Williams, who hit .304 in an eight-game, truncated sophomore season, was expected to be a big piece of the puzzle in 2026. After Texas (18-1, 2-1 SEC) routed Ole Miss on Sunday, 8-2, to win the team’s first SEC series of the season, Jim Schlossnagle brought up how Williams’ health created a question mark for the Longhorns at the plate.

“His legs are fine,” Schlossnagle said, referring to Williams’ previous hamstring troubles, on top of the shoulder issue that carried over from football season. “He's just trying to figure out what we're going to do moving forward with his shoulder and if that's going to allow him to play.”

Williams won’t play again for Texas until 2027 while rehabbing what sources told OTF on Monday is a rotator cuff injury. Nevertheless, Schlossnagle and the Longhorns have had several players step up to take advantage of the opportunity Williams’ misfortune created, which needs to remain the trend as SEC play continues.

1. ANTHONY PACK JR.

Williams’ injury recovery in January opened the door for Pack to win the starting job in right field on opening day. The 5-foot-10-inch, 190-pound freshman, whose high school home baseball field lacked an outfield, which has added a different dimension to learning how to properly patrol the outfield at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, has manned both corner outfield spots.

Where Pack has most cushioned the blow of Texas losing Williams is at the plate. Pack ranks among the team’s offensive leaders through 19 games with a .354 batting average (second), a 1.096 OPS (fourth), 22 runs scored (third), 23 hits (fifth), five doubles (second), 23 RBI (second), 40 total bases (fifth), four home runs (sixth) and seven stolen bases (first).

“Pack is one of those special freshmen. There aren't many of them,” Schlossnagle said. “There's usually about 15 to 20 in the SEC every year that get 50 at-bats or more and have an impact when they do that. We had Adrian (Rodriguez) last year. When I was at (Texas) A&M, (Gavin) Grahovac and (Caden) Sorrell, those guys were superstar freshmen. Now, Pack is on that list.”

2. JAYDEN DUPLANTIER

Hitting .333 in 18 games (27 at-bats), Duplantier’s nine hits are two shy of tying his single-season career-high of 11, which he set while playing 34 games (43 at-bats) as a freshman in 2023. A reliable option as a pinch-runner and late-inning defensive substitution, Duplantier’s role should continue to grow with Williams on the shelf.

3. ASHTON LARSON

The LSU transfer drew the early-season starting assignments in left field while Williams was working his way back into the lineup.

Larson has skins on the wall in SEC play; he led the Tigers in batting average (.337) during conference play in 2024. Injury issues limited him to 34 games (five starts) during LSU’s national championship-winning season in 2025, but Larson has a role for the Longhorns in an outfield platoon with Duplantier, unless one of them separates and earns more playing time or someone else steps up and joins the mix.

4. MADDOX MONSOUR

The freshman from Carrollton, Ga., is hitting .429 with two home runs and three stolen bases in limited action. Monsour entered Sunday’s win over the Rebels after two base-running mistakes led Schlossnagle to remove Larson from the designated hitter spot, going 1-for-1, stealing a base and scoring a run to help the Longhorns secure the win and the series victory.

There’s no guarantee that Monsour’s positive performance will lead to more opportunities. Still, Schlossnagle is excited about Monsour's potential, which seems high enough to get him into the battle with Duplantier and Larson for playing time.

“I love Maddox,” Schlossnagle said. “Maddox is awesome on the bases. His aggression on the bases and how he runs the bases is incredible. I just want to see the same aggression at the plate. We had a conversation about that last (Saturday) night after his at-bat... You don't have to swing at the first pitch; you just have to be ready to hit. I felt like he was super passive. He's been pretty passive in his at-bats. He has a lot of value: he can play shortstop, he can play all three spots in the outfield, he can really run, but to be a more effective college player, you've got to give us something at the plate.”

That’s what Swain said during a press conference at Dayton’s UD Arena on Monday, one day before the Longhorns and Wolfpack meet for the second time this season. The SEC Newcomer of the Year and a second-team All-SEC selection, Swain’s stock as a potential first-round pick has risen throughout a season in which he currently leads Texas (18-14) in points per game (17.7), rebounds per game (7.5), assists (104), steals (55) and minutes per game (32).

“I'm just focused on finishing the season as good as we can as a team, playing as hard as I can for my seniors and all the guys who won't be able to play anymore and trying to make a deep run for Coach (Sean) Miller in his first year here at Texas and letting the country know how good a coach he is,” Swain said. “That's the main thing, really.”

According to ESPN Research, the 6-foot-8-inch, 225-pound Swain is the only player from a major conference program (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12 and SEC) who currently leads their team in five major statistical categories.

A finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award, Swain is currently projected to go in the first round of the draft in Jeremy Woo’s pre-March Madness mock draft for ESPN.com. While writing that “evaluators are mixed on his upside, but it's the type of chance a team might take in this range,” Woo has the Minnesota Timberwolves selecting Swain with the No. 29 overall pick.

Sources have indicated to OTF that if Swain gets assurances from a team that he’ll be selected in the first round, he’s expected to forgo his final season of eligibility and declare for the draft.

With that said, it's not a forgone conclusion that Swain is gone.

Along with a likely significant NIL deal headed his way if he returns to the Forty Acres for his senior season, Swain, who doesn’t turn 21 until July 15, could significantly improve his draft position by waiting until 2027 to enter a draft that’s currently expected to be less top-heavy while lacking the depth of the 2026 class.

Whether Swain is at Texas or is on an NBA roster for the 2026-27 season, Sean Miller is proud of the growth he’s seen from Swain, who has evolved from a wiry 6-foot-7-inch, 176-pound, 18-year-old freshman at Xavier into a well-rounded forward with a legitimate future in the NBA.

