Texas made a quiet addition this spring that could matter more than its flashier hires. Mark Stoops, the former Kentucky head coach, came aboard as a special assistant to the head coach, and even if his title doesn’t jump off the page, his background fits exactly where Steve Sarkisian’s program wants to go.
Stoops spent 12 years in Lexington before being fired after Kentucky’s second straight losing season, and in that stretch he became the SEC’s most tenured coach. While Nick Saban, Les Miles and Mark Richt all moved on during his run, Stoops stayed put.
He also drew outside interest along the way, including a reported near-pursuit by Texas A&M after it fired Jimbo Fisher. That move may have happened if not for strong backlash from fans and boosters.
For Texas, the value is obvious. The Longhorns are entering their third football season in the SEC, and Stoops knows the league as well as just about anyone who has spent time in it. He never won the conference, but he built Kentucky into a program that consistently did more with less.
That matters in Austin because the offseason message has already been set: physicality and toughness. After finishing 90th in rushing offense, Texas wants to get back to controlling games on the ground, and that’s the exact lane Stoops used to define his Kentucky teams.
Even without the kind of offensive line talent that other SEC programs could line up, Stoops still put Kentucky inside the conference’s top five in rushing offense in both 2020 and 2021. The 2021 season was one of the best in program history, ending with a 10-3 record.
His teams were never built on overwhelming talent, but they were built to play hard at the line of scrimmage. Texas saw that firsthand last season in overtime, when Kentucky ran for 137 yards against a Longhorn defense that finished among the top 15 nationally in rushing defense. Texas managed only 47 rushing yards in that game.
That’s the identity Stoops brought to Lexington, and it’s the same kind of foundation Texas is trying to build now in Austin.
In Other News...
Texas Fans Suddenly Have Another Quarterback Story To Watch
Freshman quarterback Dia Bell has started to make some noise in Texas fall camp, enough to draw attention from outside the program and add another layer to the Longhorns quarterback conversation. With Arch Manning and KJ Lacey currently ahead of him on the depth chart, Bell is still very much in the background for now, but his early showing has made it easier to understand why the staff views him as more than a long-term project.
Steve Sarkisian has made a habit of building quarterbacks from within, and Bell fits neatly into that approach as the next name to follow. Texas still has bigger immediate priorities at the position, but Bells rise gives the Longhorns another intriguing storyline to monitor, especially with the sense that he could eventually push into the starting mix rather than simply wait his turn. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Freshman Jermaine Bishop Is Forcing His Way Into The Offense
Jermaine Bishop has been turning heads in Texas practice work, and the freshman wide receiver is starting to look like more than just a promising name on the roster. He has shown real playmaking ability in scrimmages, including multiple touchdown catches, and that kind of production has a way of getting a staffs attention in August.
Steve Sarkisian has been especially struck by Bishops composure and competitiveness, two traits that usually travel well once the games start counting. The Longhorns are now weighing a bigger offensive role for him in the near future, and if the recent trend holds, Bishop may not stay in the background for long. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Just Got A Challenge Texas Fans Will Notice
Arch Manning is heading into his second season as Texas starting quarterback with plenty of attention already attached to him, and Steve Sarkisian is making it clear there is still room for growth. The Longhorns coach has pointed to Manning becoming more energized and sharper as the kind of next step that can lift the offense, which is a useful reminder that even a player viewed as a leading Heisman Trophy contender is still being coached like someone with unfinished business.
That kind of challenge matters in Austin because Texas is expecting Manning to do more than simply manage the position. He will also have a new offensive weapon alongside him in Cam Coleman, giving Sarkisian another piece to work with as the Longhorns try to keep pushing the standard higher. For Manning, the spotlight is already intense, but the bigger test may be whether he can match the hype with the kind of edge and precision his coach wants to see. [Read more 🡒]