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  • Texas Longhorns News

    A place for any Longhorn Fan to get the latest news from the On Texas Football team.
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    Bobby Burton
    Season and individual tickets to Texas football home games are now completely sold out. That’s amazing.
    Here’s the first part of the official university release:
    “Excitement surrounding the 2026 Texas Football season continues to build in anticipation of the Longhorns’ home opener on September 5. Season tickets and individual game tickets for all home games at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium are officially sold out through Texas Athletics.
    The sellout continues the incredible momentum surrounding the program under Head Coach Steve Sarkisian and marks the fifth consecutive season that Texas fans have sold out DKR well before the opening kickoff of the season. While tickets available to the general public are sold out, returning and incoming UT students can still purchase the Big Ticket with Football student ticket package, providing access to 100+ Texas Athletics regular season home events during the 2026-27 season. Student tickets for football home games must be claimed during each game’s mobile ticket claim process.”
    Blake Munroe
    After combining ten individual Top 25 ballots from the On Texas Football staff into one composite ranking, we now have our Top 25 Players of the Modern Era list. Each ballot was scored on a 25-to-1 points system, with 25 points awarded for a first-place vote, 24 for second place and so on.
    At the top, two of the most iconic players in Texas football history separated themselves from the rest of the field.
    Vince Young finished No. 1 overall, narrowly edging Ricky Williams for the top spot. Young totaled 247 points across the 10 ballots, while Williams finished just four points behind with 243.
    Young received seven first-place votes, while Williams received the other three. Every voter ranked both players either first or second.
    Behind them, Colt McCoy came in at No. 3 with 227 points, followed closely by Derrick Johnson at No. 4 with 223.
    The top four created a clear consensus among the OTF staff, but the rankings became much tighter from there.
    Cedric Benson rounded out the top five, followed by Bijan Robinson, Casey Hampton, Michael Huff, Kelvin Banks Jr. and Brian Orakpo.
    Banks, Orakpo and Earl Thomas were separated by just one point, with Banks finishing ninth at 160 points and Orakpo and Thomas tying at 159. Orakpo earned the No. 10 spot through the composite tiebreaker (using the highest individual placement on any ballot).
    The list features players spanning more than three decades of Texas football, from stars of the early 1990s to members of the Longhorns' recent College Football Playoff teams.
    It also highlights just how difficult it is to compare players across positions and eras.
    Quarterbacks and running backs dominate the very top of the ranking, but the Top 25 also includes elite linebackers, defensive backs, offensive linemen and defensive linemen who helped define their respective eras.
    Still, the biggest debate may be the one at the very top.
    Williams owns one of the greatest individual résumés in college football history, including the 1998 Heisman Trophy, while Young delivered perhaps the most iconic season and championship performance Texas football has ever seen.
    When the votes were totaled, Young had just enough support to claim the title of On Texas Football's No. 1 Longhorn.

    Jeff Howe
    AUSTIN, Texas — Those wondering how Arch Manning’s first day of Texas camp went didn’t have to wait long to find out.
    “I thought Arch had a good day,” Steve Sarkisian said after the Longhorns wrapped up Wednesday’s practice. Five minutes into his post-practice press conference, Sarkisian was asked which Longhorns, in his opinion, stood out in the team’s first official practice, held at Denius Fields with 31 days to go until the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State.
    Manning’s name was the first out of Sarkisian’s mouth.
    “I've seen a lot of rough quarterback days (on the) first day of practice,” Sarkisian said. “The defenses have seen all of these same plays, I feel like, all summer long. I thought he looked good.”
    If Manning can be efficient, successfully build a rapport with the revamped Texas wide receiver and offensive line groups (making up for time he missed while recovering from foot surgery in the spring), continue to protect the football and find ways to create explosive plays, it’ll be a successful camp for the redshirt junior. While checking the boxes next to those items on the to-do list, Manning needs to make strides to elevate his game and the offense as a whole is making his layups, as Sarkisian calls them.
    According to Pro Football Focus, Manning was one of the least effective quarterbacks in the SEC when throwing the ball up to nine yards down the field. Of the 20 SEC quarterbacks who attempted at least 30 passes from a depth of 0-9 yards last season, Manning ranked last in yards per pass attempt (5.3), posted the fourth-worst completion percentage (69.2) and threw for the fifth-fewest yards (624).
    The Longhorns’ improvement in the short passing game isn’t squarely on Manning’s shoulders. Only 28.7 percent of Manning’s pass attempts last season came within the area of the field that PFF defines as a short pass (Georgia’s Gunner Stockton was the only SEC quarterback with a lower percentage on at least 30 attempts). Still, Manning’s 10 percent drop percentage (nine drops on short pass attempts) was the fifth-highest in the SEC; Manning threw just one interception and was charged with only two turnover-worthy plays on short passes.
