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    Jeff Howe
    Twelve different coaches have led the Texas football program since the launch of the weekly Associated Press poll in 1936.
    Of the 10 who lasted at least four seasons, none have more wins through their first four than Steve Sarkisian. With a 38-17 record, Sarkisian’s win total matches that of Mack Brown (1998-2001), who had a 38-13 mark heading into the 2002 season.
    Sarkisian is part of a group of Longhorn coaches in the AP Poll era — with Blair Cherry, Ed Price, Darrell Royal, Fred Akers, David McWilliams and John Mackovic — who won an outright conference championship within their first four seasons. Sarkisian and Cherry are the only coaches from that group to coach Texas to multiple AP top-five finishes by the end of their fourth season, with Sarkisian’s 2023 (No. 3) and 2024 (No. 4) final rankings counting toward the program’s 22 all-time top-five finishes.
    Although Sarkisian has accomplished a lot while improving the program’s win total from five (2021) to eight (2022) to 12 (2023) to 13 (2024), history suggests the best is yet to come.
    For the most accomplished coaches in school history (Royal, Akers and Brown), their fifth season is when business started to pick up.
    Brown achieved the first back-to-back 11-win seasons in school history, going 11-2 in 2002, a season the Longhorns punctuated by thumping LSU in the Cotton Bowl, 35-20 (the Tigers returned most of the 2002 roster for the 2003 season, which ended with Nick Saban’s first national championship). The program enjoyed nine consecutive seasons of 10 or wins under Brown, whose 2005 national championship-winning season came in his eighth as Texas coach; Brown coached Texas through a memorable six-season stretch (2004-09) in which it went 69-9 with two Big 12 titles, a Rose Bowl win over Michigan at the end of the 2004 season, a Fiesta Bowl victory over Ohio State to cap a 12-1 season in 2008 and a trip to the BCS title game during the 2009 season.
    A forgettable 42-11 loss to Arkansas, after vaulting No. 1 in the AP Poll, and a 14-14 tie against Houston kept Akers’ 1981 club from claiming a share of the national title, but a 14-12 win over Bear Bryant’s third-ranked Crimson Tide in the Cotton Bowl lifted Texas to a No. 2 final ranking. It was the program’s best finish since splitting the 1970 national title with Nebraska (a Cotton Bowl loss to Notre Dame dropped the Longhorns to No. 3 in the final poll, although the UPI declared the Longhorns No. 1 at the end of a 10-0 regular season).
    Over his fifth, sixth and seventh seasons running the program (1981-83), Akers coached Texas to a 30-5-1 record and an outright Southwest Conference title in the 1983 season, which ended with a brutal 10-9 loss in the Cotton Bowl to Georgia.
    When it comes to near misses at a national championship, Sarkisian has a lot in common with Akers.
    Seven years apart, Akers led the Longhorns into a Cotton Bowl played on Jan. 2 with the national championship hanging in the balance, only for his team’s title hopes to be dashed, with titles Texas could’ve claimed going, instead, to Notre Dame (1977) and Miami (1983). Sarkisian has led the Longhorns to the brink of the College Football Playoff National Championship in each of the last two seasons, a pair of opportunities all for naught, with Texas getting painfully close to college football’s top prize before succumbing to Washington and Ohio State, respectively.
    If the Longhorns went to battle with a healthy Jonathon Brooks in the Sugar Bowl two years ago, or if CJ Baxter’s knee injury didn't end his sophomore season before it started, Sarkisian might’ve already gotten Texas over the hump. The mission to win the school’s fifth national championship begins in 61 days, an appropriate number considering the link between Sarkisian, Royal and a running back injury muddying a title-winning picture.
    The 1961 season, Royal’s fifth at the helm, saw the Longhorns race out to an 8-0 start, climbing to No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first time since 1946. With Jimmy Saxton leading the offense, Texas won its first eight games by an average margin of 26.6 points; a 28-7 Red River rout of Oklahoma was the closest anybody came to nipping Royal’s bunch.
    Long before Marcell Dareus simultaneously launched Alabama’s dynasty under Saban and brought an abrupt end to a golden era of Texas football under Brown with an ill-timed blow to Colt McCoy’s shoulder, Saxton was on the receiving end of arguably the most controversial hit in school history. Whether Bobby Plummer’s knee intentionally connected with Saxton’s head at the end of a 45-yard gain is irrelevant; the shot forced Saxton to miss enough of the game to render the offense helpless in a 6-0 loss to the Horned Frogs, a defeat Royal reportedly said was the toughest he endured during his coaching career.
