Texas Longhorns

Kenny Vaccaro wanted to wait a year.

The simple reason was that the Texas safety wanted to be the best, the first safety taken in the NFL draft when his time came. That time was Thursday night as Vaccaro, after a four-year career at Texas, was indeed the first safety selected -- the 15th pick in the 2013 NFL Draft.

"I have been grinding my whole life, literally since I was 4 years old, for this opportunity, and it is finally here," he said.

And now he will go to the New Orleans Saints and go down as Texas’ 10th top-20 pick in the last 10 years.

"Kenny Vaccaro is one of the best football players we have ever had,” said Texas coach Mack Brown. “He is tough, he’s smart, he’s a playmaker and he practiced like he was in a game every day. He is very passionate about football. He brings leadership and he brings toughness."

Vaccaro was one of the few who brought those qualities to a Texas defense that suffered through the 2012 season. In that defense he was pushed into several different positions as well as a leadership role.

"When we’ve approached him with some tough defends, or some tough ideas, asking him if he thinks he could do this, he was always willing to take on the difficult role to maybe make things a little bit easier for a younger player that we’re trying to take care of within the scheme of things," said defensive backs coach Duane Akina. "Ultimate team player. Very flexible. He can play man-coverage, in the deep-half or deep-third. He can blitz."

All of those qualities and a few more piqued the Saints' interest.

"I think he’s got that toughness and that suddenness that you’d like at that position," Saints coach Sean Payton said. "I think he brings a physical dimension to the game he plays with. He’s been well-coached. They do a great job there defensively. There were a lot of things we liked about him. That versatility is unique, and something that I think is beneficial."

The NFL draft continues today with the second and third rounds. Texas defensive end Alex Okafor has been projected to be taken somewhere within those two rounds. Texas wide receiver Marquise Goodwin has been projected to be selected somewhere in the draft, but in a later round.

But for Vaccaro, the wait is over.

Alex Okafor was a defensive end on a mission in Texas’ Alamo Bowl victory over Oregon State on December 29.

The mission: lead the Longhorns to victory while assuring NFL franchises he was healthy and ready for the next elevation of football.

Okafor completed both missions in resounding fashion by setting an Alamo Bowl record with 4.5 sacks in a 31-27 victory.

“I had a great defensive scheme and my team played hard for me,” Okafor said on Tuesday. “All the dominoes and chips fell into place.”

He’s hoping his place in the NFL Draft fell into place too -- a few selections higher -- after his performance at Texas’ pro day.

“For the most part I am happy,” Okafor said. “I am still getting some of the rust off and getting to 100 percent. Running, I could have done a little better. But I’m not too disappointed. Out here on the field where it counts I thought I did really well.”

Okafor, who checked in at 6-foot-2 and 262 pounds, decided to keep his combine numbers on bench press of 21 times at 225 pounds. He ran the 40-yard dash in 4.88 and 4.96 seconds according to Calvin Watkins.

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas has its pro day today and, yeah, Vince Young will be there, but so, too, will someone more important. Seriously.

In fact, make that much more important. It’s Kenny Vaccaro.

The former Texas safety represents a chance for Texas to put a player into the first round of the draft for the first time since following the 2009 season. His selection -- which should be right around the middle of the first round -- will signal an end to a two-year draft slide in which Texas produced one second-round player, a third-round player and five others selected in the fourth round or higher. Before that slide, Mack Brown had not gone two consecutive years without producing a first-round pick. (Defensive end Alex Okafor is currently not in either of the first-round mock drafts done by ESPN’s Todd McShay or Mel Kiper.)

So let’s see here: Brown had two of the worst years of his tenure at Texas in 2010 and 2011. And then neither of those drafts produced a first-round pick. Anyone else see the correlation?

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Manny Diaz's first mistake, the one that would lead to 112 more in the form of missed tackles, was believing, or at the very least not tempering, the hype.

"The mistake I made last year was that I was aware that expectations were higher for our team than they should have been," the Texas defensive coordinator said. "I think there were too many assumptions made. We said, 'Well, this guy is bigger and faster than the guy who graduated, so he must be better.'

"The mistake I made is I should have said, 'Forget about it, it’s your turn now,' " Diaz said.

Their turn is coming up again; most of the same players in all of the same positions. And that is where the worry lies. Not much appears to have changed at Texas. Same players. Same coach. Oh, wait a minute: There has been some change. The two best players on a defense that was the worst in school history in 2012 are off to the NFL. So the team is without its leading tackler from a year ago, Kenny Vaccaro, and without Alex Okafor, who took over the Alamo Bowl and led Texas in sacks. And now there is supposed to be some excitement about the "turn" this group is about to take? Try hand-wringing worry.

