Steve Sarkisian's Texas Longhorns have far more than just Arch Manning as top breakout candidates for 2025 college football
Steve Sarkisian has built a magnificent recruiting machine with the Texas Longhorns, and because of this we're about to see a fun new set of playmakers break out in 2025.The number one overall recruiting class crown was just placed upon Sarkisian's head as he and his staff dominated the cycle, bringing in eighteen blue chip […]
Steve Sarkisian has built a magnificent recruiting machine with the Texas Longhorns, and because of this we're about to see a fun new set of playmakers break out in 2025.
The number one overall recruiting class crown was just placed upon Sarkisian's head as he and his staff dominated the cycle, bringing in eighteen blue chip recruits. Then he patched the exact remaining holes in the roster that the Longhorns needed to fill with the Transfer Portal additions.
Which of these newcomers and young developing stars will break out this season, you might ask? The obvious answer is Arch Manning, as he showed flashes of greatness last year, but the Longhorns have far more than just him to get excited about. Who else should break out as Texas tries to make it back to the College Football Playoff again this year? Let's dive in.
Kaliq Lockett, Wide Receiver
The Texas Longhorns lost five key contributors from last year's receiving group to the 2025 NFL Draft and Transfer Portal. Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond, Silas Bolden, Johntay Cook, and tight end Gunnar Helm are all gone, leaving plenty of opportunity up for grabs this fall.
Every Texas fan knows that DeAndre Moore Jr. and former five star wide receiver Ryan Wingo are the obvious breakout candidates given the flashes of their ascension last year. But they might not even be the most talented wide receiver(s) on the team.
Kaliq Lockett, a five star wide receiver recruit from Sachse, Texas could steal a starting role immediately thanks to his impressive speed, YAC ability, and well-developed route nuance for his age. Lockett brings the rare ability to turn any simple slant or screen play into a wild 52-yard touchdown (just like he does in the post below) that's hard to find. It will be tough to keep him off the field.
Lockett has been considered a consensus five star talent for over a year now, and just like we saw with Jeremiah Smith at Ohio State and to an extent Ryan Wingo with Texas last season, immediate impact true freshman can be huge game-changers for an offense. Let's hope he earns the opportunity to put up one of the most incredible true freshman seasons we've ever seen. He certainly has the talent.
Travis Shaw, Defensive Tackle
Steve Sarkisian brought in not one, not two, but three defensive tackles via the Transfer Portal this year. It's clear where Texas needed instant impact talent on defense given their departures (and subsequent additions) there. Both Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton should be early to mid round 2025 NFL Draft picks, so replacing them won't be easy. Enter, Travis Shaw.
Travis Shaw entered college as a consensus five star defensive tackle talent, but took a while to really breakout at North Carolina. However, when he finally saw significant action last season he was a ferocious run-stopping machine as you can see on the play below where he knocks over the center to make a play in the backfield for a goal line stop.
Shaw still needs to improve greatly in pass rush, but hopefully the Longhorns can coach him up there so he can truly be a breakout star in the 2025 college football season. The potential is there with his 6'5", 330-pound athletic frame. He just needs to take one more step forward in his development and Texas might have a monster.
Kobe Black, Cornerback
Jahdae Barron and Andrew Mukuba have both gone on to the 2025 NFL Draft now. The Texas secondary's two best players will not be easily replaced. However, Steve Sarkisian and the defensive staff think they have something special in cornerback Kobe Black. They were complimentary of him throughout last fall as he slowly grew into a strong fourth cornerback option as a true freshman.
Now in his second year, Black has perfect prototype size at 6'2", 200 pounds with phenomenal verified track speed and ball skills. If he does indeed earn the second outside cornerback role this spring Black will likely be tested early and often in the fall, but he should be up to the task.
He posted a small sample of strong success in coverage, surrendering just four receptions on 58 snaps of coverage. That's a great start, but Black is clearly a player that needs to show large sample consistency, breaking out in 2025 if Texas wants to compete at the highest levels against the toughest offenses.
Honorable Mentions
Yes, yes, Arch Manning is obviously still a "breakout candidate" but he's essentially a given at this point. On just barely 200 offensive snaps he threw nine touchdowns and ran for four more in 2024. There's no reason to believe he'll look anything but spectacular for much of the 2025 season with no more Quinn Ewers standing in his way.
Running back CJ Baxter should also break out again in 2025 as he unfortunately missed all of last season with an injury. He looked incredible as a true freshman back in 2023, putting up 800+ yards from scrimmage. If he gets back to his old self, Texas might have one of the best rushing attacks in the country.
Jelani McDonald may also break out in the secondary as a key contributor if he does lock in the other true safety position alongside Michael Taaffe. McDonald was unbelievably good in coverage last season, giving up just 6.9 yards per reception and 97 yards on the entire season playing more than 250 coverage snaps.
Steve Sarkisian and Texas Longhorns pushing to flip massive five star recruit despite his commitment to powerhouse Big Ten brand
Texas Longhorns aiming to flip key five star recruit
We'll be back with more Texas Longhorns coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you want to check out the best plays from Arch Manning's 2024 season to get excited about how he and many other Texas Longhorns may break out in 2025 just watch this highlights video below!
