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    Jeff Howe
    With the Longhorns set to hit the field for the start of preseason practice next week, it’s time for On Texas Football to provide a pre-camp snapshot of the Texas depth chart.
    This is what we expect the depth chart to look like when the Longhorns open camp, not a projection of what it will look like when the first official depth chart is released for the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State. The high school signees (including John Meredith III) and additional players picked up from the transfer portal who weren’t with the team for spring practice have been added to the depth chart, as they weren't included in our post-spring practice snapshot.
    According to Steve Sarkisian, Texas will enter camp with a healthy team. Except for offensive lineman Kaden Scherer, who suffered a serious knee injury early in spring practice, the players who missed all or parts of spring practice while recovering from surgery or injuries are on the depth chart.
     
    OFFENSE
     
    QUARTERBACK
    1. (16) Arch Manning (6-4, 222, Jr.-2L)
    2. (9) KJ Lacey (6-0, 188, RS-Fr.)
    3. (19) MJ Morris (6-1, 201, Sr.-TR)
    4. (6) Dia Bell (6-3, 206, Fr.-HS)
     
    RUNNING BACK
    1. (0) Raleek Brown (5-9, 193, Sr.-TR) — OR — (2) Hollywood Smothers (5-11, 193, Jr.-TR)
    2. (5) Derrek Cooper (6-1, 212, Fr.-HS)
    3. (21) Ryan Niblett (5-9, 189, Jr.-1L)
    4. (31) James Simon (5-11, 208, RS-Fr.)
    5. (11) Michael Terry III (6-3, 229, RS-Fr.)
    6. (28) Jett Walker (6-2, 224, Fr.-HS)
     
    WIDE RECEIVER (X)
    1. (8) Cam Coleman (6-3, 204, Jr.-TR)
    2. (18) Sterling Berkhalter (6-3, 196, Sr.-TR) — OR — (7) Kaliq Lockett (6-2, 181, RS-Fr.)
     
    WIDE RECEIVER (Z)
    1. (1) Ryan Wingo (6-2, 214, Jr.-2L)
    3. (13) Kohen Brown (6-0, 202, Fr.-HS)
    4. (14) Chris Stewart (6-0, 184, Fr.-HS)
     
    WIDE RECEIVER (H)
    1. (3) Emmett Mosley V (6-2, 199, Jr.-1L)
    2. (4) Jermaine Bishop Jr. (6-0, 166, Fr.-HS) — OR — (17) Daylan McCutcheon (5-11, 183, Soph.-1L)
     
    TIGHT END (Y)
    1. (15) Michael Masunas (6-5, 259, Sr.-TR) — OR — (83) Spencer Shannon (6-7, 260, Jr.-2L)
    2. (88) Charlie Jilek (6-5, 238, Fr.-HS)
     
    TIGHT END (H)
    1. (81) Nick Townsend (6-3, 250, Soph.-1L)
    2. (85) Emaree Winston (6-1, 245, Soph.-1L)
    3. (87) Will Randle (6-4, 249, Jr.-SQ)
     
    LEFT TACKLE
    1. (74) Trevor Goosby (6-7, 325, Jr.-2L)
    2. (78) Jordan Coleman (6-5, 356, RS-Fr.)
    3. (51) John Turntine III (6-4, 295, Fr.-HS)
     
    LEFT GUARD
    1. (75) Jaydon Chatman (6-4, 330, Jr.-2L)
    2. (56) Dylan Sikorski (6-4, 335, Soph.-TR)
    3. (50) Laurence Seymore (6-2, 316, Sr.-TR)
    4. (76) Jackson Christian (6-5, 308, RS-Fr.)
     
    CENTER
    1. (62) Connor Robertson (6-4, 316, Sr.-3L)
    2. (76) Jackson Christian (6-5, 308, RS-Fr.)
    3. (56) Dylan Sikorski (6-4, 335, Soph.-TR)
     
    RIGHT GUARD
    1. (73) Brandon Baker (6-4, 315, Jr.-2L)
    2. (58) Devin Coleman (6-5, 340, RS-Fr.)
    3. (68) Paris Patterson Jr. (6-5, 354, Jr.-TR)
    4. (72) Nicholas Robertson (6-3, 349, Fr.-HS)
    5. (70) Kaden Scherer (6-6, 291, Fr.-HS)
     
    RIGHT TACKLE
    1. (71) Melvin Siani (6-6, 317, Sr.-TR)
    2. (77) Andre Cojoe (6-6, 339, Soph.-1L)
    3. (79) Jonte Newman (6-4, 310, RSFr.-TR)
     
