CJ Vogel

Sark: "We respect all these opponents that we play. San Jose State is a dangerous team. They're going to throw the ball over 50 times on Saturday."

Sarkisian says on a few crossing routes, Arch didnt bring his feet and align his body particularly well.

Sark: We will never be a team that majors in running the quarterback, but with the talent at quarterback it is worth expanding more.

Big focus on complementary football today in the Monday team meeting.

Sarkisian says he thinks the game can mount on a young quarterback when drives stack up without points. He says Arch doesn't need to press because of the defense he has behind him. "I think he started to play football in the 2nd half the way that he is capable of playing." Sarkisian also says he thinks Arch gave himself more credit with his athleticism in the second half more than he did in the first half.

Steve Sarkisian on QB Arch Manning: "I thought we started to see the glimpses of what he's capable of. A lot to look forward to this season."

Sarkisian says it was "definitely encouraging" to see the offensive line perform the well they did with 4 first-time starters in that environment.

Sarkisian points to a few untimely penalties, the Lefau hands to the face, Simmons hands to the face and a 3rd and 5 false start that bumped Texas back to 3rd and 10.

Texas had a 24-game streak of forcing a turnover, the longest in the country, come to an end vs. Ohio State.

Texas saw 50 different players see the field on Saturday vs. Ohio State 7 had first career starts 4 true freshmen

Sarkisian says the team really built on things that needed adjustments as the game progressed, something he was very proud of when reviewing the tape.

Should be getting going here shortly. Sarkisian is on his way up.

Texas is back in Austin and returned to the practice field on Monday morning following the season opener in Columbus against Ohio State. Steve Sarkisian will meet with the media around 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by a handful of Texas Longhorns as they put to rest the discussion about the season opener and prepare for the first home game of the season against San Jose State on Saturday.

Absolutely. Tight end room has a great future outlook.

I believe it was his only snap as well. When given the opportunity, it's nice to see young players deliver.

Also loved seeing this from the freshman tight end in his first career snap. Well done by Nick Townsend.

Taaffe played well. Just felt like there was more impact elsewhere.

The argument for Lefau at No. 1 is definitely there. He was great.

Want to make this a Monday trend following games this season – a conversation about the biggest performances of the weekend. Please feel free to add your picks for players with big performances. *** 2025 Week 1 vs. Ohio State Star #1: Graceson Littleton Perhaps the defensive highlight of the day in Columbus were the back to back pass breakups forced by the freshman STAR. First, the deep crosser on Jeremiah Smith where the closing speed was truly on display, and immediately after on a slot-fade by Brandon Inniss where Littleton was attached to Inniss' hip. Littleton also had a huge tackle on third down on Ohio State's final possession to force a punt. Star #2: Jack Bouwmeester It doesn't really sit well with me that a punter is one of the team's stars of the game, but considering how far the punting game has gone from 2024, I suppose this is a positive. Bouwmeester was spectacular with his four punts. All four were down inside the 20, with three landing inside the 10-yard line. Above all, none of the punts were returnable, the height, directional accuracy and coverage team were all big positives for week one. Star #3: Liona Lefau The unfortunate hands to the face penalty negated a safety forced by Lefau, which ultimately could have landed him at #1 on this list. But Lefau was great, especially in run support. Lefau led the Longhorns in tackles with 9 and recorded the only tackle for loss on the stat sheet for the Horns. HM1: Alex January – Credited with three run stops up the middle, including one of the biggest hits of the day. Good showing from the sophomore defensive lineman. HM2: Parker Livingstone – Two receptions for 47 yards and the only touchdown of the day. Livingstone was on the field for 65 of 67 snaps for Texas was a very willing downfield blocker as well.

I saw him on the field.

Agreed. The circle is very small on these marquee preseason matchups.

Mostly at EDGE, Texas deployed a lot of Bear fronts against Ohio State early on after it was clear they were going to ground and pound. 27 EDGE snaps 10 BOX snaps

Only on the sideline for two snaps. When Texas goes to 12 personnel, it was Livingstone and Wingo.

A look at the Texas snap counts vs. Ohio State on Saturday. *** Defense Out of 59 defensive snaps. 59 – Jelani McDonald, Michael Taaffe 55 – Malik Muhammad 54 – Anthony Hill Jr. 45 – Jaylon Guilbeau 39 – Liona Lefau 37 – Ethan Burke, Hero Kanu, Trey Moore 35 – Colin Simmons 30 – Maraad Watson 26 – Alex January 24 – Cole Brevard 21 – Ty'Anthony Smith 19 – Travis Shaw, Graceson Littleton 16 – Kobe Black 12 – Derek Williams Jr. 7 – Lance Jackson 6 – Zina Umeozulu 5 – Brad Spence 4 – Colton Vasek 3 – Xavier Filsiame, Justus Terry Texas only deployed 24 players on the defensive side of the ball in the season opener, right where I expected them to be. I did not expect to see 37 snaps from Hero Kanu, leading the way for the interior defensive linemen. 19 snaps for Graceson Littleton is a number that rivals Colin Simmons vs. Michigan and Anthony Hill vs. Alabama, a great sign for the frosh. *** Offense Out of 67 offensive snaps. 67 – Ryan Wingo, Brandon Baker, Trevor Goosby, Arch Manning, DJ Campbell, Cole Hutson 65 – Parker Livingstone 60 – Jack Endries 56 – Connor Stroh 51 – DeAndre Moore 41 – Quintrevion Wisner 26 – CJ Baxter 19 – Spencer Shannon 11 – Neto Umeozulu 3 – Jordan Washington 2 – Daylan McCutcheon 1 – Nick Townsend Four tight ends saw time on the field. Only two running backs were on the field for the offense. With how often Texas was under center, I was surprised to not see any 2-back looks from Sarkisian.