On Sunday, former Texas tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders will make his first start with the Carolina Panthers. The rookie won the starting job, seemingly out of left field, and is being rewarded.

Meanwhile back in Austin, a lot of Texas fans wondered how the Longhorns would replace Sanders with someone who had just 19 catches in two full seasons.

Gunnar Helm answered the call Saturday with a team-high seven catches for 98 yards and one score in a 31-12 victory over No. 10 Michigan. NFL scouts may be all over Wolverines junior Colston Loveland. But it was Helm, the 6-foot-5 junior from Englewood, Colo., who won the head-to-head matchup.

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“I think him hearing all about this Michigan guy, I think he really took that to heart and was like, ‘All right, now I’m going to show up. Now everybody’s watching this guy. It’s time for me to go and do my thing,’” Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said.

“And you know, he’s definitely capable of doing anything for us on the offensive side of the ball as a tight end,” Ewers added. “And I’m just super happy for him. You know, it was his birthday this week. He turned 22 so for him to have this game is awesome for him.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said there were some specific plays called for Helm. Early on, he made a 22-yard catch in the middle of the field that fueled an early drive. Then, Helm caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone with 4:45 left in the first quarter.

“When you’ve got really good rapport with the guy, and Gunnar’s played a ton of football with Quinn, now this is year three of those guys being in that huddle together,” Sarkisian said. “Quinn really relies on Gunnar, from an outlet perspective, when things aren't there down the field.”

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Helm had catches of 11, six, seven and 22 yards to help keep the ball moving forward. That’s all the Horns needed as the offense went 10-for-15 on third down and tallied up 389 yards total. Perhaps most impressive was that Helm had 45 yards after the catch. 

“He has improved upon immensely,” Sarkisian said. “Before, it was he’d catch it, bam, and get tackled. And now his ability to make a guy miss, run a guy over, and extend plays and extend yards. But I think that all goes back to the rapport that he and Quinn do have, and I think that that's important.”

Loveland wasn't shutout completely. He finished with a team-high eight catches for 70 yards, quiet numbers when you consider Michigan never threatened the end zone until the game was basically over. 

The offense needed someone to make big catches, as Michigan clamped down on the speedy receivers. Matthew Golden had six catches for 41 yards and a touchdown. Ewers also found running back Jaydon Blue out of the backfield for a touchdown throw.

But Isaiah Bond had just three catches for 51 yards and Quintrevion Wisner had two catches for 19 yards. This comes after the season opener when Ewers found 10 different players in the first half alone.