GREEN BAY, Wis. – University of Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski was watching the NFL Draft during that magical moment on Saturday when the Green Bay Packers selected one of his star pupils, Barryn Sorrell.

“I saw him finally get picked and I thought it was awesome,” Kwiatkowski told Packers On SI this week. “The way he handled it and how excited he was and the way his family is, it didn’t surprise me. He told me that he was going down there for the experience. Whether he was drafted early, late or whatever, he wanted to enjoy the experience. It was awesome that the hometown team picked him.”

The Packers used a fourth-round pick on Sorrell, who was a three-year starter for Kwiatkowski. The Packers liked the player but loved the person, believing he can impact the team on the field and in the locker room.

That’s what Sorrell did in helping the Longhorns reach the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“Awesome, awesome young man,” Kwiatkowski said. “When all the scouts and coaches and personnel people asked about him, it’s easy to talk about him because there’s no red flags with this guy.

“Great guy, hard worker, smart, conscientious, accountable, good leader. I mean, I could go on and on and on. You know, every year he’s gotten better. He’s worked on his craft and has improved his playmaking ability. Just a really great dude, great player, fun to coach, fun to hang out with.”

At the end of the draft, Packers coach Matt LaFleur said the Texas players the team talked to before the draft “unanimously” said Sorrell was the team’s “best practice player.”

Kwiatkowski agreed.

“Yes, sir. He’s an extremely disciplined, organized, mature kid.”

Kwiatkowski joined the Longhorns in 2021 so was with Sorrell all four seasons. Sorrell played in 49 consecutive games and started all 30 games over the final two seasons. In 2024, he set career highs with six sacks, 11 tackles for losses and 49 pressures.

“It’s been steady improvement every year,” Kwiatkowski said. “It wasn’t like there’s all of a sudden this ‘aha’ moment. He just kept grinding and working on it. You know, started playing more physical, started playing faster as he learned the defense, eye control. We had some strong-personality D-linemen when he was a freshman, sophomore, junior. They all went to the NFL and he fit right into the leadership role last year.

“He was the glue.”

That’s quite a statement considering the Longhorns gave up 10 points or less in six games and less than 20 points in 10 games.

“We had a lot of guys that were similar,” Kwiatkowski said, “but he’s the guy who has his house in order and there’s never any drama with him. Ever.”

After a grueling 16-game season, Sorrell was the only Texas player who accepted an invitation to the Senior Bowl. Earlier this week, the Senior Bowl’s Jack Gilmore said he thought Sorrell could be a Day 1 starter as a run defender.

“Yeah, he’s physical, explosive,” Kwiatkowski agreed. “Where he can keep getting better is with his hands and his pass rush, reading the sets, because he’s definitely a power rusher. He’s not going to just run by guys. He didn’t get a lot of sacks over his career as far as where guys think you’re a sack specialist, but he affected the quarterback in multiple different ways with his pass rush.”

What’s the next step?

“He’s got to learn the defense, which I know he will,” he said. “He’s going to be a fly on the wall. He’s going to listen to the veterans and learn from them. And then he’s just going to keep getting better and growing because, knock on wood, as long as he stays healthy, he’s going to have a long career in the NFL because he’s trustworthy and dependable. He’s going to take care of his body and he’s going to show up every week.”

Kwiatkowski had five of his players drafted this year – all in the first four rounds. Over the last three years, 12 of his players have been drafted. So, he knows how an NFL player acts and performs.

From that perspective, why will Sorrell be a success?

“Because he’s already a professional as far as he’s going to show up, he’s going to be on time, he’s going to put in the work, he’s going to work away from the facility when the coaches can’t work with him, he’s going to take care of his body,” he replied.

“He’s not going to get into any issues off the field. He’s going to be great in the community and the coaches are going to trust him and he’s going to be dependable. Whether he makes a lot of plays in the stats, that’s yet to be determined, but he’ll do all the dirty work and he’ll definitely be a positive influence on game day and in the offseason and at practice.”