Texas' king of the jungle emerges as a veteran entering his third season in Austin, expecting a step up in production and leadership as a Junior
There may not be a more fitting nickname for any player on the Texas roster than Liona Lefau’s “The Lion.”
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While the obvious pun on his name makes it an instant fit for the third-year linebacker, his playstyle mirrors that of the hunting style of the king of the jungle. While his running mate, Anthony Hill, may be more of a rhino, charging fast and using his athleticism to blow up run plays and attack the quarterback, Lefau’s off-ball linebacker play is patient. He almost stalks the quarterback in pass coverage, working more on anticipation and quick reaction time than guessing where the ball may go pre-snap.
It’s part of the reason why he jumped from special teams ace to a starter in the Red River Rivalry and never gave up his spot. In 2024, Lefau entered as a young guy in the room, having learned from Jaylan Ford the year before and David Gbenda entering the season, but in 2025, he’s now emerging as a veteran on the defense.
“I’d say the biggest difference is just the transition from being the young guy to now being the older guy, from year two to year three,” Lefau said. “Last year, we still had older guys on our team who did a great job bringing us up and taking us in. And now that me and Ant (Hill) are kind of the older guys along with Trey (Moore), we’re kind of trying to do the same with the young guys, because we know how big of an impact it is for us as the older guys to bring the young guys along.”
While it still feels like Lefau’s career is just taking off in Austin, just five players returning on the defense played more snaps in 2024. Lefau makes up a group of seven returners who started in four or more games last year, a group that doesn’t even count emerging superstar Colin Simmons, veteran Ethan Burke, and Derek Williams, a starter when healthy.
Now as a veteran in year three, Lefau is embracing that lion mentality. He knows his role in Austin. IT asked him about his potential for rushing the passer in 2025, even with pass rushers like Moore and Hill in his position room, and he answered the Lefau way: maturely shutting that idea down.
“I mean, whatever we can do to help the team, that’s what we want to do. So if they need me to pass rush, I’ll pass rush,” Lefau said. “I’m probably going to play off the ball a lot more, but I’ll work on it if we need it.”
Lefau doesn’t need to be blitzing to have an impact on the defense, and he’s very aware that that isn’t his main skill set. He’s on the field to play stellar pass defense and cover some of the opponent’s best athletes at TE and RB.
With losses in the secondary this offseason as Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba made their way to the NFL, Lefau is aware that there may be more onus on the linebackers, and specifically him, to create turnovers and generate momentum from pass coverage. But instead of putting the limelight on himself, he took that time to shout out the youngest players in the linebacker room: sophomore Ty’Anthony Smith and freshman Bo Barnes.
“Young guys in the linebacker room, like Ty and Bo, they’re doing a great job,” Lefau said. “Especially, I’m thankful for Ty because he’s pushing us every single day, bringing the right energy, bringing the right juice every time he makes a play. You know, plays very, very physical, very violent.”
Lefau may not feel like a veteran in this Texas defense, but he’s been on the same track as Hill, an expected first-rounder in this year’s draft, aswell as a classmate and linebacker. Lefau may not be an NFL player this time next year, but that’s an even better scenario for the Longhorns. Ride Hill’s stardom to an elite defense in 2025 before handing the keys to the defense over to an emerging veteran: The Lion.
Category: General Sports