“He's just gotten better. Same coach, same strength coach, structure — I think he's really bought in,” Miller said on Monday. “He listens, he learns. We've had amazing support from his mom and family. They allow us to coach Dailyn, hold him accountable and Dailyn has worked hard to develop his shot, develop his body. I think his ability to pass and handle the ball,  something that he had a good starting point on, he's really taken that to a very high level.

“There aren't too many players that play college basketball that had a better overall season than Dailyn did.”

Nevertheless, the time afforded to the media to take stock of the Texas position groups provides a good snapshot of positional depth across the roster.

One thing I’ve always tried to identify is which position groups have talented depth. Those are position groups that can bring In reserves for starters with minimal decline in ability, potential, or production.

The best recent example is the 2022 running back room on the Forty Acres.

With the Doak Walker Award winner (Bijan Robinson) leading the way, Tashard Choice’s room in his first season coaching the Longhorn running backs included Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Keilan Robinson, Jonathan Brooks and Jaydon Blue. Those players who shared a backfield for one season at Texas were selected in the first, fourth, fifth, second and fifth rounds over three NFL drafts, respectively.

That’s the best-case scenario for a position group aiming to boast talented depth. Right now, I think four position coaches can rightfully claim they’ve got talented depth in their room.

1. DEFENSIVE LINE

Even if Justus Terry doesn’t exclusively fit in with Kenny Baker’s group, the fact that the defensive line can go through drills unaffected by the absences of Terry or James Johnson (both of whom are on the mend) says a lot about the unit’s depth.

It would be hard to find a better four-man group in the country than Ian Geffrard, Alex January, Hero Kanu and Maraad Watson. There’s a chance all four of them could be drafted in 2027, or January and Watson could return for the 2027 season as potential early-round picks in 2028. Regardless, Watson spending time practicing playing closer to the ball is the kind of move that could allow Baker and Will Muschamp to mix and match combinations based on certain situations to ensure the four lead dogs in the pack have enough gas in the tank for the fourth quarter of games and, hopefully, a deep run in the College Football Playoff.

Considering there are four players with realistic NFL futures headlining the group, Baker and the Longhorns can continue to let Myron Charles, Josiah Sharma and Zion Williams develop behind them. Texas also doesn’t need Johnson or Terry to rush back from injury because of the quality and quantity at the point of attack.

This group might not have the ceiling of the 2023 group, which featured four linemen who went in the first three rounds of the 2024 (Byron Murphy went 16th overall and T’Vondre Sweat was the 38th pick) and 2025 (Alfred Collins was picked 43rd overall and Vernon Broughton was selected with the 71st pick) drafts. Thankfully, it doesn’t need to repeat that level of draft success to play a pivotal role in the Longhorns' competing for a national championship.

2. WIDE RECEIVER

Emmett Mosley V and Ryan Wingo weren’t on the field for either media window during the first week of spring practice. Still, they’ve got spots secured within Steve Sarkisian’s circle of trust as two of the four wideouts on the 2025 squad who were targeted more than 40 times (94 targets for Wingo, 49 for DeAndre Moore Jr., 48 for Mosley and 44 for Parker Livingstone, according to Pro Football Focus).

Considering the 31-target difference between Livingstone and the wide receiver with the fifth-most targets last season (Daylan McCutcheon with 13), there are six scholarship wideouts (McCutcheon, Sterling Berkhalter, Jermaine Bishop Jr., Kohen Brown, Kaliq Lockett and Chris Stewart) competing for the last spot in the rotation. And if the buzz Bishop generated last week carries over to padded practices after spring break, that could leave five of Chris Jackson’s scholarship players to duke it out for whatever targets are left over after the top four wide receivers get fed.

The sense of urgency among Jackson’s charges should be sky high. Anything less won’t cut during what must be an insanely competitive spring, with Sarkisian, Jackson and the other offensive coaches doing whatever it takes to maximize what’s expected to be Arch Manning’s final campaign as a Longhorn.

3. EDGE

Brad Spence spending time with the EDGE group and the linebackers in spring practice is a sign that Muschamp wants to put Spence’s natural pass-rushing ability to good use.

Colin Simmons is going to draw enough attention to get pass rushers playing alongside him in favorable matchups and cleaner paths to the quarterback. Spence is one of the players who can take advantage of those situations, but he’s not the only one.

Lance Jackson, Smith Orogbo, Zina Umeozulu and Colton Vasek have flashed playmaking ability throughout their Texas careers. Keep in mind that after Muschamp was hired, the staff avoided losing Umeozulu and Vasek to the transfer portal, showing their value to the program.

Even though six defenders are competing for opportunities to get after the quarterback, Jamarion Carlton and Richard Wesley look the part physically. It isn’t a hot take to think one or both of the true freshmen could log high-leverage snaps by the time the 2026 season is in the books.

4. RUNNING BACK

There was a time last season when Quintrevion Wisner, C.J. Baxter and Christian Clark were dealing with or recovering from injuries. That left Jerrick Gibson and James Simon to pick up the slack.

By the time the Longhorns were preparing to face Michigan in the Citrus Bowl, three of those five runners had entered the transfer portal. Michael Terry III had already moved over from wide receiver for depth purposes by that point.

Wanting to avoid similar pitfalls in 2026, Sarkisian and Jabbar Juluke left nothing to chance in the offseason when rebuilding the running back room.

Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers were two of the best available running backs in the transfer portal. Derrek Cooper was one of the top high school running backs in the 2026 recruiting cycle.

Those three, along with the returns of Simon and Terry, the late-cycle addition of Jett Walker and whatever becomes of Ryan Niblett's role, give the Longhorns seven scholarship backs, a group with a good mix of experience, youth, proven production and high upside. Considering Baxter and Clark were coming off major injuries at this time last year, it’s remarkable how the position has been almost entirely turned over and is better positioned for success, with more margin for error based on the early returns from spring practice.