    DEFENSE

    NOSE TACKLE
    1. (95) Ian Geffrard (6-5, 375, Sr.-TR)
    2. (88) Maraad Watson (6-3, 333, Jr.-1L)
    3. (90) Josiah Sharma (6-4, 341, RS-Fr.)
    4. (96) Zion Williams (6-4, 370, RSFr.-TR)
     
    DEFENSIVE TACKLE
    1. (93) Hero Kanu (6-5, 309, Sr.-1L)
    2. (15) Justus Terry (6-5, 289, Soph.-1L)
    3. (52) James Johnson (6-3, 279, Fr.-HS)
    4. (55) Elijah Ali (6-4, 306, Fr.-HS)
     
    DEFENSIVE TACKLE
    1. (97) Alex January (6-5, 308, Jr.-2L)
    2. (33) Myron Charles (6-4, 312, RS-Fr.)
     
    JACK
    1. (1) Colin Simmons (6-3, 246, Jr.-2L)
    2. (92) Colton Vasek (6-5, 252, Jr.-2L)
    3. (46) Smith Orogbo (6-4, 238, RS-Fr.) — OR — (99) Richard Wesley (6-4, 258, Fr.-HS)\
    4. (80) Brinley Tita (6-4, 252, Fr.-HS)
     
    END
    1. (40) Lance Jackson (6-5, 274, Soph.-1L)
    2. (19) Zina Umeozulu (6-5, 272, Soph.-1L)
    3. (94) Jamarion Carlton (6-5, 280, Fr.-HS)
     
    WLB
    1. (3) Rasheem Biles (6-1, 222, Sr.-TR)
    2. (30) Rocky Cummings (6-4, 227, Fr.-HS)
    3. (37) Jonathan Cunningham (6-2, 198, RS-Fr.) — OR — (45) Darius Snow (6-1, 219, Sr.-TR)
     
    SLB
    1. (14) Brad Spence (6-2, 249, Sr.-1L)
    2. (18) Kosi Okpala (6-3, 235, Fr.-HS)
     
    MLB
    1. (26) Ty’Anthony Smith (6-1, 214, Jr.-2L)
    2. (28) Justin Cryer (6-1, 241, Sr.-TR)
    3. (16) Tyler Atkinson (6-1, 219, Fr.-HS)
    4. (44) Markus Boswell (6-1, 228, Soph.-TR)
     
    NICKEL
    1. (29) Graceson Littleton (6-0, 182, Soph.-1L)
    2. (27) Wardell Mack (6-0, 183, Soph.-1L) — OR — (17) Xavier Filsaime (6-1, 193, Jr.-2L)
     
    CORNERBACK
    1. (6) Kobe Black (6-2, 202, Jr.-2L) — OR — (8) Kade Phillips (6-0, 191, Soph.-1L)
    2. (21) Hayward Howard Jr. (6-2, 182, Fr.-HS)
    3. John Meredith III (Fr.-HS)
     
    CORNERBACK
    1. (5) Bo Mascoe (5-11, 199, Sr.-TR)
    2. (24) Warren Roberson (6-0, 189, Jr.-2L)
    3. (11) Samari Matthews (6-1, 197, Fr.-HS)
    4. (36) Nick Hudson (5-10, 179, Sr.-TR)
     
    FREE SAFETY
    1. (4) Jelani McDonald (6-2, 210, Sr.-3L)
    2. (23) Jordon Johnson-Rubell (5-10, 212, Jr.-2L)
    3. (25) Toray Davis (6-1, 197, Fr.-HS)
    4. (13) Zelus Hicks (6-2, 183, RS-Fr.)
     
    STRONG SAFETY
    1. (2) Derek Williams Jr. (6-2, 199, Jr.-2L)
    2. (17) Xavier Filsaime (6-1, 193, Jr.-2L)
    3. (6) Kobe Black (6-2, 202, Jr.-2L) — OR — (37) Jonathan Cunningham (6-2, 198, RS-Fr.)
    4. (9) Jonah Williams (6-3, 210, Soph.-1L)
    5. (31) Yaheim Riley (5-11, 187, Fr.-HS)
     
    PUNTER
    1. (43) Mac Chuimento (6-4, 228, Sr.-TR)
    2. (45) Mikey Bukauskus (6-2, 210, Fr.-HS)
     
    KICKER
    1. (44) Gianni Spetic (6-3, 221, Sr.-TR)
    2. (46) Spencer Barnett (6-0, 215, Soph.-1L)
    3. (49) Jake Collett (6-0, 182, Fr.-HS)
     
