AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The new conference logo is on the field. The campus party over the summer was a hit. New chants of “S-E-C, S-E-C!” are perfected and a historic rival is back on the schedule.
Now it’s time for No. 4 Texas to play some ball.
The Longhorns are now officially members of the Southeastern Conference, and roll into new territory with the swagger of the new kid at school who thinks he’s got the talent to be the big man on campus from the start.
And why not?
Texas won the Big 12 last season, played in its first College Football Playoff and returns a load of talent from a 12-2 squad that finished the year ranked No. 3.
Year No. 4 under coach Steve Sarkisian has Texas not just dreaming about winning, but “obsessed” with it after last year’s near miss at playing for the national championship. It starts with an offense that could prove to be as explosive as any unit Sarkisian has had, with quarterback Quinn Ewers, a veteran offensive line and a receiving corps rebuilt with talented transfers.
“They got a taste of what it can taste like, of being a Big 12 champion, playing in a College Football Playoff, and we fell short,” Sarkisian said. “They couldn’t wait to get back to work. They couldn’t wait to get back in the weight room.
“When I took the job, I don’t know if I could have said that. It was almost like kind of prodding cattle to make sure that what they were doing day in and day out to get them to that point. Now we’ve got a team full of hungry players,” Sarkisian said.
Quarterback experience
Ewers took a big step in 2023 with 3,479 yards passing with 22 touchdowns and chose to return for his junior season rather than head for the NFL.
Sarkisian believes Ewers could prove to be one of the college game’s elite passers this season, though he has had durability issues. Ewers has missed at least two games each of the last two seasons with injuries.
Waiting behind him is Arch Manning, the former 5-star recruit who might be the most anticipated backup QB at Texas since Vince Young in 2003.
Transfer time
Texas landed a load of transfer talent, with a pair of pass catchers from Alabama in receiver Isaiah Bond and tight end Amari Niblack. Edge rusher Trey Moore (UTSA) and safety Andrew Mukuba (Clemson) were big gets as well.
Bond carries the load of the biggest expectations. Texas lost its top five receivers from 2023 and Bond led the Crimson Tide with 48 catches for 668 yards and four touchdowns. He’s the one who caught the 4th-and-31 touchdown in the final minute to beat Auburn.
Injury watch
The Longhorns are already shorthanded at running back.
Projected starter C.J. Baxter was lost for the season with a knee injury in camp. A week later, freshman Christian Clark tore an Achilles tendon in practice and will require season-ending surgery.
Next up is fast but seldom used junior Jaydon Blue, who has 80 carries for 431 yards and three touchdowns in 23 career games. Blue is a former high school sprinter who once clocked a 10.7-second 100 meters in high school.
Hill to climb
Sophomore linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. looks primed for a breakout year for a defense that lost last year’s dominant line duo of T’Vondre Sweat and Byron Murphy to the NFL. He ranked second on the team in tackles last season when he played on the edge and was turned loose to chase the ball.
Hill will move to the middle this season, which defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski called his natural position.
The schedule
Texas opens the season Aug. 31 at home against Colorado State. The next week, it’s a trip the Big House at defending national champion Michigan. The annual rivalry with Oklahoma on Oct. 12 is now an SEC game and the following weekend Texas hosts preseason No. 1 Georgia on Oct. 19. The bow on the regular season is Nov. 30 at Texas A&M, a renewal of a rivalry that dates to 1894. The Longhorns won the last meeting on a last-second field goal in 2011.
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