    The first consensus All-American running back in school history, Saxton was the third-place finisher for the Heisman Trophy and held the school’s single-season record for yards per carry (7.9), which stood for 59 years until Bijan Robinson’s 8.2 yards per rushing attempt in 2020 established a new program standard. A 25-0 win over Texas A&M and a 12-7 victory over Ole Miss in the Cotton Bowl helped the 10-1 Longhorns end the season with a No. 3 ranking from the AP, but Royal wouldn’t claim his first of three national championships until two years later.
    Texas was arguably the best team in college football for four seasons in the middle of Royal’s 20-season tenure (1961-64), compiling a 40-3-1 record with three SWC titles, a national championship and four consecutive finishes in the top five of the AP Poll. If not for Saxton's injury and a one-point loss to Arkansas in 1964, Royal might've ended the 1960s with four outright national titles to his name.
    Until the Wishbone revived Royal’s career and led the Longhorns to 30 consecutive victories, the program’s run of success beginning with Royal’s fifth season could count as arguably the most prosperous Austin has ever experienced.
    Texas is 61 days from kicking off Sarkisian’s fifth season, which has a chance to be another campaign in what’s shaping up to be the next historic run of Longhorn football.
    Jeff Howe
    Since Bob McKay wrapped up a Texas career (1968-69) worthy of induction into the College Football Hall of Fame three decades before Lyle Sendlein began his time with the Longhorns (2002-06), the 2005 national championship team’s starting center had an uphill climb to become the top player in program history to wear No. 62.
    Still, Sendlein started each of the 26 games on the schedule over his last two seasons on campus before starting 133 combined regular-season and playoff games over nine NFL seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. One of those starts Sendlein made came in Super Bowl XLIII, which pitted him against Texas and Pittsburgh Steelers legend Casey Hampton (the Steelers, with former Longhorns Tony Hills and Limas Sweed also on the roster, won, 27-23).
    Sendlein’s second career start in burnt orange saw him jump from the frying pan into the fire, in the second game of the 2005 season, playing one of the biggest roles on a star-studded offense when No. 2 Texas went into Ohio Stadium, at night. It upended No. 4 Ohio State, 25-22, kickstarting, in earnest, a run to the program's most recent national title.
    Sendlein’s redshirt junior season saw him replace departed starting center Jason Glynn, who was with the Longhorns for five seasons (2000-04) and started each of the last 38 games of his career. The Longhorn offensive line (left tackle Jonathan Scott, left guard Kasey Studdard, right guard Will Allen and right tackle Justin Blalock) had experience to share, combining for 89 career starts between the four returning starters from a squad that went 11-1 with a thrilling Rose Bowl win over Michigan in 2004.
    The 2005 Texas offensive line started the season as a group oozing potential and fulfilled it, ending an unforgettable 13-0 campaign as arguably the best unit in school history. Sendlein helped elevate the line, which paved the way for an offense quarterbacked by Vince Young to record the best single-season marks in school history for points (50.2) and total yards per game (512.1).
    When it comes to the similarities between the Longhorn offensive lines in 2005 and 2025, a new starting center is roughly where they end.
    Cole Hutson started 13 games as a true freshman right guard in 2022, so he’s not new to the starting lineup. Hutson also logged 389 snaps in a reserve role last season, including a season-high 52 in the team's College Football Playoff first-round win over Clemson and 35 in the loss to Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
    The return bout with the Buckeyes, on Aug. 30 in Columbus, will mark Hutson’s starting debut at center. He’s taking the baton from Jake Majors, who signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent after starting a school-record 57 games in his career (2020-24).
    Unlike Sendlein’s situation, there isn’t a lot of starting experience around Hutson. Major is one of four departed starters, accounting for more than 35 percent of the 161 combined starts Texas lost from last season.
    DJ Campbell (30 career starts at right guard) and projected starting left tackle Trevor Goosby (two starts as a redshirt freshman last season) have 45 combined career starts between them. Those three account for all of the starting experience among Kyle Flood’s group.
    What the group lacks in starting experience, it makes up for in raw, high-upside talent. If Neto Umeozulu and Brandon Baker continue to trend in the right direction from where they ended spring practice, the group charged with protecting Arch Manning and creating running lanes for a deep backfield has a tremendous opportunity to grow together en route to a possible third consecutive berth in the CFP.
