The start to the season for Todd Orlando’s defense was mediocre at worst, slightly promising at best, and if asked, the aforementioned pair of linebackers would likely tell you their presence would have made a drastic, game-changing difference in the outcome of Texas’ Week 1 loss to Maryland.
Johnson was ejected from last week’s game after being called for targeting, while Wheeler didn’t even get to take the field until the second half as he spent the first two quarters of the 2018 season serving a suspension for a targeting penalty in the Texas Bowl.
The Terrapins managed 407 yards of offense against the Longhorns, which compiled 77 total tackles, seven of those for a loss, and only 1.