    Among 17 SEC quarterbacks who attempted at least 30 passes behind the line of scrimmage in 2025, Manning’s PFF passing grade (72.6) was the fifth-best in the conference. That’s also where Manning's grade on intermediate throws (10-19 yards down the field) was, with an 89.5 putting him just outside the top quarter of SEC quarterbacks.
    One of the top Power Four quarterbacks last season on deep throws (a PFF grade of 91.5 on attempts of 20 yards or more down the field was the fourth-best in the SEC among the 14 quarterbacks who threw at least 30 deep balls), the short game is the passing depth where Manning noticeably struggled to find his footing last season. To that end, Sarkisian would be surprised if that part of Manning’s game isn’t markedly better in 2026.
    “I think that he's put in a lot of work and I've seen the progress that's been made by him, and that's a credit to him and the time and effort he's put into this thing,” Sarkisian said. “My goal and hope for him is that he just does what I've been watching him do because I think if he can take that next step, we know the big-play potential is there.
    “Like I say, making your layups is huge.”
    Jeff Howe
    College football’s talking season is rife with hyperbole.
    Thankfully, Steve Sarkisian shelved coachspeak last month after praising Laurence Seymore for the strides he’s made since joining the Texas program in June. It painted the most realistic picture of what to expect from Seymore when the Longhorns hold their first preseason practice on Wednesday.
    “It’s difficult in the summertime. We’re in underwear,” Sarkisian said during his press conference at the Texas High School Coaches Association Convention in Houston. “We'll find out a lot in training camp, especially when we get into the second week, when we're really in full pads and we're getting going. But so far, so good with him.”
    If Seymore, a 2025 second-team All-American with 27 career games played and 21 starts over parts of four seasons at Miami, Akron and Western Kentucky, wins the starting job at left guard, he’ll fill the biggest need Texas had on either side of the ball coming out of spring practice.
    But Seymore must win the job. It won’t be given to him.
    Seymore has to prove to Sarkisian and Kyle Flood that he’s the best option to protect Arch Manning and elevate the running game over Jaydon Chatman, Jackson Christian, Dylan Sikorski and any other challengers Seymore might face in camp.
    Before the 6-foot-2-inch, 316-pound Seymore hits the field for the first time in a formal practice with the Longhorns, there are three things to consider regarding the left guard competition:
    — Seymore’s presence as a pass blocker could be the most significant upgrade any of the transfer portal additions on offense will bring to the table in 2026.
    Seymore’s Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade of 82.6 ranked 30th among FBS guards with at least 100 pass-blocking snaps last season (eight pressures allowed on 503 opportunities). While he dominated the competition in Conference USA, Seymore also allowed just one pressure on 48 opportunities against LSU and was charged with only one penalty on 840 snaps for the season.
    Those are important numbers against the backdrop of what Texas got out of the left guard position in 2025.
    According to PFF, the left guard position was responsible for 26.5 percent of the dropbacks on which Manning was pressured. That was the highest percentage of any position on the Texas offensive line and the highest percentage for any FBS offensive line’s left guard spot among the 136 quarterbacks in the country who were pressured on at least 50 dropbacks.
    — One of the legitimate questions regarding Seymore’s potential impact is how he’ll operate within Sarkisian’s zone running game.
    PFF’s run-blocking grades rated DJ Campbell (73.6) and Cole Hutson (71.6) as better overall run blockers than Seymore (63.9; PFF considers a grade of 70 above average). Of Seymore’s 308 gradable run-blocking snaps, 62.7 percent of them were on gap schemes; on zone runs, Campbell (81.2) and Hutson (74.5) graded out significantly higher than Seymore (60.2).
    Seymore should help the Longhorns improve as a gap/power running team. Still, Seymore must be well-rounded enough to keep opponents from successfully attacking a vulnerable part of the line.
    — Whether Hutson rejoins the team or not, Chatman, Christian, Sikorski and the other contenders for playing time at left guard have an advantage over Seymore with their varying levels of experience in Sarkisian’s offense.
    How fast Seymore absorbs the offense and takes to the field could be the biggest factor in how long the competition lasts. If Seymore needs time to get things down, Sarkisian and Flood could look at other options, some of which could significantly alter the projected depth chart as camp progresses.
    Andre Cojoe, Jonte Newman or John Turntine III emerging as a viable third tackle option behind Trevor Goosby and Melvin Siani could lead to Jordan Coleman, who spent the spring at left tackle while Goosby was recovering from shoulder surgery, getting a look at guard.
