Steve Sarkisian heads into his sixth year at Texas with just about everything a coach could ask for - and that’s exactly why the pressure feels so heavy in Austin.
The Longhorns have spent the offseason checking every box. The roster is loaded.
The support staff has been fortified. The expectation at Texas has not changed one bit: win, and win big.
National Championships are the standard, and Sarkisian has not delivered one since arriving in 2021.
That’s what makes the timing feel so pointed. Georgia’s Kirby Smart won his first National Championship in his sixth year with the Bulldogs in 2021.
Ohio State’s Ryan Day did the same in his sixth year with the Buckeyes in 2024. Sarkisian is now in that same window, and Texas has built the kind of roster that makes anything short of a title push feel like a missed opportunity.
On3’s preseason All-American team underlined just how much talent is sitting in Austin. Of the 26 players selected, four are Longhorns - more than any other program. Ole Miss was next with three.
Texas’ four selections were Trevor Goosby at offensive tackle, Colin Simmons at edge, Rasheem Biles at linebacker, and Ryan Niblett as a returner.
NEW: 2026 On3 Preseason All-America College Football Team🔥
(via @Clowfb) https://t.co/I6VAGVMGcS pic.twitter.com/1BkRiPma85
- On3 (@On3) August 10, 2026
And it’s not hard to see why Texas is getting so much preseason love. Even with doubters still putting teams like Ohio State and Oregon ahead of the Longhorns, the talent level in burnt orange is hard to ignore. Some observers would have liked to see more Texas names on the list, including quarterback Arch Manning and wide receiver Cam Coleman, but the message still came through loud and clear: this is one of the deepest, most gifted rosters in the country.
Sarkisian has also surrounded that roster with a staff built to match the moment, including defensive coordinator Will Muschamp among the hires.
His overall body of work in Austin is solid. Texas has gone from a 5-7 team in his first season to a program that has reached the College Football Playoff twice and picked up three postseason wins. That’s real progress.
But at Texas, progress only buys so much time.
The old locker-room line still hangs over the program: "The pride and winning tradition of the University of Texas will not be entrusted to the weak or the timid," and with this much talent, this much money, and this much coaching firepower in place, the Longhorns have run out of reasons not to finish the job.
At minimum, Texas needs to get back to the National Championship game. Anything less will feel like a failure to cash in on the opportunity right in front of it.
In Other News...
Texas Freshmen Are Already Making Key Position Battles Harder To Ignore
The first week of fall camp has already given Steve Sarkisian and his staff a few reasons to keep a closer eye on the freshmen, with Derrek Cooper, Jermaine Bishop Jr. and Tyler Atkinson all turning in promising early work. Coopers physical running style stood out enough to draw praise from Sarkisian, while Tyler Atkinson has made enough progress to get noticed in a linebacker room that already has established names in front of him.
Jermaine Bishop Jr. has also added to the pressure on the depth chart, with Ryan Niblett pointing to his agility and competitiveness as traits that translate quickly in camp. For Texas, the bigger takeaway is not just that the freshmen look ready to compete, but that the early battles for snaps are becoming harder to sort out by the day. [Read more 🡒]
Would Texas Ever Give Texas Tech The Game It Wants
Joey McGuire has made no secret of what he wants for Texas Techs future schedule, and it starts with more Power Conference opponents. The Red Raiders have spent time trying to line up marquee games, including an effort to get Texas on the slate, but those conversations have not produced the kind of matchup McGuire has been after. Other programs, from Texas A&M to USC, NC State and Mississippi State, reportedly passed on Techs requests as well, leaving the Red Raiders still searching for the sort of game that would raise the profile of their nonconference calendar.
From Texas side, the picture is a little less settled. Steve Sarkisian recently signaled some uncertainty about whether the Longhorns will keep their series with Notre Dame going, and any change there could ripple into future scheduling choices. For Texas Tech, that is the kind of opening worth watching, because the bigger the name left off the Longhorns calendar, the more room there may be for the Red Raiders to finally land the kind of matchup they have been chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Already Be Eyeing Trevor Goosbys Successor
With Trevor Goosby expected to move on after this season, Texas is already doing the kind of planning that keeps an offensive line from getting caught flat-footed. The Longhorns have put themselves in position to keep the pipeline moving, and one name worth watching is Austin Attalah, a four-star tackle prospect in the 2028 class who is viewed as a possible future fit up front.
Attalah is still early in the recruiting process, but Texas has made the cut as one of his top options alongside Texas Tech and USC. Even with the Longhorns in the mix, he has not yet visited campus or set a commitment date, which means this is still more about early positioning than any imminent decision. Still, for a program looking ahead to life after Goosby, getting in early matters. [Read more 🡒]