Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Saturday that linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith had been dismissed from the program for conduct detrimental to the team.
Smith appeared in 12 games last year. He made his first career start against Michigan in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, where he had nine tackles and two interceptions. For the season, he had 60 tackles (5.5 for loss) with two sacks and two forced fumbles.
Smith was competing with transfer linebackers Rasheem Biles of Pitt and Justin Cryer from Florida State for a starting job, but he had missed last Saturday's scrimmage with the flu, according to Sarkisian.
He returned to practice this week, but on Friday evening, a Texas spokesman announced that Smith had been dismissed.
"I didn't like it," Sarkisian said. "It's an unfortunate situation for him individually. For us as a team, I hate that. He's a quality player, but I have to think about the team first."
Smith, in his third season at Texas, also played in all 17 games as a true freshman in 2024.
New defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will have a new-look linebacker group with the departures of Anthony Hill Jr. and Trey Moore to the NFL and Liona Lefau's transfer to Colorado.
"Guys are going to have to grow into certain roles," Sarkisian said. "I think when we do want to go into our base package that we've got the right people on the field. How many snaps a game that is really is depending on the opponent."
Sarkisian had praise for Cryer, a senior, when asked about him in Saturday's Zoom with reporters.
"[Cryer] is squeezing every ounce of juice that he can out of this opportunity to be at Texas, and it's greatly appreciated," Sarkisian said. "I think it serves as a great model for a lot of the other transfers. This guy didn't wait and feel it out to 'Where do I fit in?' He's gone for it. And I think he's reaping the benefits of it. He's playing at a high level for us right now."