    PUNT RETURN
    1. (21) Ryan Niblett (5-9, 189, Jr.-1L)
    2. (0) Raleek Brown (5-9, 193, Sr.-TR)
    3. (17) Daylan McCutcheon (5-11, 183, Soph.-1L)
     
    KICKOFF RETURN
    1. (0) Raleek Brown (5-9, 193, Sr.-TR) — AND — (4) Jermaine Bishop Jr. (6-0, 166, Fr.-HS)
    2. (5) Derrek Cooper (6-1, 212, Fr.-HS) — AND — (11) Michael Terry III (6-3, 229, RS-Fr.)
    Bobby Burton
    Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports.
    The SEC and Big 10 have both been given a deadline of 9am tomorrow to give their support or not.
    As I wrote earlier today, some of the compromises made recently by the senate bill are moves in the right direction. But they are not complete concessions, which I believe is necessary to move this bill forward.
    What is the difference between a compromise and a concession?
    Forcing Texas to play Texas Tech or any other team, for example, is something that never should have been addressed in the bill in the first place. But somehow meaningful legacy pieces of it remain because of the idiocy of putting it in there in the first place.
    In other words, the start of this bill was so bad and so lopsided at the start that getting to any sort of real agreement was far fetched.
    Now, we wait to see the SEC and Big 10 response.
     
