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What's next for Texas at wide receiver and linebacker?

By Jeff Howe

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The vigor with which Texas addresses the wide receiver position in the transfer portal likely depends on the answer to one question.

How much faith does Steve Sarkisian have in Ryan Wingo emerging as a bona fide No. 1 option for Arch Manning?

Leading the Longhorns in receptions (50), receiving yards (770) and touchdown receptions (seven) en route to second-team All-SEC recognition from the league’s coaches constitutes a successful sophomore campaign through 12 games. Still, finishing the regular season with the second-most dropped passes among SEC wide receivers (Wingo’s seven are currently two behind Alabama’s Ryan Williams for the league high), which contributed to Manning suffering from 21 dropped passes, fourth-most among SEC quarterbacks and tied for 21st in FBS, according to Pro Football Focus.

With his 50 catches coming on 87 targets (a 57.5 percent catch rate, according to PFF), Wingo’s 2025 season mirrors what Xavier Worthy went through in 2022.

Worthy’s sophomore season saw him lead Texas with 59 receptions (on 113 targets for a catch rate of 52.2 percent), yards (757) and touchdowns (eight) and drops (seven). The 2024 first-round pick turned things around with an All-American season in 2023, with his 75 receptions for 1,014 yards and five touchdowns (two fewer dropped passes on six more targets from the previous season) helped the Longhorns win the Big 12 and reach the College Football Playoff.

Will Wingo make the same kind of leap in his first draft-eligible season?

— DeAndre Moore Jr.’s decision to jump to the NFL leaves a void in the slot (a team-high 216 snaps according to PFF) and opens a role as Manning’s go-to target in the intermediate passing game. According to PFF, Moore leads the Texas offense in receptions (14) and yards gained (229) when targeted from 10 to 19 yards down the field, accounting for 36.8 percent of the receptions (38) and 43 percent of the yards (522) he tallied in his final season with the Longhorns.

In the intermediate game, Emmett Mosley V’s PFF season grade of 94.9 is higher than Moore’s (94). Mosley is a safe bet to rack up more than the 11 targets he got on intermediate throws.

As for the workload in the slot, Sarkisian has to decide whether a portal acquisition would be an upgrade over a potential tandem of Daylan McCutcheon and Jermaine Bishop Jr. While Sarkisian can’t leave anything to chance in what’s expected to be Manning’s last season behind center, losing Trevor Goosby, Hero Kanu, Jelani McDonald or Quintrevion Wisner to the NFL could force Texas to use its available resources to shore up position groups with greater, more pressing needs.

— With Liona Lefau leaving the program ahead of entering the transfer portal on Jan. 2, Ty’Anthony Smith is at the top of the list of the Longhorns who stand to gain the most leading up to and coming out of the Citrus Bowl against Michigan on New Year’s Eve.

Smith ended the regular season with 364 snaps logged, according to PFF, recording the fifth-best season-long grade against the run (78.9, with PFF considering a grade of 70 to be above average) of any Longhorn defender.

The Jasper product leads the team in forced fumbles (three) and missed tackles (12), showing how often he finds himself around the football. The latter should get better with experience, but the same must be true of Smith’s coverage ability for him to take the next step as a player.

According to PFF, no Texas linebacker has been targeted this season more than Smith (33). Only Graceson Littleton and Jaylon Guilbeau have allowed more completions among Longhorn defensive players than Smith (26), who has allowed 244 yards (fourth-most on the team behind Guilbeau, Littleton and Lefau) and an NFL passer rating of 107.6 when targeted.

With offensive play-callers looking to exploit the second level of the opposing defense when hunting favorable matchups, all linebackers are a liability in coverage in some way, shape or form. Nevertheless, Smith has the tools to be better in coverage than the numbers have shown this season.

    • Hook 'Em 18

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    Lifetime Longhorn

    Bunk Moreland

    Supporters
    2 hours ago, Jeff Howe said:

    Whether it's a running back or a wide receiver, I'd love to see Texas add one of those types of guys in the portal.

    A Jaydon Blue or Keilan Robinson type.