Regarding the start of spring practice, Sarkisian's role goes beyond that of a coach. Sarkisian is approaching practice periods like a teacher when class is in session, demanding attention to detail, information retention and maximum effort reps from his students.

There’s always been a level of intensity that Sarkisian roams the practice field with that doesn’t always show on game day, when he’s locked in on his call sheet for four quarters. What’s different about Sarkisian from the glimpses we got during the first week of spring practice is a renewed sense of urgency.

Especially when the offense is going through drills without a handful of veteran leaders (during routes on air, for example, Arch Manning, Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley didn’t participate in either open media window this week), Sarkisian directs his troops like a coach who understands the young, inexperienced Longhorns don’t have a ton of examples they can study to see how practice is supposed to run. After leaving more things to chance than he should have coming off a trip to the College Football Playoff semifinals in 2024 while preparing for the 2025 season, Sarkisian is leading by example and setting the proper tone for a program that must be more buttoned up in several areas to get back to the CFP.

As he was giving the media his thoughts on Monday’s practice, Sarkisian could’ve been talking about himself when describing what the players did well.

“You could feel the competitive spirit, and not necessarily always across the ball with each other,” Sarkisian said. "I think competitively internally, that's what great competitors have — that internal fire to want to do it the right way.”

Whether he’s rewriting the wrongs from last season, trying to match the energy Will Muschamp is infusing into the defense or trying to maximize his on-field time with several new faces on the field, Sarkisian looks like he’s motivated to do things in a way that positions Texas to win championships in his sixth season on the Forty Acres.

— One of the top storylines to follow when Texas returns from spring break is seeing if Jermaine Bishop’s impact translates to contact practices.

The true freshman has been the talk of spring practice through the first week and rightfully so.

Bishop has a unique ability to hit another gear when tracking the football and then attack it in the air that words can't accurately describe. He's one of several Longhorns who profile as a potential football unicorn, with his combination of physical traits, body type and playmaking ability that’s hard to compare to other Texas players.

Rasheem Biles, Cam Coleman and Colin Simmons are individually unique. Those three Longhorns have skins on the wall as college football players. It’s up to Sarkisian to come up with ways to get the most out of Bishop.

Thankfully, that’s a big reason why Bishop chose Texas.

A two-way prospect who “has the ability to do either,” Sarkisian said when Bishop signed with the Longhorns in December, the Willis product selected by Dave Campbell's Texas Football as Mr. Texas Football was expected to begin his collegiate career on defense when he committed to Texas. Sarkisian had experience coaching high-level two-way prospects at Washington (John Ross) and USC (Adoree’ Jackson), both of whom went on to become first-round NFL draft picks at wide receiver and cornerback, respectively.

Sarkisian's efforts to weaponize Ross and Jackson gave him a road map he could present to Bishop and his family as to why the Longhorns would be the best fit for his football future. The early returns from spring practice suggest Sarkisian will have to unveil his plan for maximizing Bishop sooner rather than later, if he continues to light it up at practice.

— If there’s one thing we’re not talking about enough through two practices, it’s the quality snaps KJ Lacey is getting with the first-team offense.

Manning should regain the keys to the offense at some point before the spring game on April 18. Until then, Sarkisian, AJ Milwee and Mike Bimonte get to see how Lacey operates with the first unit, which should pay off if he’s called pressed into duty (keep in mind that Texas needed Matthew Caldwell to play critical snaps in two SEC road games, including overtime of the comeback win over Mississippi State).

The most poignant comment Sarkisian made this week might’ve been how one of the unintended consequences to come from Manning’s foot surgery was Lacey getting an opportunity rarely afforded to quarterbacks further down the depth chart than an elite signal-caller like Manning.

“A lot of times, we have to manufacture that throughout spring — put him with the ones, pull Arch out. Now, he's just getting all of this,” Sarkisian said. “I don't know when, how much his number might get called this fall, so there's a lot of banked reps that he's getting right now that I think are invaluable for him.”

“We've got a really talented group of people individually,” Sarkisian said Monday, recalling his message to the Longhorns last Friday. “Now, we need to become a really talented team.”

Texas was talented enough to win 10 games in 2025. Its blemishes, however, led to three losses, which prevented the Longhorns from making a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff.

Whether it was parting ways with four position coaches (including hiring Will Muschamp as defensive coordinator), turning over the roster by attacking the transfer portal more than any time throughout his coaching tenure on the Forty Acres (almost 40 new faces on campus for spring practice between transfers and freshmen who enrolled for the spring semester), or restructuring the offseason schedule (the return of the spring game and the implementation of the program's “Culture Wednesday” team bonding sessions during the spring), Sarkisian tweaked the process Texas will go through ahead of the 2026 season.

It’s a process the Longhorns trust, defensive lineman Hero Kanu said after Wednesday’s practice. Kanu, who has the phrase “Trust The Process” tattooed across his chest, said the mantra must become the team’s identity to maximize its full potential.

“You can have all the talent in the world. If you can't do the little things right, it doesn't matter,” Kanu said. “So, obviously, you've got to trust the process and go in the right direction every day, going up the hill.”

— There are three big changes on defense Kanu has noticed as Muschamp goes about installing his scheme.

Texas will be a more aggressive down-to-down defense. Kanu specifically mentioned the interior defensive line causing more disruption to help the EDGE group get loose more often.

Muschamp’s energy and knowledge of the game, Kanu said, are second to none.

Kanu also mentioned Muschamp’s plans to mix up how often the Longhorns operate out of a three, four or five-man front.

