgia appear to be where Orphey has had high school recruiting success in the past. Of the 12 cornerback offers extended by Orphey in the 2025 class, five were in the state of Florida, three were in New Jersey, and one in each of Maryland, South Carolina and Georgia.
Also, Orphey offered Graceson Littleton in February of 2024.