    IMO they need both. Having a Blue AND a Bond on the field at the same time is what could make this offense truly scary.

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    • All-Conference

    Hornmatic

    Supporters
    17 minutes ago, jdhdavis said:

    My observation is that its 2 issues and not just drops.  The other is he has a very thin resume at making truly contested catches where there is contact but excluding PI (or even "missed PI).  Once there is legal contact, he seems to be out of the play more often than not. 

    This is my critique. He gives up on balls whenever he gets breathed on. Never fights through contact to make the catch or draw the PI call that refs are usually all too willing to call if you make a (strong) effort. 

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    • Sophomore

    A-10HORN

    Supporters
    2 hours ago, krzy4ut said:

    Wingo has speed,  not sure how elusive, agile he really is.  

    The answer is he’s not very agile. He’s gonna be a fast big body type of guy. If you are that guy you have to be able to catch the ball well and win 50/50 balls 

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    • Sophomore

    MikeH

    Supporters

    Even if they think Wingo can make the leap, they still need to have the mindset of "needing" two WR1s. We've been at our best when we've had Worthy AND Mitchell and then Bond AND Golden. I think you could even make the case that Bond falling off the face of the earth for whatever reason late last season could have been the difference between what we got and a natty. And when Sark had his best offenses of his career at Alabama, we all know the insane amount of WR talent those teams had together.

    We need Wingo AND _________, especially if Endries doesn't return. I really like Mosley a lot, but I'm not sure he's got future first round WR type talent and that's ultimately what we need in 2026.

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    • Lifetime Longhorn

    AusMOJO

    Members

    I think if all the WR's have a good off-season with Arch, that should help. I also think if you can grab a proven guy in the portal who isn't a top tier guy like Coleman, for a good price, that would also help. 

    It's more of a luxury than a need, imo. But we need a playmaker somewhere on O, Wingo was it sometimes but nowhere else really. Perhaps Bishop makes massive strides early on and gets playing time? Maybe one of the current Fr step up and contribute, who knows.

    LB is a whole other thing. With Lefau now gone, that leaves us in a bad spot, imo. Need to hit on the portal, unless they've been backdooring some guys. 

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    • First Round Pick

    Austalgia

    Supporters
    5 hours ago, Texas fan in Georgia said:

    Duvernays 2019 season was special. 

    Didn’t he have an insanely low drop rate?  I almost want to say he didn’t drop a pass.  

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    • Lifetime Longhorn

    alrightalrightalright

    Supporters

    Wingo and Worthy’s sophomore year numbers are wildly similar. Here’s to Wingo making the jump 

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    • First Round Pick

    drag worm

    Supporters

    It’s a gamble to considering him doing something he hasn’t shown yet. Go rewatch the Georgia game from this year and tell me why 10 months later he’s going to be the difference maker that Texas is missing at WR. He played way too timid and went down way too easy in that game. I love Wingo but think he’d play a much better role as more of a second option outlet in the passing game. Less pressure on him and he wouldn’t get everyone’s top DB matchups. 

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    • Lifetime Longhorn

    AusMOJO

    Members
    Just now, drag worm said:

    It’s a gamble to considering him doing something he hasn’t shown yet. Go rewatch the Georgia game from this year and tell me why 10 months later he’s going to be the difference maker that Texas is missing at WR. He played way too timid and went down way too easy in that game. I love Wingo but think he’d play a much better role as more of a second option outlet in the passing game. Less pressure on him and he wouldn’t get everyone’s top DB matchups. 

    The key for Jackson is to get him to actually play like a WR and not an athlete who plays WR. The talent is there, just needs to be pushed in the right direction. The light switch moment, if you will.

    Whether that happens is up to Wingo, of course. Whatever happens though, they need a playmaker on O to help Arch out. 

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    • Junior

    Lock n Horns

    Supporters
    54 minutes ago, alrightalrightalright said:

    Wingo and Worthy’s sophomore year numbers are wildly similar. Here’s to Wingo making the jump 

    Didn’t Worthy have a broken hand his Soph year which made his prod look worse?  I may be “misremembering” this

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