In that regard, the over-the-ball tackles will have a big say in how versatile Muschamp can be. Thankfully, Kanu has been impressed with the strides made by 378-pound Ian Geffrard and 364-pound Zion Williams since arriving from Arkansas and LSU, respectively.

“You don't see a lot of guys at that weight moving this well,” Kanu said. “I'm really proud of them, how far they’ve come.”

— Colin Simmons can’t hunt opposing quarterbacks until the fall. In the meantime, he’s searching for the next source of fuel to keep his fire burning.

Before playing a snap at Texas, Simmons was determined to move his family out of where they previously lived. His mother, Monica McCarley, and his 11-year-old brother, Clayton Roberts, relocated to the Austin area last year.

Simmons, who, along with his mother, founded “Clay’s Color Crew” in 2024 “to support the entire Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) community,” said the move has allowed Clayton, who was diagnosed with autism in 2020, to enroll in “a school that's good for him, that he's getting the right attention and the right treatment."

“With me doing that, it was like, 'OK, what's next?’ Simmons said. “I'm looking for what's next. But while I look for what's next, I'm just going out here and having fun.”

Fun is the key to Simmons' success, as far as he's concerned.

After publicly stating his desire to break Kiki DeAyala’s single-season school sack record (22.5 in 1982) last spring, Simmons started pressing. The weight of self-imposed expectations played a big role in Simmons’ slow start (1.5 sacks through the first five games of the season and 10.5 over the team's last eight games), making him determined not to let the pursuit of individual accolades negatively impact his play.

“Knowing myself, I like to have fun. I like to have a smile on my face,” Simmons said. “The best Colin Simmons is when he has a smile on his face.”

— Even in a deep EDGE room, Lance Jackson was too good to keep off the field as a true freshman.

According to Pro Football Focus, Jackson played 261 snaps in 2025. That was the fourth-highest total among the EDGE group, behind Simmons (615), Ethan Burke (378) and Brad Spence (264).

Jackson, who is up to 272 pounds after Muschamp told him in December that he wanted the Texarkana Pleasant Grove product to bulk up, knew what he needed to do to get ready for college football by following the lead of his brother, former Arkansas defensive lineman Landon Jackson. Landon put in a lot of hard work to become a two-time All-SEC defender and a third-round draft pick by the Buffalo Bills in 2025.

That's the same mindset Lance brought with him to the Forty Acres.

“Ever since I got here in December (2024), he told me what I needed to do to be able to play,” Lance Jackson said. “I learned the playbook fairly fast and then was able to get on the field.”

Even in a rivalry with the history and renewed vitriol that exists between the Razorbacks, blood is thicker than water when it comes to Landon’s continued influence on Lance.

“I feel like now, he doesn't really look at it as much as a rivalry because he just wants what's best for me,” Lance Jackson said. “He wants me to win every game.

"He just wants me to shine.”

— Whether he’s playing cornerback, filling the nickel role in Muschamp’s defense or lining up anywhere else on the field, Graceson Littleton’s expectations for himself when he steps on the field won’t change.

“Dominate in everything I do,” Littleton said. “I want to be the best. I want to excel in everything I do.”

Two of the three secondary coaches from last season’s staff are gone. The one who was retained, Mark Orphey, is someone Littleton trusts to help him reach his ceiling as he begins the process of cross-training at cornerback and nickelback.

“He recruited me out of high school. I loved him,” Littleton said. “He happened to come to Texas. I'm very excited to be able to play under him and then at Star (nickel) as well.”

One spring practice isn’t enough to render a verdict. And when looking at Flood’s first unit that worked at Denius Fields on Monday, 354-pound Jordan Coleman lining up at left tackle (Trevor Goosby was suited up for the team's first spring practice, but he’ll be limited until further notice while recovering from postseason shoulder surgery) is exactly the kind of large human Sarkisian’s organization has tried to get into the fold since he started remaking the roster upon taking the job in 2021.

Still, with Jaydon Chatman (315 pounds), Connor Robertson (317), Brandon Baker (304) and newcomer Melvin Siani (313) rounding out the starters on Monday, the Longhorns aren’t quite as big up front as they’ve previously been under the current regime.

Goosby is listed at 325 pounds on the spring roster, putting the 2026 projected starting offensive line’s average weight on pace to be 314.8 pounds. That’s slightly up from the 312.2-pound average of the season-ending combination in 2025, but 349-pound Nick Brooks and 341-pound Connor Stroh combined to start seven games at left guard during the regular season.

Regardless, the current starting offensive line and last year’s top group weigh significantly less than the 2024 unit (324 pounds). That number was slightly down from the 2023 group, which averaged 324.6 pounds.

After practice, while discussing Baker’s move from tackle to guard and the possibility of the junior adding more mass, Sarkisian didn’t stick to his typical big people talking points.

“Natural weight is important to me,” he said. “I think, sometimes, just trying to get heavy —one of his strengths is his ability to move and play with great balance and body control. That's something that I think will benefit him.

“Mass is helpful, but we just want to make sure it's the right type of mass as his weight goes up.”

An answer to a press conference question doesn’t confirm that Sarkisian and Flood want a slimmer offensive line with improved movement skills. Nevertheless, the Longhorns coming off of the program’s worst season running the football since 2014 (137.8 yards per game ranked 90th in FBS, while an average of 4.19 yards per attempt ranked 84th nationally) and allowing Arch Manning to be pressured on an SEC-leading 165 dropbacks (according to Pro Football Focus) should require going back to the drawing board.

If the leaks in the dam last season weren’t enough to force Sarkisian and Flood to adjust course, DJ Campbell’s career arc might be the best example that bigger doesn’t always mean better.