"Understandably, we will have lost trust from people from our performance last year, and we understand that," Diaz said. "There’s nothing we can do until we go back out and play in the fall to regain that trust. Our job right now is to get these guys as good as they can be to become a physical, hard-nosed defense."

The first step in doing that is remembering, not who they were collectively a season ago, but who they were when they were at their best, when they were freer, faster and more fearless on the field.

"We can’t carry around the ghost of last year," Diaz said.

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Zeke Riser couldn’t pass up an opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream and play for Texas, even if that means paying his own way.

The former Houston starting defensive end will join the Longhorns program this summer as a walk-on with one season of eligibility.

Riser started 27 career games at Houston, including nine in 2013. He recorded 38 tackles, three sacks and eight tackles for loss as a junior for the Cougars and received his release from the school in February.

A Texas spokesperson could not confirm that Riser is joining the program because he has yet to enroll in classes, but the lineman said his plans to transfer are “a done deal.”

“I’m definitely pumped up about it,” Riser said. “If nothing else, I have a lot of experience to offer, especially with those younger guys. These guys are super talented -- otherwise, they wouldn’t be at Texas -- so me having already played three years, I can bring a lot of experience to the table.”

Riser attended his first Longhorns spring practice on Saturday and plans to move to Austin, Texas, in May. He graduated from Houston in December and is taking graduate courses at UH this spring.

The 6-foot-4, 255-pound defensive end is making the move because he wants to play his final season of college football closer to his family. Riser grew up in La Vernia, Texas, a town located 75 miles south of UT’s campus.

“That’s really the driving force,” Riser said. “I think I would’ve regretted it if I hadn’t at least taken the chance. It’s really going to work out best for me as a player and then after college family-wise.”

The Longhorns lose starting defensive end Alex Okafor, a potential first-round NFL Draft pick, but bring back veteran starter Jackson Jeffcoat in 2013. Riser said he hasn’t been guaranteed any playing time, but he’s serious about competing for a starting job when he joins the team.

“I wouldn’t go to any place that I wasn’t expecting to compete for a starting spot,” Riser said. “I’ve never sat on the bench in my life and I don’t plan to at Texas. I’m definitely going to be fighting for a starting spot and at the very least in the playing rotation. I’m not coming to Texas just because it’s a big name. I’m coming to Texas to play.”

Riser’s head coach at La Vernia, Bo Robinson, lettered at UT from 1989 to 1992 and is friends with former teammate and current Longhorns defensive ends coach Oscar Giles. That connection helped get the ball rolling for Riser, who’d originally looked into transferring to UTSA.

“Coach Giles is awesome,” Riser said. “Seeing the way he coaches and what he expects out of his players, I can really relate to his coaching style. We’re on the same page. I think it’s going to work out real well. I’m excited to get to work.”

Connections with Jeffcoat -- whose father, Jim, coached Riser and UH defensive linemen through 2010 -- and Texas defensive end Logan Mills, a fellow La Vernia native, made the final decision even easier for Riser.

He said he’s been told a scholarship is still a possibility if the Longhorns have any roster attrition this summer, but if that doesn’t work out Riser is fine with paying to be a Longhorn for one year.

After talking with Giles and Mack Brown on Saturday, Riser knows he’ll have plenty of catching up to do when he gets on campus. He’s confident his decision will end up being worth the risk.

“They’re expecting me to come in and play,” he said. “They told me I need to be ready as soon as I get here because I don’t have time to slow down and pick up the scheme. That’s OK with me, I know how things work. Again, I’m not going there to sit on the bench, and they’re not expecting me to.”

You can keep up with our scouts in Mobile, Ala., at the Senior Bowl this week with ESPN Insider, but here's a taste of what they've seen from the Big 12 talents this week:

Kansas State receiver Chris Harper got his first notebook mention of the week after a strong practice for the North team. Scouts love his size (228 pounds) and ability to box out defenders for the ball, but had big questions about his speed and ability to get off the line. I'd agree with those. He's not a physical freak, but he's a great route-runner with really good hands. That can pay off at the next level. Our scouts said he had trouble getting free on underneath routes. We saw that at Kansas State. He's most effective out on the edge with cornerbacks, where safeties and linebackers couldn't necessarily help.

Texas defensive end Alex Okafor's up and down week continued, but he impressed on Wednesday in 1-on-1 workouts. There's some questions about his run-stopping ability and breaking loose against double teams, but he's at least earning some attention.

Oklahoma tackle Lane Johnson is turning heads for the South team this week. Scouts are raving about his long arms and quickness. Considering he's a former quarterback, that's not much of a surprise.