     
    Jeff Howe
    Steve Sarkisian often touts how much he loves the pageantry of college football.
    The best example supporting Sarkisian’s position is how seriously the Texas head coach takes the program’s rivalry games. For Sarkisian, it’s not just another game whenever the Longhorns line up against Oklahoma or Texas A&M.
    At SEC Media Days in Tampa, Sarkisian didn’t mince words when he was asked what it’ll be like to face former Texas wideout Parker Livingstone whenever the Longhorns and Sooners meet in Dallas on Oct. 10.
    At the end of the day, Sarkisian said, personal feelings get put to the side when the Golden Hat is on the line.
    “I hope we kick his ass,” Sarkisian said. “I mean, it’s the Red River Rivalry. You know what I mean? He chose to go there. He’s on the other side. That’s the way the game goes.
    “At the end of the day, it’s competition,” he added. “After the game, I’m sure I’ll give him a big hug. Before that, we’re trying to beat his ass. That’s the way it goes.”
    The recently-revived series with the Aggies is no different. Even Sarkisian’s admission that he “was not happy” that the Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in-game operations staff played a clip of Mike Elko referring to Texas A&M as the state’s flagship program on the video board after Texas secured a 27-17 victory last November shed light on what’s allowed Sarkisian to enter his sixth season on the Forty Acres with a combined 5-2 record against the program’s two primary rivals.
    “Emotions run high in those games,” said Sarkisian, who put the kibosh on a potentially volatile on-field celebration after the Longhorns’ 17-7 win over the Aggies at Kyle Field in 2024, which had the potential to get out of hand. “We had a team that was trying to think about going and planting the flag two years ago and I wouldn't let that happen. I respect the game of football and I respect college football and I respect the football gods and there's a way to go about our business and there's a way not. Rivalries are great, but we've got to be able to fight the emotions that come with the rivalry.”
    With all due respect to Arkansas, who the Longhorns have faced just eight times since the Razorbacks left the Southwest Conference for the SEC in 1992, Sarkisian and other Texas coaches are judged by what they do against Oklahoma and Texas A&M, for better or worse. While Sarkisian hasn’t been perfect in his tenure, he’s more often than not had his squad ready for the games that matter to the burnt orange faithful.
    Sarkisian has won three of his first five meetings with the Sooners, with two losses that were there for the taking. The Longhorns had a 21-point first-half lead in Sarkisian’s Red River debut and took an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter before suffering a 55-48 loss; Texas also had a 30-27 lead with 1:17 to play in the 2023 game, which Oklahoma won on a last-second touchdown, 34-30.
    Even with the two losses, Sarkisian’s 3-2 record is only topped by Darrell Royal and Fred Akers for the best five-game start to the Red River series among the nine Longhorn coaches in the AP Poll era (since 1936) who’ve coached at least five games in the series. Royal and Akers both won four of their first five games against the Sooners; Akers won five of his first seven (5-4-1 overall record), while Royal won eight in a row (1958-65) and 12 of 13 (1958-70) en route to a 12-7-1 mark against his alma mater.
    Sarkisian's three wins in Texas' last four clashes with the Sooners ended Oklahoma's dominant stretch of 10 wins in 13 meetings. The Longhorns' historic 49-0 rout in 2022 is the largest shutout victory in series history and is part of Texas' 136-43 scoring advantage in the last four games, three of which the Sooners have failed to score a touchdown.
    Among the nine Longhorn coaches in the AP Poll era to coach at least two games against the Aggies, Sarkisian, Royal and Akers are the only three to enjoy a 2-0 series start.
    Nobody should expect Sarkisian to rival Royal’s 17-3 mark against Texas A&M, which included winning streaks of 10 (1957-66) and seven (1968-74) games, respectively. Nevertheless, Sarkisian has a good start in potentially joining Royal, Mack Brown (10-4), Ed Price (4-2) and Dana X. Bible (8-2) as the only Texas coaches in the AP Poll era to finish their careers with a winning record against the Aggies.
    Include Sarkisian’s two wins over Arkansas (a 2-1 record after a forgettable 40-21 loss to the Razorbacks in Fayetteville in 2021) and he’s 7-3 in rivalry games through his first five seasons. On top of building championship-caliber rosters, Sarkisian can set Texas up for continued success in those games if his team keeps walking the fine line between playing with emotion and having it spill over.
    “I think that's why we've had success in some of our rivalry games, whether it's A&M or OU or Arkansas,” Sarkisian said. “I think we do a good job of managing our emotions. That's a real challenge when you get into games like that.”
    Jeff Howe
    TAMPA, Fla. — The best sign of Colin Simmons’ growth as a player, a man and a leader are his personal goals for the 2026 season.
    After making it known that he was aiming for Kiki DeAyala’s single-season school sack record (22.5 in 1982) heading into 2025, Simmons isn’t concerned with splattering his name all over the Texas record books. Instead, Simmons would rather put a number on the wall signifying how the Longhorns fulfilled their promise in what’s expected to be his last season on the Forty Acres.
    “Honestly, my individual goals are the team goals,” Simmons said at SEC Media Days in Tampa on Thursday. “It's the team's success. Winning. Winning a national championship.
    "Everything that comes with it.”
    Thanks to a furious finish, which saw him racking up 10.5 sacks over the last eight games of the season, including a career-high three in a 16-13 overtime road win over Kentucky on Oct. 18, only Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor have gotten closer to DeAyala’s seemingly untouchable mark than Simmons did last season. The second-team All-American and first-team All-SEC defender’s 12 sacks tied him with DeAyala (1981), Steve McMichael (1977) and Tony Degrate (1984) for the eighth-best single-season sack total since 1975, which is when Texas began tracking sacks as an official statistic.
    While Simmons was noticeably pressing early in the season, the sacks started to come when his focus shifted from piling up numbers to loving the game. The approach also helped Simmons come into his own as a leader with a style that’s positioned him to be everything Will Muschamp needs him to be in the first season of his second stint as the program’s defensive coordinator.
    “Being myself, showing my teammates that they can just be themselves,” Simmons said when describing his leadership style. “They don't have to change. They don't have to impress nobody.  People are going to have opinions regardless of what it is, good or bad, but at the end of the day, as long as you stay true to yourself, nothing can move you.”
    The only person who should be able to move Simmons is Muschamp, who has unleashed top-notch edge rushers like Simmons throughout his career as a defensive coordinator. With 21 sacks through two seasons, Simmons is nine away from joining DeAyala, Degrate and Tim Campbell as the only Longhorns to record at least 30 career sacks, highlighting the Duncanville product’s pass-rushing prowess.
    Steve Sarkisian hired Muschamp to ensure the Longhorns play defense with more of “an aggressive, in-your-face, tighter coverage kind of approach to things,” he said Thursday. Simmons stands to benefit the most from the leadership change; according to Pro Football Focus, Simmons’ 74 coverage snaps were tied for the 26th most among FBS edge defenders and the fifth most among edge rushers in the SEC.
    Simmons attacking downhill toward the line of scrimmage more often should be a net positive for the Texas defense. The mindset change Muschamp promotes, and the physicality he demands, have Simmons champing at the bit to show what he can do in the new scheme.
    “I'm not going to lie, I'm happy to be part of this defense,” Simmons said. “I'm happy to be coached under him.”
    Even then, Simmons remains steadfast in maintaining a team-first approach to what could be a historic junior season.
    “Representing the Longhorns is like representing the name on your back,” Simmons said. “You've got to represent it with pride because at the end of the day that's your family and you're representing your family. Just like I represent my mom, I’ve got to represent the Longhorns.”
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