Campbell played his best football as a Longhorn in 2025, a season in which he weighed 321 pounds. He was a first-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press and a third-team pick by the league’s coaches while recording career-high single-season PFF grades with a 70.9 overall and 73.6 as a run blocker, with a pass-blocking grade of 77.6. After getting up to 343 pounds in 2023 and playing the 2024 season at 330 pounds, Campbell trimmed down to 313 pounds for the NFL Scouting Combine, where he ran a 5.01 40-yard dash, potentially improving his draft position.

It wouldn’t do the staff any good to spend time thinking about what a leaner, more agile Campbell would’ve done on the Forty Acres. But with four of the seven offensive linemen who weighed 325-plus pounds last season hitting the transfer portal, and only one such player entering the program (344-pound Dylan Sikorski), a case can be made that the belt is literally tightening in the offensive line room.

And it might not be a bad thing.

Pope and Tramon Mark went a combined 8-for-8 at the foul line over the last 27.9 seconds of regulation to send the game to overtime. Unfortunately, Texas (18-13, 9-9 SEC) shot 3-for-8 from the field in overtime, and the Sooners hit enough big shots down the stretch to get a win inside Moody Center on senior night.

The Longhorns won nine of the 10 previous meetings against Oklahoma (17-14, 7-11). Aside from dropping a game to the Sooners that could've been its 10th SEC win, Texas heads into the conference tournament likely back on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Here's how the Longhorns ended the regular season with a disappointing loss:

FIRST HALF

Oklahoma 8, Texas 5 (15:55)

— A 1-for-4 start to the game by the Longhorns and the Sooners, knocking down three of their first six shots, had the visitors on top at the under-16 media timeout.

Oklahoma doubled Matas Vokietaitis every time he touched the ball, except for the last time, when Kirill Elatontsev fouled Vokietaitis hard from behind. On one of those double teams, Vokietaitis kicked the ball to Jordan Pope for a 3-pointer in front of the Sooner bench.

Sean Miller put Chendall Weaver in the starting lineup on senior night. When play resumed coming out of the timeout, however, Cam Heide entered the game, putting the usual starting five on the floor for the Longhorns.

Oklahoma 17, Texas 11 (11:40)

— By the 15:06 mark of the half, the Longhorns had almost as many turnovers (three) as attempted field goals (five). The Sooners enjoyed a 6-0 run until Vokietaitis snapped it with a trip to the foul line, knocking down two free throws with 13:57 to go in the half to make it a three-point game, 10-7.

Amid a 2-for-8 start from the field, Texas went 5:18 between field goals, when Vokietaitis spun toward the baseline for a dunk to end the drought.

Both clubs headed to the bench for the under-12 media timeout with six team fouls. Free-throw shooting played a big role in the game early on, with Oklahoma (7-for-9) and the Longhorns (6-for-6) converting at the foul line at a high clip.

Oklahoma 24, Texas 20 (7:51)

— Pope and Vokietaitis combined for the Longhorns’ four field goals entering the under-8 media timeout. It wasn’t until coming out of the stoppage that a steal and layup by Swain, when a Texas player other than Pope or Voketaitis made a bucket.

There were 15 combined fouls between the two teams by the 10:05 mark, putting Texas and the Sooners in the bonus. A tightly officiated, physical game made it hard for either team to get into a flow offensively, with high-percentage shots few and far between.

Texas 30, Oklahoma 30 (4:19)

— A 10-0 highlighted by two Vokietaitis three-point plays was the offensive surge the Longhorns needed to get back into the game.

Porter Moser called a timeout to talk things over with his club after a 3-pointer by Swain tied the game. By that point, Texas had recovered from a horrific start to the game offensively, making four of eight shots entering the stoppage.

Swain’s 3-pointer ignited a 7-0 run by the Longhorns, highlighted by Swain’s alley-oop to Weaver, who threw down a thunderous one-handed jam, which sent the home crowd into a frenzy. Pope’s fourth 3-pointer of the half at the 2:33 mark put Texas up by six, the largest lead of the half for the Longhorns.

The Sooners ended the half in a 2-for-10 shooting slump, going the last 5:27 of the half without a field goal en route to a 34.6-percent performance from the field (9-for-26, including 1-for-6 from beyond the arc). After a 3-for-12 start to the game, the Longhorns hit seven of their last 15 shots and headed into halftime after a 37-percent (10-for-27, including 5-for-14 on 3-pointers) effort from the floor.

With 25 combined fouls, Texas (15-for-16 from the foul line) and Oklahoma (17-for-20 on free throws) did enough damage at the charity stripe to salvage an otherwise clunky first half offensively for both sides.

HALFTIME: Texas 40, Oklahoma 36

— Pope (16 points on 4-for-13 shooting, including 4-for-9 from 3-point range) led three Longhorns in double figures at the half. Swain (10 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals) and Vokietaitis (10 points) also reached double figures in the first half.

SECOND HALF

Oklahoma 45, Texas 43 (17:35)

— A 6-0 run by the Sooners forced Miller to use a timeout less than three minutes into the second half. Oklahoma’s 4-for-4 start from the field erased its four-point halftime deficit, accounting for yet another forgettable first four minutes of the second half for the Longhorns.

More often than not, Miller has been critical of what his club has done coming out of the locker room.

With that said, Texas executed a well-designed play coming out of the timeout, with Pope finding Swain cutting to the basket for a bucket, giving the Longhorns 12 points in the paint. Swain’s third field goal of the game tied the game at 45.

Oklahoma 47, Texas 45 (15:49)

— A turnover by Pope led to a bucket by Tae Davis, putting the Sooners back on top entering the under-16 media timeout. Davis’ basket accounted for two of Oklahoma’s nine points off seven turnovers by the Longhorns.

The Sooners owned a 22-20 edge on the glass, including five offensive rebounds that led to six second-chance points.

