Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo is drawing fresh praise from Steve Sarkisian, and this time the message is less about what Wingo already did and more about where he’s headed.
On Thursday, Sarkisian singled out the third-year Longhorn and said Wingo’s work habits have stood out in practice.
“I'll say this about Ryan Wingo: this guy works his tail off, and if we ask him to try to get better at something, if we ask him to do anything of the dirty work, this guy doesn't blink. He does it,” Sarkisian said. “Now he's an explosive player with the ball in his hands, and I think we learned that about him.”
Wingo was Texas’ go-to target last season and finished with team highs in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. He caught 54 passes for 834 yards and seven scores, then picked up second-team All-SEC honors for his efforts.
Even with that production, Sarkisian said Wingo is still growing into the position.
“I think he's really evolving as a receiver,” Sarkisian said. “I praised Emmitt a few weeks back about how hard he practices. Today, I might say Ryan Wingo surpassed him with how hard he's practicing right now, and so I am excited for Ryan.”
There were still some rough edges in Wingo’s game last season. He led Texas with seven drops, finished with a 57.4% catch rate on 54 catches from 94 targets, and converted only 4 of 14 contested chances.
He also looked far more comfortable when he had space to work. Against man coverage, Wingo averaged 1.17 yards per route run. Against zone, that number jumped to 3 yards per route run, which put him in the top 20 among FBS receivers.
The difference is that Texas may not need Wingo to carry the same load this time around. The Longhorns added Cam Coleman, and Emmett Mosley V has also been turning heads in practice, giving the passing game more depth around Wingo.
“The idea that we do have Ryan, we do have Cam, we do have Emmitt to go along with the other guys on offense, that's a nice three-headed monster that can come off the sideline and go play for you,” Sarkisian said.
For Wingo, that could be the key. After handling so much of Texas’ passing attack a season ago, a stronger supporting cast might give him the kind of consistency that helps him take another step in 2026.
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