Could Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian lean on more freshmen in 2026? The answer might be yes, and the reason has everything to do with a major change to college football’s eligibility rules.
Texas already showed a willingness to dip into its rookie class last season, especially when the matchup allowed it. The Longhorns used, on average, 16 true freshmen in games against Group of Six opponents, and that number spiked to 23 in a Week 4 blowout of Sam Houston.
Once the schedule turned into conference play, though, Sarkisian backed off. He capped freshman usage at nine players for the rest of the regular season.
That shift made sense. SEC games are a different animal, and the source material makes the point plainly: it is not wise to send a wobbly-legged freshman into a big third-down spot in a tight game against an SEC opponent.
But the old redshirt math that used to complicate those decisions is gone. College athletics has overhauled the rule, moving to a system in which every player gets five years to play five seasons.
Under the previous setup, football players could appear in four games without losing a redshirt year and the eligibility that came with it. That forced coaches to weigh whether it was worth using a freshman safety, already four games into his season, on punt block duty for just a few snaps in Week 9.
That calculation no longer applies, and that could open the door for Sarkisian to use more freshmen in specific roles next season, as long as they have earned those opportunities.
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