Just like the previous second-half stoppage, however, a drive to the hoop by Swain for two tied the game. Swain’s 14 points came on a 4-for-5 effort from the field (1-for-2 on 3-pointers and 5-for-6 on free throws).

Oklahoma 48, Texas 47 (14:52)

— Vokietaitis checked out of the game after picking up his third foul. He and Heide were on the bench with three fouls.

Texas 51, Oklahoma 51 (11:39)

— Heide redeemed himself for a missed 3-pointer, taking a pass from Swain on the left side of the floor and driving in for a scoop shot to tie the game at 51. Elatontsev’s fourth foul (this one for grabbing Vokietaitis to try and deny him an entry pass) triggered the under-12 media timeout, which the Sooners entered while in the midst of a 2:15 scoring drought.

Oklahoma 63, Texas 57 (7:53)

— The Sooners outscored the Longhorns 9-2 after Swain converted two free throws to tie the game at 55, taking a six-point lead into the under-8 media timeout. Oklahoma made its last three shots and four of its last five attempts ahead of the stoppage.

A 3-pointer by Nijel Pack at the 8:26 mark gave the veteran guard 11 points in the second half.

Oklahoma 69, Texas 57 (6:50)

— Three turnovers in a span of 1:58 by the Longhorns aided a 14-2 run by the Sooners. Two Texas turnovers led directly to Oklahoma 3-pointers, one by Pack and one by Xzayvier Brown in front his bench, to give the Sooners a 12-point lead, their largest of the game.

Oklahoma 69, Texas 62 (4:59)

— A bucket by Vokietaitis ended a 9-0 run by the Sooners and Mark’s first 3-pointer of the game cut the Longhorns’ deficit to five. After Dayton Forsythe missed a jumper, Swain’s lob to Codie for an alley-oop at the other end of the floor made it a 7-0 run by Texas.

The run ended with Brown’s drive to the bucket for two, but Pope’s 3-pointer with the shot clock winding down when play resumed made it a four-point game with 3:23 remaining in regulation.

Oklahoma 71, Texas 69 (1:56)

— After Pack missed the front end of a one-and-one trip to the foul line, Mark’s pull-up jumper from the foul line cut the Sooners’ lead to two. Moser called a timeout to set something up for a critical possession with the Longhorns threatening to take the lead.

Oklahoma 75, Texas 69 (27.9 seconds)

— A baseline drive by Davis coming out of the timeout made it a four-point game. After Pope missed a desperation 3-pointer from the corner, Mohamed Wague’s two-handed finish on an alley-oop extended the Sooners’ lead to six points with 38.3 seconds left in regulation.

Mark headed to the foul line to try and give the Longhorns a chance in the closing seconds.

Oklahoma 75, Texas 74 (15.6 seconds)

— Five free throws by Mark and a turnover by the Sooners helped get the Longhorns within a point of tying the game.

Oklahoma 77, Texas 74 (3.6 seconds)

— Davis made two foul shots with 14.3 seconds to go, but Pope was fouled on a 3-point attempt at the other end. A video review upheld the 3-point attempt, sending Pope to the line for three shots to try and tie the game.

END OF REGULATION: Texas 77, Oklahoma 77

— Even with Moser calling a timeout between Pope’s second and third attempts, the senior guard made his foul shots to tie the game. Brown’s heave from just beyond the half-court stripe missed everything, which sent the game to overtime.

The Longhorns headed to overtime with Mark, Vokietaitis and Heide in foul trouble with four each.

OVERTIME

Texas 82, Oklahoma 81 (1:16)

— Mark missed two free throws that would’ve tied the game at 81. Thankfully, Davis threw the ball out of bounds trying to kick it out to Pack at the other end, giving the Longhorns a chance to tie or take the lead.

Swain rebounded a missed 3-pointer and found Pope open on the wing for the go-ahead triple.

Oklahoma 86, Texas 82 (1:04)

— Wague’s tip-in of a missed 3-pointer by Pack gave the Sooners a lead they didn’t relinquish.

Derrion Reid’s 3-pointer in the last 12 seconds of overtime was the dagger. Two free throws by Pack made it a 7-0 run by Oklahoma after Pope’s 3-pointer, handing the Longhorns a gut-wrenching loss heading into the SEC Tournament.

FINAL (OT): Oklahoma 88, Texas 85

That bodes well for Colin Simmons, who is back for what figures to be his last season in burnt orange in 2026. Muschamp’s return to the Longhorns has him inheriting arguably the best pass rusher in college football, with Simmons coming off a 12-sack season as a sophomore.

Simmons’ 2025 sack total is tied with Tony Degrate (1984), Kiki DeAyala (1981) and Steve McMichael (1977) for the eighth-best single-season sack performance in school history. Entering his junior season with 21 career sacks, Simmons’ first sack in 2026 will tie him with five legendary Texas defenders (Alex Okafor, Brian Orakpo, Cory Redding, Shane Dronett and James Patton) for 12th on the school’s all-time sack charts.

Simmons, who has racked up 29.5 tackles for loss in 29 games, can become the third Longhorn to record at least 30 career sacks, an exclusive club of which only DeAyala (40.5 sacks), Tim Campbell (39.5) and Degrate (31) are members (the program began tracking sacks as an official statistic in 1975). Even though Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense finished the 2025 season ranked third nationally in sacks per game (3.15, with 41 sacks in 13 games), Muschamp has historically fielded aggressive defenses, including his three Longhorn units.

The 2008 defense, spearheaded by Orakpo’s 11.5 sacks, led FBS with 47 sacks in 13 games. Muschamp’s three defenses recorded 124 total sacks in three seasons (3.18 sacks per game), including 46 in 2009, when Texas won the Big 12 and reached the BCS national title game.