    While the 2005 offensive line merely added a new starting center to a mix of talented blockers coming together at the right time, the remaining members of a highly-touted 2022 signing class (Hutson, Campbell, Umeozulu and Connor Robertson are on the 2025 roster, Kelvin Banks and Cam Williams are in the NFL and Malik Agbo will suit up for West Virginia after entering the transfer portal during the spring window) and their 2025 linemates will get a good idea of where they stand and what's possible in Steve Sarkisian's fifth season leading the program after traveling to the Horseshoe in 62 days.
    Jeff Howe
    Whether one agrees with Pete Prisco’s NFL Top 100 players of 2025, published by CBS Sports on Wednesday, or not, doesn’t matter.
    Prisco did include one Texas product on the list: Bijan Robinson at No. 39. Prisco ranked Robinson, the 2022 unanimous All-American and the Doak Walker Award winner for the Longhorns, behind only Saquon Barkley (No. 3) of the Philadelphia Eagles, Derrick Henry (No. 14) of the Baltimore Ravens and Jahmyr Gibbs (No. 32) of the Detroit Lions among the league’s top running backs.
    Still, there’s a lot more to glean from the list than giving a tip of the cap to Robinson, the No. 8 overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons.
    Specifically, Prisco’s rankings reinforce the importance of the position groups Texas and Steve Sarkisian are prioritizing in high school recruiting.
    Based on Prisco’s list, 11 of the NFL's top 100 players in 2025 are quarterbacks.
    Sarkisian was on the Alabama staff in 2016, when Jalen Hurts (No. 52) led the Crimson Tide to the College Football Playoff title game (Sarkisian was Alabama’s play-caller on offense for a 35-31 loss to Clemson). Hurts is one of five quarterbacks on the list who suited up for a college program currently in the SEC, but Hurts and Dak Prescott (No. 90) are the only two who joined the conference as high school recruits, with Joe Burrow (No. 7) and Jayden Daniels (No. 33) transferring to LSU (Oklahoma was in the Big 12 when Baker Mayfield, No. 57 on the list, quarterbacked the Sooners).
    Other than Quinn Ewers, Sarkisian has identified his potential starting quarterbacks on the Forty Acres through the high school ranks. Arch Manning is first up in what, hopefully, becomes a line of homegrown Longhorn signal-callers to pass through the Texas program on their way to the NFL.
    Seven of the 11 quarterbacks on Prisco’s list were drafted from the same college program they signed with as high school recruits: Prescott from Mississippi State, Patrick Mahomes (No. 1) from Texas Tech, Josh Allen (No. 4) from Wyoming, Lamar Jackson (No. 6) from Louisville, Justin Herbert (No. 49) from Oregon, Jared Goff (No. 77) from Cal and Jordan Love (No. 92) from Utah State. That bodes well for the odds of the vision Sarkisian and AJ Milwee have — to evaluate, acquire and develop high school quarterbacks en route to producing top-tier NFL quarterbacks, without relying on mercenaries from the transfer portal — coming to fruition.
    Outside of the quarterback position, Sarkisian and the Longhorns have a premium on recruits who can adequately protect Manning and the other Texas quarterbacks, along with those who are most capable of disrupting the opponent’s quarterback.
    Prisco’s Top 100 includes 36 line-of-scrimmage players: seven interior defensive linemen, eight interior offensive linemen (including three centers), 10 offensive tackles and 11 edge rushers. One-third of those players (12) came from a current SEC program, further proving why the conference is college football’s ultimate line-of-scrimmage league.
    Excluding Robinson and Oklahoma’s six players on the list, the 30 players from the SEC considered by Prisco to be among the best of the best in the NFL reflect which schools have been atop the conference over the last decade.
    Alabama (10 players on the list), LSU (eight) and Georgia (four) have combined for six national championships in the CFP era (since 2014). Regarding the SEC championship, the last 11 conference titles have been split between the Crimson Tide (seven), Bulldogs (three) and Tigers (one).
    With Sarkisian’s tenure producing 28 picks over the last three drafts after only 24 Longhorns were selected in the 10 previous drafts combined (2013-22), Texas should be better represented on lists like this one in the future. While developing players who go on to be elite in the NFL isn’t the be-all and end-all for a championship-caliber football program, it would be a byproduct of the Longhorns continuing to trend in the right direction regarding player development.