    Not only would Seymore winning the left guard job put the starting five for the Sept. 5 season opener against Texas State in stone, but it would also let Sarkisian and Flood get their depth pieces in order. Maximizing the available depth by turning to the best possible combination in a pinch is pivotal to the offense maintaining consistency and potency during a potential 17-game season, to say the least.
    Jeff Howe
    With Texas set for its first preseason practice on Wednesday, there are four things on my mind.
    — Typically, when reports about live portions of practice come out from behind the burnt orange curtain, the defense is ahead of the offense. I’m preparing for that to be the case this month, especially given the time several key cogs in the offense missed during spring practice.
    A lot of that focus has rightfully gone to the offensive line, where Laurence Seymore will attempt to win the left guard job while playing between Trevor Goosby (who spent most of the spring recovering from shoulder surgery) and Connor Robertson. Beyond the left guard battle, however, camp will be a great opportunity for Goosby, Arch Manning and Ryan Wingo to knock the rust off while learning how to operate with the new pieces around them.
    It’s not like the offense is starting at a deficit because there's no substitute for the live snaps and overall experience that Goosby, Manning and Wingo have in Steve Sarkisian’s system. Still, with everybody healthy and ready to go, Sarkisian has a full slate of practices to ensure his offense is better prepared to step on the field than the unit was at this time last year, the importance of which can’t be overstated.
    I don’t know if anyone reading this can handle the offense trudging through any portion of the September schedule, let alone the first half of the season before finding its groove.
    —  The competition to enter Sarkisian’s circle of trust at wide receiver and the battle between Michael Masunas and Spencer Shannon to be the No. 1 in-line tight end shouldn’t be overlooked. The same can be said for the running back pecking order, where not enough is being said about Derrek Cooper pushing Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers for playing time.
    Cooper’s stature (6-1, 212) is more in line with the type of bell-cow running back Sarkisian has typically preferred to see emerge. He drew rave reviews as a pass protector during spring practice and Cooper has the kind of physical running style and forward body lean that could be a key ingredient to resolving the offense’s long-running short-yardage and red-zone issues.
    The 2026 Texas ground attack could mirror what Sarkisian had at USC in 2007 and 2008, when he called plays for an offense that produced three running backs with 500 or more rushing yards in back-to-back seasons. Or Cooper could be the latest in a long line of Longhorn freshman running backs who grabbed the bull by the horns right out of the gate, leaving those outside the top three spots on the depth chart fighting tooth and nail for the remaining consequential snaps.
    — For all of the talk about a disruptive defensive line presence emerging to go along with Colin Simmons, a healthy Maraad Watson could go a long way toward solidifying the rotation and allowing Will Muschamp to get creative with how he utilizes an embarrassment of riches at EDGE.
    The 333-pound Watson worked with the nose tackles and with the tackle group in the spring. If he’s truly a 330-plus-pound defender who can play multiple shades, Watson would become one of Muschamp’s most valuable chess pieces.
    In theory, Watson could play next to Ian Geffrard when the situation calls for Texas to beef up the front. Watson could also be paired with Alex January and Hero Kanu on standard downs and then be lined up with Justus Terry and Muschamp’s plethora of edge defenders on more predictable passing downs.
    For me, Watson is in a group with Cooper, Terry, Brandon Baker, Jermaine Bishop Jr., Ty’Anthony Smith, Brad Spence and Bo Mascoe as players who can raise the Longhorns’ ceiling.
    — When the On Texas Football staff picked the player they were most excited to see in camp for our latest "Sideline Debate," I almost picked Xavier Filsaime.
    As good as Graceson Littleton was as a true freshman, I can’t get over Sarkisian going out of his way to mention Filsaime as a nickel candidate while addressing the Muschamp hire last December. While surgery after the Citrus Bowl had the 6-foot-1-inch, 193-pound Filsaime on the mend during spring practice, he fits the physical profile of the bigger-bodied nickel Muschamp has typically preferred.
    While I don’t think Muschamp will experiment with Littleton at safety (even though I think he’d thrive there in Muschamp’s scheme because of his instincts and ball skills), the idea of Littleton getting freed up to solidify an area of concern with Filsaime occupying the nickel role is intriguing, to say the least. Regardless, if Filsaime approached Muschamp’s arrival and the return of Blake Gideon to the Forty Acres like a man who has a new lease on life, he has a chance to remind people why several elite defensive back evaluators (Corey Raymond, Nick Saban and Brent Venables among them) thought so highly of him during the 2024 recruiting cycle.
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