Texas, who reeled in the nation’s top recruiting class in 2025, have national title aspirations despite trying to replace 14 players who were invited to the NFL Scouting Combine. Reminiscent of his mentor Nick Saban, Sarkisian has added to his football staff, including former West Virginia head coach Neal Brown. Texas’ season opener at defending national champion Ohio State on Aug. 30 is an opportunity for quarterback Arch Manning and the Longhorns to serve notice to the rest of the nation.
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Texas 2025 Season Preview and Prediction
Previewing Texas’ Offense for 2025
Arch Madness is sweeping Austin. After two seasons of backing up Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning is now running head coach Steve Sarkisian’s offense as the Longhorns seek a third straight College Football Playoff berth. Manning, whose athleticism mirrors his grandfather, Archie, more than his Super Bowl-winning uncles, Peyton and Eli, will line up behind four new offensive line starters as well as returning right guard DJ Campbell. Most of the projected O-line starters have been working with Manning on the second-team offense in practice the past two years.
Texas has a talented running back room, led by junior Quintrevion Wisner, who ran for 1,064 yards (4.7 ypc) and five touchdowns while catching 44 passes for 311 yards and one TD in 2024.
Texas returns playmaking receivers DeAndre Moore Jr. and Ryan Wingo and added Stanford transfer Emmett Mosley V, who caught 48 passes for 525 yards and six TDs as a freshman in 2024.
The biggest hole to fill is at tight end, where Cal transfer Jack Endries (56 rec., 623 yds. in 2024) looks to replace record-setter Gunnar Helm.
Related: Ranking the SEC Coaches for 2025
Texas QB Arch Manning | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Texas QB Arch Manning | Brett Davis-Imagn Images
Previewing Texas’ Defense for 2025
The defense was the strength of the team in 2024 and could be again in 2025 if the Longhorns hit on portal additions at defensive tackle (Cole Brevard of Purdue, Travis Shaw of North Carolina and Hero Kanu of Ohio State) as well as a star-studded recruiting haul.
Texas is loaded at end, led by sophomore Colin Simmons (9.0 sacks in 2024). The Longhorns might have the best linebacker in the country in junior Anthony Hill Jr. (16.5 tackles for a loss, 8.0 sacks in 2024).
The secondary lost Thorpe Award winner Jahdae Barron but is still plenty talented, led by safeties Michael Taaffe and Jelani McDonald and outside corners Malik Muhammad and Jaylon Guilbeau.
Texas Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Texas Linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Previewing Texas’ Specialists for 2025
Texas dipped into the portal for reinforcements, bringing in Utah punter Jack Bouwmeester (44.7 yards per punt in 2024) and Texas State placekicker Mason Shipley (31-of-35 on field goals for his career). Speedster Ryan Niblett is likely to be a return specialist.
National Ranking: 1
More SEC team previews:
Alabama | Arkansas | Auburn | Florida | Georgia
Kentucky LSU | Mississippi State | Missouri | Oklahoma
Ole Miss | South Carolina | Tennessee | Texas A&M | Vanderbilt