Thanks to an elite blend of portal additions, a loaded high school class and very little NFL Draft attrition, Texas heads into fall camp with one of the deepest rosters in college football. That kind of talent brings its own pressure, though.
Steve Sarkisian has already taken the Longhorns to consecutive national semifinal trips in 2023 and 2024, then watched last season end without a playoff berth. With this much talent in the building, anything short of a return to that level would put the spotlight squarely back on the head coach.
So where are the Longhorns strongest, and where are the questions still hanging around? The answer starts on defense, where the front and the back end both look loaded in different ways.
Colin Simmons is the headliner up front, and the source material doesn’t mince words: he is a true monster. If his production climbs even a little, he could threaten the SEC’s all-time sacks record this season. Across from him, Lance Jackson is positioned for what could be the biggest year of his career, giving Texas a second edge presence that should matter.
Inside, Will Muschamp’s mint front should put a lot of stress on opposing run games. That alignment uses three defensive linemen inside the offensive tackles, and Texas has the kind of massive interior bodies that fit it well. Opposing offensive lines are going to have their hands full with that group.
The secondary has more certainty in some spots than others. Texas knows what it has in box-safety Jelani McDonald, and Jonah Williams is the kind of talent who could turn the whole group into a strength if he takes a step.
At corner, Kade Phillips, Kobe Black and Bo Mascoe form an intriguing outside trio, with Graceson Littleton handling the slot. The depth behind them is described as strong, though still largely untested.
Linebacker is another area where Texas can lean on numbers. The Longhorns have five capable defenders there, plus No. 4 high school linebacker Tyler Atkinson. Muschamp should have plenty of options to work with, especially when it comes to maximizing starting middle linebacker Ty'Anthony Smith and weakside linebacker Rasheem Biles.
The tight end room is less star-studded, but it still gives Sarkisian pieces to work with. Nick Townsend is set to handle most of the off-ball “move” tight end duties, while transfer Michael Masunas and Spencer Shannon split the hand-in-the-dirt Y tight end role. The talent level may not jump off the page, but Sarkisian has consistently found ways to involve tight ends in the passing game since arriving in Austin.
Texas also completely rebuilt its backfield this offseason. Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers arrived through the transfer portal to give Sarkisian two dynamic runners, and that kind of one-two punch is a major asset for a playcaller with his creativity. Behind them, James Simon returns, and highly touted freshman Derek Cooper adds another layer of insurance.
The offensive line remains a work in progress after being a source of frustration last season, when the unit drew far too many penalties. Still, Texas enters 2026 with a reshaped group built around All-SEC first-team left tackle Trevor Goosby.
And then there’s Arch Manning, who has taken plenty of heat over the last year from people who saw only his first few games and moved on. Those who kept watching saw a quarterback who grew into a passer capable of working every part of the field, managing the pocket with real skill and forcing defenses to account for his speed on every snap.
The receiving corps may be the most dangerous part of the offense. Ryan Wingo brings athletic juice, Emmett Mosley V adds craft from the slot, and No. 1 transfer wide receiver Cam Coleman rounds out a group that the source calls one-of-one in the SEC. It’s a unit built on both talent and fit, and it should swing games in 2026.
In Other News...
Urban Meyer Sends Arch Manning A Brutal Texas Reality Check
Arch Manning is heading into a new Texas season with the kind of attention that follows a quarterback whose name has carried weight for generations, and the expectations around him are only rising. Former coach Urban Meyer added to that spotlight with a blunt reminder that talent alone does not make the job easy, especially when every throw and every mistake gets magnified once a player is being measured against the top of an upcoming draft class.
Meyers point was less about Mannings ability than about the environment around him, stressing how much a quarterback depends on the players beside him to make a season look special. For Texas, that is the real backdrop here: Manning is trying to prove he can handle the pressure, elevate the offense and show he belongs in the conversation with the best, but the supporting cast around him will matter just as much as the hype attached to his name. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Veteran Fighting For One More Season As O-Line Battle Looms
A familiar face on the Texas offensive line is trying to buy himself one more season in Austin. Cole Hutson has been a steady part of the Longhorns front for four years, logging 48 appearances and 23 starts while moving across multiple spots up front, and his case now centers on whether he can squeeze out a fifth year under the NCAAs changing eligibility landscape.
The timing matters for Texas because the line is already headed toward a competitive summer, and Hutsons bid comes after the NCAAs recent rule adjustment for players who graduated high school after 2022. Hutson went unselected in the 2026 NFL Draft, so the path to another college season is still alive, but it now hinges on a legal fight that could determine whether he gets one more chance to settle into the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Texas May Have Found Its Next Defensive Cult Hero
Texas spent the offseason looking for a way to steady the middle of its defense after Anthony Hill Jr. moved on, and Rasheem Biles arrives with the kind of rsum that makes the fit easy to imagine. The Pittsburgh transfer was a workhorse for the Panthers in his final season, leading the team in tackles while also showing the range and disruption that coaches love from a modern linebacker.
Biles also left Pitt with national recognition after earning Second-Team All-ACC honors, which only adds to the expectation that he can step into a major role in Austin. The question now is how quickly he settles in and whether he becomes one of those defensive additions Longhorn fans latch onto early, the kind who seems to be everywhere when the play breaks down. [Read more 🡒]