    With Sarkisian’s tenure producing 28 draft picks over the last three drafts after only 24 Longhorns were selected in the 10 previous drafts combined (2013-22), Texas should be better represented on lists like this one in the future. While developing players who go on to be elite in the NFL isn’t the be-all and end-all for a championship-caliber football program, it would be a byproduct of the Longhorns continuing to trend in the right direction regarding player development.
    Jeff Howe
    Steve Sarkisian’s Texas organization is prioritizing three areas when recruiting high school prospects and devoting resources for talent acquisition: quarterbacks, top-notch linemen who can protect the quarterback and blue-chip defenders who can disrupt opposing quarterbacks.
    The approach was driven home on a weekend when Dia Bell (Plantation, Fla./American Heritage) was named MVP of the 2025 Elite 11 competition.
    The Longhorns added another body to what could evolve into a historic defensive line haul, reeling in Vodney Cleveland (Birmingham, Ala./Parker) while maintaining the lead in the race for Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Fla.).
    Richard Wesley’s (Chatsworth, Calif./Sierra Canyon) surprise commitment was arguably a bigger recruiting boon than if Texas had landed Dre Quinn (Atlanta, Ga./Buford) last Thursday. The Longhorns are one of three teams left standing for Trenton Henderson (Pensacola, Fla./Catholic) and remain in the running for Temple’s Jamarion Carlton.
    Texas also got the last in-person word with North Crowley offensive tackle John Turntine III ahead of his July 4 decision. Melissa’s Max Wright and Klein’s Nicholas Robertson were on campus with Turntine, who, along with Mansfield Lake Ridge’s Felix Ojo and Malakai Lee (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha), is one of three elite offensive tackles Kyle Flood is aggressively pursuing.
    It’s fun to listen to Sarkisian, Flood and other coaches on the staff tout the program’s desire to recruit “big humans.” The trope, however, is a way of life.
    Sarkisian, general manager Brandon Harris, director of player personnel JM Jones and the rest of the organization’s approach to roster building in college football has the staying power needed to keep Texas in the national championship hunt for the foreseeable future. While the Longhorns won’t win every battle for coveted players who line up closest to the football, they’re winning enough of them to keep accelerating the program’s growth from Sarkisian’s forgettable 5-7 debut to producing an FBS-leading 23 NFL draft picks from clubs that won a combined 25 games and reached the College Football Playoff semifinals over the last two seasons.
    Of those 23 draft choices, 10 of them manned one of the Sarkisian regime’s foundational positions: one quarterback (Quinn Ewers); one EDGE (Barryn Sorrell); four offensive linemen (Kelvin Banks Jr., Hayden Conner, Christian Jones and Cameron Williams); and four interior defensive linemen (Vernon Broughton, Alfred Collins, Byron Murphy II and T’Vondre Sweat).
    Bell is next in line behind Trey Owens and KJ Lacey to succeed Arch Manning. The offensive line has avoided heavy attrition under Flood and has benefited from evaluation wins with undervalued recruits, particularly what can be gleaned from Trevor Goosby's snaps last season and the early returns on guys like Nick Brooks and Nate Kibble.
    Now, it's time for Kenny Baker and LaAllen Clark to set up their respective rooms for bright futures. Texas is rightfully taking advantage of a 2026 cycle chock-full of difference-making defensive linemen, building the kind of roster that won't need five tackles from the portal to avoid massive gaps in the talent pipeline.
    Missing out on Carthage's KJ Edwards was a significant loss, especially considering how much Sarkisian values well-rounded running backs in his offense. The battles for Jalen Lott and Kaydon Finley could end with Texas losing to out-of-state competition (Oregon or USC for Lott and Notre Dame for Finley), which wouldn't be ideal scenarios for recruits with strong family ties to the Forty Acres.
    Still, since NIL resources aren’t limitless, the Longhorns would rather do what it takes to win line-of-scrimmage recruitments and, if necessary, snag as-needed skill talent from the transfer portal. It's more feasible to go into the portal and come out with Matthew Golden or Adonai Mitchell as opposed to using the significant capital it would take to secure a player capable of immediately impacting the trenches, assuming those types of players are available.
    There’s no wrong way to build a winning program. Nevertheless, it’s hard to argue against Sarkisian’s plan to keep Texas in the top tier of annual contenders to win the SEC and the CFP.
