Texas storylines to follow after the first week of fall camp heading toward the 2025 college football season
The Texas Longhorns held its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday. The word out of Austin, Tex., was the defense won the day, but Arch Manning flashed plenty with Ryan Wingo and Parker Livingstone having big days.There are plenty of other things to discuss, though. And there are storylines forming as the march to August […]
The Texas Longhorns held its first scrimmage of fall camp Saturday. The word out of Austin, Tex., was the defense won the day, but Arch Manning flashed plenty with Ryan Wingo and Parker Livingstone having big days.
There are plenty of other things to discuss, though. And there are storylines forming as the march to August 30 and the defending national champion Ohio State Buckeyes. All of the focus for most of the offseason has been centered around Manning and the new-look offensive line. But, let’s take a look at a few other storylines you need to pay attention to as we are now less than 20 days away from the season opener.
Four new starters on the offensive line
Last year’s unit was a Joe Moore Award finalist and helped pave the way for Tre Wisner to run for 1,000+ and the Longhorns offense to get this close to a CFP title game. Now, Kelvin Banks Jr., Cameron Williams, Hayden Connor were all taken in the 2025 NFL Draft and Steve Sarkisian and Kyle Flood are looking to put together another elite group.
Andre Cujoe is now done for the year with a knee injury and Brandon Baker looks to be the guy at right tackle. Trevor Goosby appears to be the anchor at left tackle, DJ Campbell and Cole Hutson will be on the interior along with Neto Umeozulu.
If Texas wants to make another deep run and play meaningful football in December and January, this group will need to take a big step and quickly.
The running back room is all of a sudden very deep.
Everyone knows about Wisner. He is the lone 1,000-yard rusher returning in college football. But, now Texas has more than capable backups in CJ Baxter, Jerrick Gibson, and Christian Clark.
Wisner is the bell cow and will be heavily relied upon in the early going of the 2025 season. His importance is paramount to Manning’s success and getting settled in as the starter. But, the three-headed backup monster could prove to be the difference this year. Both Baxter and Clark missed last year after fall camp, season-ending injuries. Now these three will be asked to assist Wisner in shouldering the load.
This group could prove to be a major strength for new running backs coach Chad Scott.
The wide receiver room is green but talented.
Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden are gone. But, the group out wide are still going to be fun to watch this season. Everyone knows about Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore. But, there’s a ton of buzz about Livingstone stepping up and taking on a major role in the slot.
Wingo and Moore will almost certainly be a big part of the attack this year. Manning already has great chemistry with the two returners. If these two, along with new tight end transfer, Jack Endries, can provide dependable hands and big play ability, this Texas offense has a real chance to be special.
All eyes will be on Arch Manning in 2025.
Quinn Ewers won a lot of football games for Texas. He didn’t get am SEC title or a CFP championship game appearance, but he was a big reason for the resurgence of the Texas program under Steve Sarkisian these last two years. And now, the torch has been passed to Manning.
It’s no mistake the most hyped recruit and college player probably all-time has preseason Heisman buzz. The skill set, cerebral swagger, and arm talent is there to get Texas over the hump this season. But, it seems to be the approach that has Sarkisian and others excited.
Manning has always been level-headed and mature about the expectations. But, he seems to be laser-focused on the task at hand. And that’s beating Ohio State. The redshirt sophomore will be a “week-to-week” type player who is going to try and get better every single day and do what he can to make others around him better. This is something he can easily do because of his talent. And if he follows through, the program will have a legitimate shot to make even more noise in the SEC.
