The Texas Longhorns enter this season with the kind of roster that puts pressure on every snap, and the biggest question sits right where it should: on Arch Manning and the offense.
Steve Sarkisian has put together a loaded group after a disappointing 2025 campaign, and Texas looks built to contend now while also keeping an eye on the future with a strong 2027 recruiting class. But the offense is the piece everyone keeps circling back to. After a rough year, the Longhorns need a different identity.
The clearest place to start is the ground game. Texas finished 11th in the SEC in rushing yards per game at 137.8, and that was an issue Sarkisian moved on quickly by adding Hollywood Smothers from NC State and Raleek Brown from Arizona State through the transfer portal. Both backs bring big-play ability, and both averaged around six yards per carry last season.
That kind of production changes the shape of an offense. If Texas can run the ball with any consistency, it forces defenses to respect the box and gives Manning cleaner answers on the outside. And the Longhorns have the kind of receiving talent that can make that punishment real.
Auburn transfer Cam Coleman joins returning wideouts Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V, giving Sarkisian a group with real flexibility. That opens the door for play-action and gives Texas multiple ways to attack.
Commit too hard to stopping the run, and the receivers can work a secondary. Sit back to defend the pass, and the backs can wear a defense down.
This is not a group that should be settling for field position or settling for field goals. Texas has the pieces to push tempo, stretch defenses and score fast, but it can also slow things down when needed. The offense has range.
Manning, for his part, wants a better 2025-26 season after a slow start that eventually gave way to some late momentum. The expectations around him were high, maybe too high too soon, but this year gives him a different setup.
He should have more help up front with transfers Melvin Siani and Laurence Seymore strengthening the offensive line. That experience should buy him more time, and with a better run game behind him, Manning has a clearer path to the kind of season Texas has been waiting for.
The ceiling here is obvious because of the talent around him. Everything still runs through Manning, but Sarkisian has assembled one of the best rosters in the country, and the offense could end up driving a lot of the success this team is chasing.
In Other News...
Former Texas QB Landed Inside Taylor Swift And Travis Kelce's Wedding
A former Texas quarterback found himself in an unexpected spot this weekend, taking in the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce wedding at Madison Square Garden with his wife. For Longhorn fans, the name carries a familiar ring: Shane Buechele was a notable part of Texas football before moving on to the NFL, and his path eventually took him through Kansas City, where he spent multiple seasons with the Chiefs and became part of the broader orbit around one of the leagues biggest stars.
Buecheles time with the Chiefs was mostly spent on the practice squad, but it was enough to build a relationship with Kelce that now makes the wedding appearance make a little more sense. His football story has already covered plenty of ground, from his memorable college debut at Texas to his pro career in Kansas City, and this latest stop adds a very different kind of footnote to a rsum that has already stretched well beyond Austin. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Sarkisian Watching Local Talent Slip Toward Texas Rivals
A local name is moving toward the finish line, and it is one Texas fans have had reason to track closely. Jaiden Fields, the three-star athlete from Hutto, has built his profile as a two-way player, making noise at both wide receiver and strong safety while drawing attention from programs outside the Longhorns usual in-state comfort zone.
For Steve Sarkisian, the more interesting part may be the one that is not there: Texas has not been heavily involved in Fields recruitment, even as the decision date approaches. With an announcement expected on July 7, the Longhorns are watching a nearby talent head toward a choice that could land elsewhere, another reminder that keeping top local players home is never automatic. [Read more 🡒]