As good as Simmons has been, Steve Sarkisian believes Muschamp can get more out of the Duncanville product. Muschamp has “had a lot of success with a lot of players that look like Colin, play like Colin” throughout his coaching career, Sarkisian said during his most recent press conference on Feb. 23.

The staff should always “try to put our best players in a position to have success because they're game-changing-type players,” he added, noting that Simmons, whose 53 total pressures in 2025 were the most recorded by a Longhorn defender in a single season since Pro Football Focus began tabulating season statistics in 2014, “is that type of player.”

“I think Colin has really embraced the new defense. He's working at it,” Sarkisian said. “I think there's a really good rapport with Coach Muschamp and Colin right now."

Will Muschamp’s All-American Texas Pass Rushers (2008-10)

— Brian Orakpo, 2008

A unanimous All-American who was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, Orakpo won the Nagurski Trophy (most outstanding defensive player in college football), the Lombardi Award (nation’s top lineman) and the Hendricks Award (college football’s top defensive end).

Along with his 11.5 sacks (tied for 11th on the school’s single-season list), Orapko recorded 42 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 30 quarterback pressures and four forced fumbles. A monster performance in a 45-35 win over No. 1 Oklahoma (four tackles for loss, two sacks, two quarterback pressures and a forced fumble) put Orakpo on the map as an NFL prospect, eventually leading to Washington taking him with the 13th overall pick in the 2009 draft.

— Sergio Kindle, 2009

Under Muschamp, Kindle became the first player in college football history to be named a finalist for the Hendricks Award and the Butkus Award, which goes annually to the top linebacker in college football.

Named a first-team All-American by The Sporting News, Kindle posted 70 tackles, 5.5 sacks, 22 tackles for loss (tied for fifth all-time in a season at Texas), 36 quarterback pressures (tied for the ninth-most in a season by a Longhorn), four pass breakups and two forced fumbles. The highlight of Kindle’s senior season might’ve come in the team’s BCS championship game loss to Alabama, when he recorded six tackles and 2.5 sacks.

— Sam Acho, 2010

After leading the 2009 defense with 10 sacks, Acho won the Campbell Trophy and the Wuerffel Trophy, which recognize a combination of a player’s on-field play, leadership, academic prowess and community service.

Even though the Longhorns finished 5-7, Acho (59 tackles, 17 TFL, 9 sacks, 18 pressures and five forced fumbles) performed well enough to be named a unanimous first-team All-Big 12 selection and a second-team All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Acho’s five fumble recoveries led FBS in 2010 and remain tied for the single-season school record.

Based on what Muschamp did for the careers of the three All-Americans he coached on the Forty Acres, along with how he helped other Longhorn defenders carve out a path to the NFL (Emmanuel Acho, Henry Melton, Keenan Robinson, Earl Thomas and Aaron Williams among them), there’s another level where Simmons can take his game before he takes his talents to the next level.

“We'd be remiss if Colin isn't an impactful player for us next fall,” Sarkisian said. “He's going to have plenty of opportunities to do what he does really well.

You can step up and solidify your place on the depth chart or you run the risk of a younger player surpassing you to claim your spot. While there have been instances where guys like John Harris and Tope Imade come out of nowhere as seniors and depart the Forty Acres with a bang, they’re the exception to the rule.

A player’s true junior or redshirt sophomore season has been, for all intents and purposes, a contract year.

That’s literally the reality for the members of the 2024 recruiting class who remain in the program in 2026.

Third-year college football players are now more like NFL rookies. Programs must decide whether to exercise their option to bring the player back for another season (likely, at a higher dollar figure than what the player previously earned) or be OK with them testing the waters to see what they can get on the open market.

How things played out for the 2023 high school signees during the winter transfer portal window should give the crop of third-year Longhorns a road map for how things might play out.

Anthony Hill Jr. and Malik Muhammad had good enough junior seasons to follow through with their expected departures for the 2026 NFL Draft. Arch Manning was always coming back, barring something unforeseen, and Trevor Goosby flirted with beginning his NFL career after one season as a starter. Still, both will be back as redshirt juniors, positioned to be high picks in the 2027 draft.

Although Jelani McDonald, Derek Williams Jr. and Ryan Niblett are among those who chose to return to Texas, CJ Baxter (Kentucky), Liona Lefau (Colorado), DeAndre Moore Jr. (Colorado) and Quintrevion Wisner (Florida State) decided to finish their college careers elsewhere. With NIL and revenue sharing a part of roster construction that's out in the open for public consumption, Steve Sarkisian admitted during his pre-spring practice conference on Feb. 23 that it’s a two-way street when it comes to the tough decisions that must be made in the portal window.

“I'd love for them all to stay, and I'd love for them all to finish what they started here with us, but contrary to, maybe, popular belief, our money isn't endless here either,” Sarkisian said. “We have to make real decisions — where we're trying to spend the money on the players that we have to try to put together a championship roster, but yet not lose sight of how powerful our culture is. Those are difficult decisions to make.”

There’s no right or wrong way to group the 2024 signees when trying to figure out where they stand heading into a fork-in-the-road season regarding their football careers. So, I broke them down into four categories:

NFL Bound — Barring something unexpected happening, a sure-fire NFL draft pick in 2027

— Colin Simmons

It’s pretty simple: If the All-American edge defender stays healthy and the combination of Will Muschamp and LaAllan Clark gets the most out of him that they can, Simmons should be one of the first players off the board in the 2027 draft.

Proven Commodity — Established, starting-caliber player with more to prove before the NFL becomes a realistic option

— Brandon Baker

— Ryan Wingo

The goal for Baker and Wingo should be to position themselves as McDonald did after the 2025 season, where he had a legitimate stay-or-go decision to make. Baker and Wingo could come back in 2027 and be featured in more prominent roles. Or they could decide to strike while the iron is hot, if in fact it heats up. But those scenarios aren’t sure things for either of them right now.