    Jeff Howe
    OTF four-star+EDGE Dre Quinn (Buford, Ga.) is expected to make the call on Thursday in a recruitment that’s come down to a battle between Texas and Clemson.
    Quinn’s decision is the first of many scheduled to be made in the coming weeks by Longhorn targets. The group of blue-chip recruits planning to pull the trigger includes defensive lineman Vodney Cleveland (Birmingham, Ala./Parker) on Saturday, running back Ezavier Crowell (Jackson, Ala.) next Thursday, offensive tackle Malakai Lee (Honolulu, Hawaii/Kamehameha) next Friday, linebacker Xavier Griffin (Gainesville, Ga.) next Saturday and Frisco Panther Creek wide receiver Jalen Lott on July 8.
    Texas has some margin for error within most position groups ahead of the remaining summer decisions. The staff can withstand a loss or two, and the conditions could still be ripe to secure elite, difference-making positional hauls.
    Not all recruiting losses are created equal. Some will hurt more than others.
    There’s no way, for instance, to cushion the blow the Longhorns were dealt on Tuesday, when Carthage running back KJ Edwards committed to Texas A&M. If Crowell picks Alabama, Auburn or Georgia over the Longhorns, Chad Scott's running back board would reset heading into the fall.
    An uncertain running back outlook aside, CJ Vogel recently hit the nail on the head regarding the current state of recruiting on the Forty Acres.
    “You’re fighting for the right guys,” he said during last Wednesday’s “Longhorn Livestream” during a discussion regarding the possibility of the Longhorns’ 2026 recruiting class being the program’s third in a row to finish ranked among the top three in the country.
    I’ve been employed in the Texas market covering recruiting since 2008. Never has the hunt for talent been more widespread, with the Longhorns battling against perennial SEC and College Football Playoff contenders for prospects.
    The staff’s efforts in the Northeast have Texas in the mix for offensive tackle Grayson McKeogh (Wyndmoor, Pa./La Salle College), defensive lineman Damari Simeon (Richland, N.J./St. Augustine Prep) and EDGE Luke Wafle (Princeton, N.J./The Hun School). The Longhorns are scheduled to welcome two California visitors to campus this weekend, tight end Keawe Brown (Corona, Calif./Centennial) and EDGE Richard Wesley (Chatsworth, Calif./Sierra Canyon).
    The Longhorns haven’t been shy about mixing it up for recruits within the SEC footprint, either. They’ve made their presence felt from Louisiana, through Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and into Florida. Two of the biggest prospects left on the board are defensive lineman Kendall Guervil (Fort Myers, Fla.) and EDGE Trenton Henderson (Pensacola, Fla./Catholic), who will begin their official visits to Texas on Friday.
    Steve Sarkisian’s organization didn’t suddenly decide to ramp up its recruiting efforts throughout the Southeast. It’s a benefit to joining the SEC that Sarkisian and the Longhorns have tried to maximize, particularly with consecutive trips to the CFP semifinals, allowing Texas to conduct business from a position of strength.
    “I think the move into the SEC has probably been more beneficial for us,” Sarkisian said at a Touchdown Club of Houston luncheon in May. "A lot of people are changing conferences right now, but this one really resonated with us.”
    He mentioned how the program’s ability to recruit from within the Lone Star State and head eastbound along the Interstate 10 and Interstate 20 corridors changed the staff’s approach.
    “It's easy for those kids, it's natural for those kids to want to come to Texas,” he said. “There's a ton of players, so as much as we value recruiting the state of Texas, which is critical for our success, this made sense for us to work directly east, as opposed to the Big 12.”
    The Longhorns won’t win every cutthroat recruiting battle for the top talent from a part of the country that’s buoyed almost every national championship-winning roster over the last 25 years. Still, Texas has won enough to claim a place at the top of college football’s talent acquisition food chain.
    And with a stomach strong enough to withstand the ebbs and flows, Sarkisian has everything he needs to keep the Longhorns there for the foreseeable future.
    “I love the competitiveness of the SEC, but also love the recruiting aspect of the SEC,” he said. “We're able to go into Georgia and sign three or four players a year. We're able to go into Louisiana, we're able to go into Florida — very talent-rich areas to go along with what we have here in the state of Texas.
    “It’s been a win-win for us on those two things.”
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