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The sixth in a series previewing SEC football teams.
ATLANTA — In a way, the Arkansas Razorbacks played a key part in Texas’ return to prominence in college football.
The Hogs’ 40-21 rout of the Longhorns in 2021, which fifth-year Coach Steve Sarkisian labeled as an “ass whupping” at SEC media days last week, served as a blueprint for Texas as it built toward its first season in the SEC in 2024.
Sarkisian’s skills as a program architect and offensive whiz, the Longhorns’ substantial revenue generation and strong recruiting have combined to set Texas up for another big season. SEC media members picked the Longhorns to win the 2025 conference championship over Georgia in voting released Friday.
It’s a lofty perch — considering the Horns have to replace ace quarterback Quinn Ewers, four offensive line starters and a swath of defensive standouts — and they face a brutal schedule.
However, Ewers will be replaced by Arch Manning of the celebrated Manning quarterback family of New Orleans, plus the Longhorns have a bounty of playmakers coming back and 13 selections to the preseason All-SEC teams released Friday. That group is led by linebacker Anthony Hill, edge rusher Colin Simmons and safety Michael Taaffe on defense, and speedsters like tailback Quintrevion Wisner and receivers Ryan Wingo and Deandre Moore on offense.
ESPN’s Power Index rankings give the Longhorns a 34.1% chance of winning the SEC and an 83.9% chance of making the 12-team College Football Playoffs.
“Obviously expectations are high for our program,” Sarkisian said. “I’m not naive to that. I don’t put my head in the sand. … But also it’s the University of Texas and the standard is the standard here, and that’s competing for championships year in and year out.”
Sarkisian pointed out the Longhorns have retained all their coordinators — Kyle Flood on offense, Pete Kwiatkowski on defense and Jeff Banks on special teams — the past five years, a feat in today’s game.
Texas appears built to make another run to the CFP as the Horns have done the past two seasons. Sarkisian listed Hill, Simmons, Taaffe and Wisner among others as having won state championships in high school and bring that mentality to the Texas program.
“We’ve got winners in our locker room, and we specifically and intentionally recruited winners into our locker room,” Sarkisian said. “So when these guys are going into a locker room after a loss in the (CFP) semifinals, I promise you, it hurts them.
“And so we don’t forget that feeling, OK? And so we’re back to work, and the leadership on this team is full of winners, and that’s the way they want to go about this season is try to go win a championship. That’s the goal.”
Manning mostly sat behind Ewers, a seventh-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the NFL Draft, for two seasons, though he appeared in 12 games and was 2-0 as a starter when an oblique issue sidelined Ewers last season. He has rushed for 115 yards and 4 touchdowns and completed 63 of 95 passes for 969 yards, with 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the limited duty.
Now that he has the reins of the program, he’ll have plenty of key weapons to utilize.
Wisner is the SEC’s leading returning rusher after totaling 1,064 yards, 5 touchdowns and 4.7 yards per carry last season, as well as 44 receptions for 311 yards and a touchdown. Moore (39 receptions, 456 yards, 7 TDs) is the top returning wideout with Wingo, the younger brother of former Razorback Ronnie Wingo, set for a bigger role after catching 29 passes for 472 yards and 2 touchdowns in 2024.
Manning came to media days with tons of hype, drawing a huge crowd of reporters at his various stops. He handled the extra attention in stride and said he’s ready for his expanded role.
“As much as it wasn’t always easy, those two years I kind of feel like I got a ton of respect from the team,” Manning said. “Now being more of a vocal leader, they know it’s coming from a place of love. When I get on someone, they know I’m not just being a turd.”
Manning also touted his targets.
“Our receivers are really good, really fast,” he said. “We have a bunch of young ones, but having Wingo and D-Mo back will be good.”
Texas players took a lot of questions about their celebrated teammate at media days.
“Even though he doesn’t say, I feel like he deserves it,” Hill said of the Manning hype. “Some of the stuff he’s doing when he’s playing football, a lot of people haven’t seen. So I feel like he’s going to have a great year and all the hype he gets is going to end up panning out.”
The biggest questions for Texas revolve around whether the offensive line will become cohesive from the jump, as senior right guard DJ Campbell is the lone returning starter on the front.
The Longhorns should have one of the nation’s top defenses yet again, with a strong run-stopping unit and versatile pass rushers.
Hill and Taaffee, both second-team All-Americans in 2024, are the leaders of a unit that led the SEC and ranked third nationally by allowing 283.4 yards per game. The Longhorns have big shoes to fill with the losses of Jim Thorpe Award winning cornerback Jahdae Barron, defensive tackle Alfred Collins and others.
“What I’m always trying to do is I’m trying to raise the standard and understand that there’s a bar and we’ve got to reset that every single year to keep chasing greatness,” Taaffe said. “At the end of the day, if you want your name to be remembered, you’ve got to keep going and keep doing more.”
The Longhorns face a difficult schedule, starting at defending national champion Ohio State, which knocked Texas out 28-14 in last year’s semifinals when it appeared Sarkisian’s team was driving for a late tying touchdown.
Texas does not play an SEC home game until Nov. 1 against Vanderbilt in its fifth league contest.
“We’ve got road games at Ohio State, at Georgia, at Florida, at Kentucky, which are all going to be very difficult environments to play in, not to mention playing in the Red River Rivalry … against Oklahoma, and then playing at home against a couple traditional rivals again with Arkansas and (Texas) A&M.
“We’ll be the most traveled team in the SEC this year, which is a great challenge for us. We’re looking forward to it. … I think the popularity of the Texas Longhorns is at an all-time high.”