Steve Sarkisian’s latest portal move is already paying off in the way Texas hoped it would.
When the Longhorns brought in wide receiver Cam Coleman, the reaction around college football was immediate. Since then, the buzz has only grown, fueled by practice clips and the steady praise coming from Sarkisian and the media about how quickly Coleman and starting quarterback Arch Manning have clicked.
That connection now has some national validation. In On3’s ranking of the top quarterback-wide receiver duos in the country, Manning and Coleman came in at No. 3, a strong sign that Texas may have found exactly the kind of downfield partner Manning needs.
JD Pickell’s top 10 list featured a mix of established stars and new pairings, several of them formed through the transfer portal this offseason. At the top were Ohio State’s Julian Sayin and Jeremiah Smith, followed by Miami’s Darian Mensah and Malachi Toney. Texas landed just behind them with Manning and Coleman.
The rest of the top 10 included Oregon’s Dante Moore and Dakorien Moore at No. 4, Notre Dame’s CJ Carr and Mylan Graham at No.
5, Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed and Mario Craver at No. 6, Indiana’s Josh Hoover and Nick Marsh at No.
7, Miami’s Darian Mensah and Cooper Barkate at No. 8, LSU’s Sam Leavitt and Trey’Dez Green at No. 9, and Oklahoma’s John Mateer and Isaiah Sategna at No.
- USC’s Jayden Maiava and Tanook Hines were listed as an honorable mention.
Texas’ placement stands out not just because Manning and Coleman are new together, but because they finished ahead of Texas A&M’s Reed-Craver duo and Oklahoma’s Mateer-Sategna pairing.
Miami was the only program to land two duos in the top 10, thanks to Mensah’s arrival from Duke. He joins Toney, and he also brought his familiar target Cooper Barkate with him from the Blue Devils.
There’s still a caveat here: Manning and Coleman haven’t been tested in a real game yet, and neither have many of the other pairings on the list. But the ranking still says plenty about where Texas stands heading into the season.
And Coleman isn’t the only reason for the optimism. Texas also added running back Hollywood Smothers after his breakout year at NC State, while the offensive line got bigger and more experienced after a season that was described as highly lackluster.
Put it all together, and the Longhorns have every reason to believe the offense can take another step. Manning and Coleman might be the headline act, but they’re part of a much larger effort to make Texas more dangerous across the board.
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Sarkisian Suddenly Has A Real Shot At A Huge Receiver Win
Monshun Sales has spent most of his recruitment tied to a familiar heavyweight mix of Indiana, Ohio State and Alabama, but Texas has worked its way into the conversation in a way that now feels more than incidental. The Longhorns under Steve Sarkisian have been gaining traction with the highly ranked 2027 wide receiver, and the timing matters after Texas picked up Ismael Camara to give its class another lift.
If Texas can keep that momentum going, Sales would be the kind of addition that changes the look of the board in a hurry. His commitment could push the Longhorns back toward the top three nationally, and it would also give Sarkisian a valuable buffer if current commit Easton Royal ends up looking elsewhere, which is exactly why this recruitment has become one of the more important ones to watch. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Just Got Hit With Serious Preseason Disrespect
Arch Mannings preseason buzz just took a hit from a place that usually tries to be as objective as possible. Pro Football Focus slotted the Texas quarterback ninth on its list of the best college players entering the new season, a placement that lands him well outside the top tier and adds a little more heat to a name that already carries plenty of it in Austin.
The eyebrow-raising part for Longhorns fans is that Manning was also judged behind two other quarterbacks, even after he finished last season on a surge and showed the kind of dual-threat production that made him one of the sports most watched players. It is a ranking that runs counter to the way some draft evaluators already talk about him, with a few viewing Manning as a potential No. 1 overall pick, which only makes the gap between preseason perception and long-term upside feel even wider. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Sarkisian Faces A Texas Pressure Test Before SEC Media Days
With the 2026 opener against Texas State still on the horizon, Steve Sarkisian is heading into SEC Media Days with the kind of questions that tend to follow a program with championship expectations. Texas has added transfers and recruits, and the Longhorns will spend plenty of time this summer sorting out how those pieces fit, especially on an offensive line that still has spots to settle and a defense that needs to look sharper under Will Muschamp.
Arch Manning will be at the center of the conversation, as always, with the bigger question being whether he has taken the next step into the national elite. Sarkisian also figures to face a steady stream of roster talk, from which newcomers can help right away to whether the defensive improvement Texas wants to see has truly begun, but those answers will have to wait until the team gets back on the field. [Read more 🡒]