Steve Sarkisian did not build Texas’ 2026 roster like he built the Longhorns’ first SEC team, and that difference is the whole point.
The early Texas version that entered the league leaned on a soft landing. The schedule was manageable, and even the non-conference showcase against Michigan came against a Wolverines team that was nothing like the one that had just rolled through 2023.
That path helped mask some flaws. By 2025, the illusion was gone.
Texas made the CFP semifinal in 2024, then slipped to three regular-season losses and missed the field the next year. Georgia remained a wall, and Florida handed the Longhorns an early road loss in “The Swamp.”
That season forced the reset. Sarkisian responded by reshaping both the roster and the staff around Arch Manning, Colin Simmons and Jelani McDonald, and the result looks far more intentional than the first SEC edition of Texas ever did.
The clearest shift is on defense, where Will Muschamp is back in Austin. Muschamp has spent time in the kind of SEC environment Texas wants to master, including a dominant four-year stretch with Georgia, first as a safeties coach/co-defensive coordinator and later as an analyst. His move into the analyst role came after a dip in production from the Bulldogs’ secondary, but the bigger picture is the same: he knows what winning SEC defense looks like.
Pete Kwiatkowski did plenty right before the wheels came off in 2025. His 2024 Texas defense gave up 15.31 points per game, 283.4 total yards per game and produced 22 interceptions, all top-three marks. But when the pressure rose in 2025, the group unraveled, and Kwiatkowski is now in the NFL as a position coach.
Muschamp’s arrival should bring a harder edge and more accountability, even for the highest-paid players on the roster. Texas is clearly betting that the habits Muschamp saw in the Kirby Smart era at Georgia can travel.
Special teams also look different, and in a good way. Ryan Niblett, who spent 2023 and 2024 mostly as an afterthought at receiver, got a real role in the return game in 2025.
He made the most of it, piling up 476 punt return yards and 262 kickoff return yards while taking two back for touchdowns. By the time his Texas career is over, he could wind up owning the program’s yards per return record.
The punting job is set to change after Jack Bouwmeester stabilized it last season and then headed to the NFL. Florida State transfer Mac Chiumento is expected to take over. At kicker, Memphis transfer Gianni Spetic may be the only special teams step back from the 2024 team, though he still has a chance to prove himself this fall.
Even with that one question mark, the overall special teams picture looks stronger than it did two years ago.
The transfer portal is where Sarkisian made his biggest statement. At SEC Football Media Days, he used the words “cap space” to explain how he approached roster construction, and the message was obvious: Texas went shopping for impact players.
The haul included Auburn transfer Cam Coleman at receiver, NC State transfer Hollywood Smothers and Arizona State transfer Raleek Brown at running back, and Pitt transfer Rasheem Biles at linebacker. Those are the kinds of moves that signal a program trying to buy itself closer to the top of the league.
Texas is one of the SEC’s safer CFP bets on paper, but the league has already shown that expensive rosters do not guarantee anything. The 2025 LSU team under Brian Kelly is proof of that.
Sarkisian understands the margin for error is thin, and this time he has built accordingly. Whether it’s enough to match the 2024 team’s results in a brutal SEC remains to be seen.
In Other News...
Steve Sarkisian Is In A Heated Fight For Must Have Texas Lineman
Texas has made interior offensive line a priority in the 2028 class, and Kendrick Harris sits near the top of that board. The four-star prospect from Duncanville has already drawn serious attention as one of the best interior linemen in his cycle, which is exactly why Steve Sarkisian and his staff are treating this recruitment like an early heavyweight battle rather than a distant future decision.
The Longhorns are trying to sell more than just the brand name, because Texas A&M, Oklahoma, LSU and SMU are all in the mix as well. For a program that has dealt with the offensive line as one of its biggest question marks under Sarkisian, landing a player like Harris would carry obvious value, but the real challenge is still ahead as he weighs the coaches and the fit that matter most to him. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Still Has A Shot At A Massive 2027 Recruiting Flip
Texas has already put together a strong 2027 recruiting class, but the Longhorns are still working through the usual churn that comes with chasing elite prospects this far out. Even after a few losses and decommitment flips, the staff is staying active on the trail, and one of the names it continues to circle is a highly regarded athlete whose profile fits what Texas likes to target on both sides of the ball.
Honor Fa'alave-Johnson remains one of the more intriguing players in the 2027 cycle because evaluators see real value beyond one position. He is widely viewed as a safety at the Power 4 level, yet his high school production has included major work as a runner and receiver, which is part of why Texas is still so interested. If the Longhorns are going to make a late move here, they will need to keep pressing on a recruitment that already has plenty of attention and no shortage of moving parts. [Read more 🡒]
Sean Miller Has Texas In The Hunt For A Massive 5-Star Win
Sean Millers first months in Austin have already brought a noticeable recruiting jolt, and Texas is now in the mix for one of the biggest names in the 2027 class. Five-star center Darius Wabbington has emerged as a major target for the Longhorns, a sign that the program is aiming high as it tries to stack elite talent around the foundation it has already built through recent commitments and a strong run in the portal.
Wabbington has trimmed his list to a small group of heavy hitters, and Texas is still standing alongside some of the sports most established powers. He has official visits lined up to several of those programs, including Texas, which keeps the Longhorns firmly in the conversation as the race moves into a more serious phase. For Miller, this is the kind of battle that can help define how quickly Texas can turn momentum on the recruiting trail into something lasting. [Read more 🡒]