After Texas handled Texas State to open the 2026 season, the next assignment looks a lot more demanding: Ohio State and Jeremiah Smith.
Smith is the kind of receiver that forces a defense to make a decision. Texas will have to decide who gets the first crack at him, and the answer may again land on Graceson Littleton. A year ago, in the season opener, the true freshman was the Longhorn who had the biggest impact in coverage on Smith, matching him step for step and bringing enough physicality at the line to keep the Buckeyes star from getting comfortable.
Texas has also shown it can make life difficult for Smith. Over the years, the Longhorns have held him to seven catches for 46 yards and no touchdowns.
With Will Muschamp now running the defense and bringing an aggressive approach, the secondary is going to be under the spotlight. If Texas wants to lean on a different look, Kade Phillips and Bo Mascoe are both in the mix.
Phillips, the younger of the two, was the highest-graded cornerback against Texas State. Mascoe brings a different kind of value, too, since he has already played Ohio State last season with Rutgers.
Still, Littleton has already shown he can handle this assignment. That gives the Longhorns a real reason to let him take another swing at Smith.
Even then, this isn’t the kind of matchup that gets solved by one corner alone. Smith is projected as a top-five NFL Draft pick for a reason, and Texas will need help over the top. One possible option is shading a safety such as Kobe Black, who has cornerback experience, to limit the big-play threat.
The catch is that any extra help on Smith opens things up somewhere else. Bracket coverage can protect against the deep shot, but it also puts pressure on the rest of the secondary to stay sharp against an Ohio State receiving group that has plenty of talent of its own.
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Ryan Wingo Could Decide Texas' Rematch With Ohio State
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Ohio States new-look approach under Matt Patricia is expected to lean heavily on zone, which puts a premium on receivers who can find soft spots and turn them into chunk plays. That is where Wingo becomes such a fascinating piece for Texas, especially with Sarkisian looking for ways to create advantages against a secondary that will be trying to keep the Longhorns from getting comfortable early. [Read more 🡒]