Top 10 players for the Texas Longhorns heading into 2021 season

On offense and defense, Texas has first-team All-Big 12 caliber players. Here are the top 10 players heading into the 2021 season.

Year 1 of the Steve Sarkisian era and the pressure is already on. Texas is in a scenario where winning double-digit games is a must for a multitude of reasons. Rarely does a first-year head coach have immediate expectations with little wiggle room.

Ever since the 2009 national championship loss, the on-the-field product has been below standard. Getting some of the best players in the country on campus has never been an issue, despite the struggles. Every single season, the blue-chip ratio gets posted online and Texas is near the top, but without all of the winning.

Sarkisian took the job to take an already talented roster and turn it into a winner. Not even Oklahoma has as good of a roster as Texas when it comes to the 247Sports composite. Maybe Lincoln Riley would have a national championship if the two schools flopped rosters.

On offense and defense, there are first-team All-Big 12 caliber players. A few come from the 2018 recruiting class, while a bunch of youngsters are ready to break onto the scene.

Here are Texas’ top 10 players heading into the 2021 season.

Texas football roster breakdown: Y-Receiver

Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington are two names to watch for UT this season. Here is a breakdown of the Y-receiver position for UT in 2020:

Texas’ best receiver position last year was easily the Y-receiver with Devin Duvernay leading the way. The senior led the Longhorns in receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns and was eventually drafted in the third round of the NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens.

Losing the best player in the receiving core is going to hurt but the Y-receiver is loaded with youngsters ready to break out. Two highly recruited players out of high school, Jake Smith and Jordan Whittington are two names to watch for Texas this season.

With offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich switching to an offense which will see Sam Ehlinger throwing the ball more often, the slot receivers will become more involved. Not so much as a down the field vertical threat, but as playmakers across the entire field.

Here is a breakdown of the Y-receiver position for Texas in 2020: