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    Jeff Howe
    TAMPA, Fla. — Jon Sumrall enters his first season at Florida knowing the caliber of quarterback his defensive staff will have to deal with when the Gators travel to Austin to face Texas and Arch Manning on Oct. 17.
    Sumrall got to know Archie Manning and the Manning family during his two seasons as Tulane’s coach. Sumrall recalled during his press conference at SEC media days on Wednesday that Archie Manning reached out to him to see if he’d allow Arch Manning to work out at Tulane’s football facilities while the Longhorn quarterback was spending time at home in New Orleans.
    “Archie would shoot me a text or a phone call and see if it's OK in May, during a little downtime, if Arch comes over and throws,” Sumrall said. “I'm like, ‘Yeah. And ask if he wants to transfer.’ I might go out there and watch him throw and (Arch’s father) Cooper or whoever might be out there. I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’d like to coach that guy.’”
    In the face of constant pressure the Florida defense applied in a 29-21 loss the Gators handed Texas in Gainesville last season, Manning went 16-for-29 for 263 yards and two touchdowns (two interceptions and 37 net rushing yards on a season-high 15 official carries). Although the third bout between the Longhorns and Florida in as many seasons will be Sumrall’s first time preparing a plan to defend Manning, he knows the caliber of player the Gators will see under center.
    “He's a good player,” Sumrall said. “I really have a lot of respect for the Manning family as a whole. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree with Arch, with how he carries himself.”
    Sumrall inherits a Florida program that’s split its two SEC meetings with Texas (the Longhorns blasted the Gators in Austin in 2024, 49-17) and will battle Steve Sarkisian’s club for a third consecutive season. It’s one of the quirks of the league’s effort to equitably schedule a nine-game SEC slate for the league’s 16 programs, which resulted in scheduling anomalies, such as Florida and Tennessee not facing each other for the first time since 1989.
    Texas won't supplant the Volunteers on the list of schools the Gator faithful would consider a true rival to Florida. Nevertheless, Sumrall is looking forward to Sarkisian and the Longhorns being one of his team’s nine conference opponents during his maiden voyage as an SEC head coach.
    “It’s a big game because you're playing Texas and they're really good. Every SEC game is a big game is a big game,” Sumarall said. “It doesn't matter who we're playing; we don't change our prep for the game. It stays the same. But it is new and unique to be playing Texas a third year in a row. That's not something that's maybe historically been a part of Florida's past and Texas’ past. Who would’ve thought 10 years ago that Florida was playing Texas for the third year in a row and not playing Tennessee?
    “A lot of respect for Sark," he added. "He's a brilliant offensive mind and a play-caller. I've always admired how he does things. I think he runs a great program.”
    Jeff Howe
    HOUSTON — If Texas wins the national championship in 2026, Steve Sarkisian will become college football's first head coach in the College Football Playoff era to win the title while calling his team’s offensive plays.
    Jimbo Fisher was the last play-calling head coach to win it all, doing so at Florida State in 2013. Sarkisian, Fisher, Lincoln Riley and Ryan Day led their respective teams to the CFP semifinals in the four-team format (2014-23). Day guided Ohio State to the championship game in 2020 (the Buckeyes lost to Alabama, with Sarkisian calling the Crimson Tide’s plays en route to Nick Saban’s last national championship), making him the only play-calling head coach in the CFP era to clear the semifinal hurdle.
    Day turned play-calling over to Chip Kelly during the Buckeyes’ run to the national title in 2024. Sarkisian isn’t ready to relinquish those responsibilities. During his press conference at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention in Houston on Sunday, Sarkisian pointed out a few advantages he believes he has as a play-calling head coach.
    “I'm coaching these guys, I'm installing plays, I'm around them, we're talking game plans, so I think from a connection standpoint, that helps,” Sarkisian said. “I think on game day, trying to manage the game and control the game of when you want to speed up, maybe when you want to slow down. When you go for it on fourth down, when you don't; the impact that can have on your team if you make it, if you don't make it. Field position with the defense and things of that nature.”
    Sarkisian’s response when breaking down the other side of the coin, however, reinforced why he parted ways with Pete Kwiatkowski after the 2025 regular season concluded, which paved the way for Will Muschamp’s return to the Forty Acres for a second tour of duty overseeing the Longhorn defense.
    “I think one of the areas where it can be difficult is trusting those guys on defense,” Sarkisian said. “If I'm trying to make adjustments on the offensive side of the ball between series, it's having trust in the defensive coaches that they've got a good grasp of what we're doing and, if a timeout is needed, why? What that situation looks like.”
    Muschamp’s “ability to really lead young men in our locker room is big for me,” Sarkisian said. With Muschamp hired to be the head coach of the defense, as Sarkisian put it when he publicly discussed the move before the Citrus Bowl against Michigan, whether or not the offense returns to being the explosive, productive unit it was throughout Sarkisian’s first four seasons on the job is squarely on his shoulders.
    That’s exactly how Sarkisian wants it to be.
    “This is the only way I know it,” Sarkisian said. “You know I've never done it any other way. I grew up in the profession with a guy that did it that way as well in Pete Carroll. He called the defense and, when I went to the Oakland Raiders early in my career, Norv Turner was the head coach — he called the plays.
    “Obviously, there's a lot of ways to do it and there's a lot of successful ways to do it, but this is just the way that I learned how to do it.”
    ***
    One of the reasons Sarkisian specifically targeted Muschamp is the reputation his defenses have for causing havoc. Hunting havoc plays (tackles for loss, forced fumbles, pass breakups and interceptions) was a talking point throughout spring practice because Muschamp emphasizes them.
    While breaking down defensive back play to a standing-room-only crowd in a ballroom at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Sunday (along with the high school coaches who were present for Muschamp’s lecture, coaches from Texas State, SMU, Texas A&M and other FBS programs were spotted in the room), Muschamp touched on the importance of havoc. It starts with every drill in practice ending with a Longhorn defensive back getting his hands on the ball.
    “There’s no drill where we just backpedal and let them go,” said Muschamp, whose 2009 Texas defense led the nation with 25 interceptions (the seventh-most in school history and the most in a season on the Forty Acres since 1951). “It's ending with catching the football or knocking the ball down every single time because that determines if you're a good player or not. You create havoc when you get hands on the ball.”
    While the Longhorns finished fourth in the SEC in passes defended (combined interceptions and pass breakups) per game (4.62), the defense’s 2.33 passes defended per game in their three losses (two interceptions and five pass breakups) was the second-worst mark in the conference. Just two of Texas’ 12 forced fumbles came in its losses, further highlighting Sarkisian’s desire for more consistent havoc on defense.
    ***
    Has the physicality of Muschamp’s defense helped the Texas offense get ready to navigate one of the toughest schedules in the country?
    “Absolutely,” running backs coach Jabbar Juluke said when fielding a question from the audience during his presentation on Monday. Juluke demands his running backs play with a physical edge, something the Longhorns consistently lacked on offense last season.
    “I only know one way,” Juluke said. “We want it every day.”
    Juluke then joked that the “no thud equals no play” mantra Muschamp introduced in the spring was born out of the offense’s willingness to trade punches with the defense in practice.
    “They couldn’t tackle our (expletive) ass,” Juluke said. “They weren’t stopping the run like they needed to. We’re going to finish the drill.
    “We work hand-in-hand,” he added. “I think we have an amazing staff.”
    ***
    During his THSCA press conference on Monday, while rattling off games he felt exemplified Texas A&M’s lack of consistency in 2025, Mike Elko omitted his team’s 27-17 loss to Texas.
    “I think last year what we showed was, at our peak, we were good enough to play with and beat anybody in the country. That's how you win 11 games,” said Elko, who will be in Tampa on Wednesday with quarterback Marcel Reed, linebacker Daymion Sanford and safety Marcus Ratcliffe. “But we also had too many times where we didn't play at our peak. Whether that was a quarter at LSU — the second quarter — whether that was the (first) half against South Carolina or whether that was for longer stretches in the Playoff game (against Miami), our ability to play the best football that we can play consistently a little bit more often has been the entire emphasis of our offseason.”
    Elko’s second loss to the Longhorns in as many tries should be grouped with those other performances, especially since Texas overcame a 10-3 halftime deficit, dominating the Aggies in the second half.
    ***
    Looming changes to college football’s offseason structure are another sign of the sport’s rapid evolution, which might not be a bad thing. Specifically, the FBS oversight committee has proposed changing the traditional spring practice model (15 practices over 34 days), further clouding the future of spring games across the country.
    What would replace it is something closer to an NFL offseason model. The proposal is for two sessions (one of which can take place over a maximum of five weeks) totaling 21 practices. If the proposal is approved in August, FBS teams would get up to seven weeks to conduct both sessions.
    Former Wyoming coach Craig Bohl, the executive director of the American Football Coaches Association, admitted during his Monday press conference in Houston that “the world has changed." That's why one of Bohl's priorities is working with the NCAA on behalf of college football coaches to overhaul an outdated offensive structure.
    The AFCA has worked extensively with the NFL when designing an offseason schedule that’s more in line with where football is headed, Bohl said. While there are noticeable differences between how the NFL and college football operate, Bohl said the addition of six practices to the offseason calendar and shortening the timeline for preseason practice (the proposal calls for 21 on-field practices over 27 days) are sensible, long-overdue changes that are being embraced.
    “What we did feel like was important is to look at some of the positive things the NFL is doing and then, quite frankly, too, we looked at some of the things in that chaotic world that we experienced during COVID, where everybody said we couldn't play football,” Bohl said. “What we found was there were things that we were able to adapt that really were meaningful, and one of the things that we found was more access to our players to do some work during the course of the summer. Players enjoyed it. Coaches enjoyed it. It didn't have to be a hit fest where you're in full contact and you're going to go out and do a full scrimmage. You could do some work in (spider pads) and get some good work done. This is where we integrated six extra workouts. It has been really warmly received by players and coaches.”
    Jeff Howe
    If Cole Hutson, who is suing the NCAA to gain an additional season of eligibility, becomes a member of the 2026 roster, his return will check two important boxes for Texas.
    A team that could play upwards of 17 games needs as much quality depth as possible. With 48 games played and 23 career starts under his belt, Hutson's return would immediately provide the Longhorns with experienced depth at all three interior line spots. Even if he needs time to adjust to being back in a team setting after missing spring practice, Hutson would be a tremendous insurance policy if there’s an injury to one of the current projected starters on the interior (Connor Robertson at center, Brandon Baker at right guard and Laurence Seymore at left guard) or if a performance issue forces Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood to make a change.
    Just as important as Hutson’s experience is what he brings to the table from a culture standpoint. In the transfer portal/NIL era of college athletics, it helps to have a player on your team like Hutson. He's proven himself to be a good locker room presence, is someone folks in the building like having around and he cares about wearing the Texas uniform.
    Hutson can make positive contributions to a squad expected to compete for a national championship, even if he’s made his last start as a Longhorn.
    ***
    While Hutson would be an option at center upon returning to the team, the offense was better last season with Robertson at center and Hutson at left guard. Still, Hutson’s experience makes him a better option in a pinch than Jackson Christian, Dylan Sikorski or any other option the staff looked at during spring practice (ideally, Christian, Sikorski and the other young linemen in Flood's room would continue to develop with Hutson in place as a stop-gap measure to avoid forcing them into action before they're ready).
    The No. 2 center on the depth chart is a spot nobody spends much time thinking about until that player is pressed into action. If Hutson’s return sees him called upon to fill in for Robertson, his experience combined with what would figure to be an upgrade at left guard (Seymore over Nick Brooks or Connor Stroh) would make the conditions ripe for a more productive run than the one he had in his five starts at center in 2025.
    ***
    What does Hutson’s potential return say about the state of the left guard spot with less than three weeks to go until the start of preseason practice?
    I don’t think the staff would welcome Hutson back because they’re disappointed with Seymore, Sikorski, Jaydon Chatman or anyone else competing to occupy the starting spot Hutson held for the last five games of the season. This is a case of Sarkisian doing what he didn’t do heading into 2025, when he left too many things to chance, resulting in an offensive line that operated with little to no margin for error.
    Since Seymore didn’t go through spring practice and arrived on campus in June, it’ll be a few weeks into camp before the staff has a reasonable feel for what the Western Kentucky transfer brings to the table. Even if an eligible Hutson couldn’t overtake Seymore or Chatman for the starting job, him providing a push that results in a true winner emerging from the impending camp battle is much better than if the coaches felt like they were rolling the dice on a starter heading into the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State.
    Whether Hutson gains eligibility and picks up where he left off or not, making Seymore work to win the job is what will be best for the Texas offensive line in 2026.
    ***
    Before anyone cries foul or tries to find fault in what Texas is doing when examining Hutson’s situation, it’s worth going back to something Sarkisian said at his Touchdown Club of Houston press conference in May.
    When explaining comments he made in an interview with USA Today’s Matt Hayes, including saying that “all you have to do is take basket weaving, and you can get an Ole Miss degree” to describe potential hurdles when recruiting a transfer, Sarkisian voiced his frustration with college football’s governance and oversight, or lack thereof:
    “We're not governed by one thing and that's one of the major issues. That's why we're striving so hard for federal intervention that we're struggling to get, so that we can police these things that we have in place. Because if not, any time somebody does something that is against the rules, and against the rules for a group that we all signed up to be part of. We all sign up to be a part of the NCAA and we agree to these rules. We make the rules. But then, when we break a rule, we want to run to a judge in our hometown and get an injunction against that rule to get that player eligible. That doesn't make sense to me. We aren't policing our own rules. Why do we need federal intervention? For that very reason. Now, we're struggling to get that done. That's why there's been all of this talk of potential breaking away. Could college football break away from the NCAA? It's not to break away to get away from everybody. It's to break away so that we can actually govern the rules that we're putting in place.”
    The difference between Hutson seeking a fifth year of eligibility and the saga that ended with Texas Tech and Brendan Sorsby parting ways is that Hutson and Texas didn’t break a rule.
    With a judge already granting an injunction for a group of men’s and women’s college basketball players who sought additional eligibility based on the NCAA’s application of its age-based eligibility model beginning with the 2026-27 academic year, this is Hutson shooting his shot to see if he can get one more season on the Forty Acres. For those who can’t understand the difference between a player in the midst of pursuing a postgraduate degree asking a judge if the NCAA’s "arbitrary application of this bylaw,” according to the lawsuit, which was filed Friday in Travis County, means he can play one more season (for what it’s worth, Hutson played nine games in 2023 after starting all 13 for Texas as true freshman, but an offseason shoulder surgery opened the door for DJ Campbell to enter the starting lineup and limited Hutson to a career-low 144 snaps, according to Pro Football Focus) and a player suspended by the NCAA trying to find a loophole to avoid punishment, no explanation will suffice.
    To Sarkisian’s point, it’s currently open to interpretation what the rules are and how they should be enforced. At the very least, if Hutson can get closer to completing his MBA and spend one more fall while helping the football team, it should be considered a win-win for all parties involved.
    Jeff Howe
    The Texas offense was bad through the first seven games of the 2025 season.
    After plodding their way to season-low marks for total yards (179), yards per play (3.3) and first downs (eight) in a 16-13 overtime road win over Kentucky, the Longhorns fielded one of the least productive offenses in the SEC.
    The following is what Texas was averaging in a few key statistical categories and where the offense ranked nationally and in the conference (FBS ranking/SEC ranking):
    Points Per Game — 26.7 (79th/11th)
    Total Yards Per Game — 368.1 (82nd/11th)
    Yards Per Play — 5.64 (74th/11th)
    Rushing Yards Per Game — 149.4 (74th/11th)
    Yards Per Rushing Attempt — 4.1 (84th/9th)
    Passing Yards Per Game — 218.7 (78th/13th)
    Third Down Conversions — 38.1% (89th/13th)
    The Longhorns righted the ship in a 45-38 overtime road win over Mississippi State the week after escaping Lexington. Behind Arch Manning’s then-career-high 346 passing yards, Texas rallied from a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, with Matthew Caldwell’s touchdown pass to Emmett Mosley V in overtime aiding the program’s biggest comeback win in 18 years.
    The victory in Starkville helped Manning start anew. His rise coincided with Cole Hutson’s return from injury and subsequent move to left guard for the Vanderbilt game, which helped the Longhorns find an offensive line combination that worked.
    Those two factors played a significant role in the offense turning things around. A third factor that doesn’t get talked about as much, however, but was just as important in sorting things out was Steve Sarkisian’s decision to move AJ Milwee from the sideline to the press box on game day.
    Milwee, who came to Texas with Sarkisian from Alabama, started his time on the Forty Acres working from the press box. At some point, Sarkisian felt Quinn Ewers needed someone with him on the sideline, which required Milwee to move downstairs.
    Milwee told On Texas Football during the program’s spring media availability for the offensive coaching staff that the 2023 season is when he and Sarkisian felt coaching from the sideline would best benefit Ewers and, in turn, the offense. The offense struggling, combined with the NCAA lifting restrictions on countable coaches allowing Mike Bimonte to be involved on game day, made the conditions ripe to move Milwee back to the booth.
    Sarkisian didn’t give up calling plays. He hasn't indicated that he plans to relinquish that role any time soon.
    So, if he’s not going to turn offensive play-calling over to someone else, then Sarkisian having a pair of eyes in the press box operating as an extension of himself might be the next best thing.
    “When you add Mike — and we’re all in the same room — I think, from Coach Sark’s perspective, it’s like, ‘OK, AJ has been with me now — we’re going on Year 8 together,’” Milwee said. “It allowed me — different from the first time I was up there — I knew what I was looking for and I knew what he was asking for, and I think that made it easy. It made it easy for me to communicate to him what he was looking for and whether it was plays we need to get back to or a certain grouping of plays we need to get to next, it was more or less to help him, when he came back over from the defensive side of the ball, ‘Hey, what do you want here?’ Whether it was Mike and I talking or Coach (Kyle) Flood and I talking — ‘Hey, we’d like these runs and this grouping of plays coming up,’ we can go to that. It gave (Sarkisian) confidence to get into the flow of, ‘Hey, let’s go with these plays. They’re good. Everything looks good on the iPad from what we’re getting.’ I think it was an easy transition, understanding what he’s looking for.”
    Except for the running game, which mustered only 23 yards on 17 official rushing attempts against Georgia (even though the Longhorns ran for a combined 453 yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry in wins over Texas A&M and Michigan), the Texas offense showed marked improvement over the last six games of the season with Milwee in the press box.
    Points Per Game — 34.8
    Total Yards Per Game — 412.2
    Yards Per Play — 6.32
    Rushing Yards Per Game — 124.2
    Yards Per Rushing Attempt — 4.33
    Passing Yards Per Game — 288
    Third Down Conversions — 40.5%
    Whether it’s evaluating his coaching staff or deciding which players on offense need the ball in critical situations, trust is hugely important to Sarkisian. It’s clear he trusts Milwee, not just for what he’s telling him, but the way he’s relaying information, which is critical for a play-calling head coach who wants to limit distractions in his ear and digest important information as quickly as possible.
    It’s a role and responsibility Milwee doesn’t take lightly.
    “There’s a guy I worked with before and he used to always say that it’s the economy of words,” Milwee said. “I don’t need to give a dissertation. Get to the point. Give him what he needs to know and then he’s going to go from there. He’s the best play-caller in the country. Give him the few things he needs to know and he’s going to make the adjustments and the calls the way he knows how to. Just give him the information he needs and he’ll go apply it.”
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