Trey Moore left UTSA for Texas football this offseason after setting the Roadrunners' single-season sack record with 14.

He doesn't have one with the Longhorns yet through four games. But coach Steve Sarkisian likes what he's seeing anyway.

"He's playing great," Sarkisian said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. "He really has probably exceeded expectations in his ability to defend the run, his versatility, dropping in coverage. He's impacted the quarterback and has had some good rushes. We tend not to just look at sack numbers and let that dictate how well a guy's playing for us. But the reality is that he's playing good football for us."

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Moore, who has been credited with seven total tackles, pressured the quarterback on approximately 7.6% of his defensive snaps last season at UTSA.

That number sits at 3.4% through his first four starts as a Longhorn. But he did show well in Texas' lone test of the season so far, collecting three pressures against Michigan in a dominant road performance by the Longhorns (4-0).

Moore and the rest of the Texas defensive front will have a chance to feast against Mississippi State (1-3) on Saturday (3:15 p.m., SEC Network). The Bulldogs have given up 13 sacks through four games, which is tied for the eighth-most in the country.

"I think as he continues to get more comfortable with us ... I think we're going to continue to see his play improve and improve," Sarkisian said.

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Steve Sarkisian on Texas football freshmen redshirt limit

Six true freshmen will burn their redshirt if they play for the Longhorns again this season, having already made the maximum of four appearances permitted to retain eligibility:

• WR Ryan Wingo

• DB Kobe Black

• RB Jerrick Gibson

• DE Colin Simmons

• LB Ty'Anthony Smith

• P Michael Kern

Asked how he planned to decide which freshmen would continue to play and which would sit to keep the redshirt intact, Sarkisian said it wasn't a consideration.

"I'm not worried about it at all," Sarkisian said. "We're going to play the best players we can to give us the best chance to win."

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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football Trey Moore praised despite sack drought