Bonafide Contributor — NFL future aside, this group is made of pieces who’d be hard to replace if something happened to them

— Alex January

— Ty’Anthony Smith

January will once again be a key part of a deep, talented interior defensive line rotation that figures to pack more of a punch than the 2025 group if Maraad Watson is healthy and Ian Geffrard allows Muschamp to bounce between playing even and odd fronts.  With Smith, his immediate future will be determined by his ability to keep making splash plays while playing more consistent, down-to-down football in a new scheme.

Now or Never — If you haven’t solidified your role yet, it’s time to make your move

— Kobe Black

— Xavier Filsaime

— Jordon Johnson-Rubell

— Wardell Mack

— Zina Umeozulu

This group has a few guys (namely Black, Filsaime and Umeozulu) who could become significant contributors in 2026 and foundational pieces in 2027. Volatility exists, though, meaning they could get passed up by incoming transfers or younger players on the roster if they fail to convince the coaches to give them more snaps.

While logging 840 snaps (per Pro Football Focus) and serving as arguably the identity of the Texas offense, Manning accounted for just seven turnovers, all of which were interceptions. With that said, five of those interceptions came in the team’s first five games (one each against Ohio State, San Jose State and UTEP and two against Florida).

In the team’s four wins over opponents that ended the season ranked in the Associated Press Top 25 (No. 8 Texas A&M, No. 13 Oklahoma, No. 15 Vanderbilt and No. 21 Michigan), Manning accounted for 10 touchdowns (seven passing and three rushing) and no turnovers.

To better frame what Manning accomplished, it's worth noting that the year-over-year improvement in ball security from the quarterback position was staggering.

After Quinn Ewers accounted for 17 turnovers (12 interceptions and five missed fumbles) in 14 games in 2024 (an average of 1.2 turnovers per game and a turnover every 53 snaps played), Manning’s turnover averages per game (0.54) and per snaps played (one every 120 snaps). With Manning keeping the football away from opponents in the second half of the season, the Longhorns committed the fifth-fewest turnovers in FBS (nine total) in 2025 while tying for fifth nationally in turnover margin (plus-14 overall and 1.08 per game).

Manning became the first Longhorn quarterback since Sam Ehlinger in 2020 to lead the position in snaps played while going through an entire season without losing a fumble. However, Manning, who recovered his own fumble against San Jose State and got an assist from Quintrevion Wisner, who recovered a Manning fumble in the Georgia game, played 155 more snaps than Ehlinger did in a season shortened to 10 games (including the Alamo Bowl against Colorado, of which Ehlinger didn’t play in the second half) by the pandemic.

Furthermore, Manning (2025), Ehlinger (2019 and 2020) and Shane Buechele (2017) are the only three Texas quarterbacks in the PFF era (since 2014) to log at least 500 snaps at quarterback without losing a fumble. Among the quarterbacks who've played at least 500 snaps in a season for the Longhorns over the last 12 seasons, only Ehlinger and Buechele had seasons with fewer turnovers accounted for than Manning’s seven giveaways in his first full season as the program’s starter.

Turnovers by Texas QBs since 2014 (minimum 500 snaps, per PFF)

Shane Buechele (2017) — 4 (all interceptions)

Sam Ehlinger (2020) — 5 (all interceptions)

Sam Ehlinger (2018) — 6 (five interceptions and one lost fumble)

Arch Manning (2025) — 7 (all interceptions)

Quinn Ewers (2023) — 7 (six interceptions and one lost fumble)

Quinn Ewers (2022) — 7 (six interceptions and one lost fumble)

Jerrod Heard (2015) — 7 (five interceptions and two lost fumbles)

Sam Ehlinger (2017) — 9 (seven interceptions and five lost fumbles)

Casey Thompson (2021) — 10 (nine interceptions and one lost fumble)

Sam Ehlinger (2019) — 10 (all interceptions)

Shane Buechele (2016) — 12 (11 interceptions and one lost fumble)

Tyrone Swoopes (2014) — 14 (11 interceptions and three lost fumbles)

Quinn Ewers (2024) — 17 (12 interceptions and five lost fumbles)

Of those 13 seasons, Manning’s 0.54 turnovers per game rank fourth behind Ehlinger in 2018 (0.43), Buechele in 2017 (0.44) and Ehlinger in 2020 (0.50). Ehlinger’s 2018 and 2020 seasons are the only two of the 13 in which a Texas quarterback had a better turnover-to-snap ratio than Manning’s 120-to-1 ratio (Ehlinger averaged one turnover every 163.2 snaps in 2018 and one turnover every 137 snaps in 2020).

How Manning protected the football is even more impressive when considering that he was one of the most pressured quarterbacks in the country.

No SEC quarterback felt heat from opposing defenses more than Manning in 2025, with foes pressuring him a league-high 165 times. All told, Manning was pressured on 35.6 percent of his dropbacks, which ranked sixth among SEC quarterbacks who were pressured on at least 15 dropbacks last season.

Along with displaying top-notch ball security, Manning’s 13.3-percent pressure-to-sack rate tied him with Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia for the sixth-best percentage in the SEC. Texas A&M’s Marcel Reed (11.5 percent) and Trinidad Chambliss of Ole Miss (12.6) were the only SEC quarterbacks with better pressure-to-sack rates on 200 or more dropbacks.

Manning’s scrambling ability makes the conditions ripe for him to keep his turnovers down in 2026. He established himself as one of the top scrambling quarterbacks in the country last season, ranking 14th in FBS with 349 scramble yards.

When you combine Manning's gradually improved decision-making throughout the season with his elite scrambling ability and the instincts to prevent pressure from turning into sacks, he has a chance to continue being one of the best quarterbacks in the country at taking care of the football.