The hype for the Texas Longhorns football program is explosive. Fox Sports host RJ Young and The Athletic writer Andy Staples have stoked the fire this offseason.
Young and Staples discussed Texas’ potential on RJ Young’s college football segment of The Number One College Football Show. In it, both bought in to the concept that the Longhorns are similar to Kirby Smart’s Georgia before the Bulldogs won their first national title.
There’s “proof of concept” in Austin, Andy Staples suggests. The Longhorns have won a conference title and 12 games, including a double-digit road win over fellow playoff team Alabama. They made their first College Football Playoff last season.
Few teams can claim the same success with their current coaches staff. Albeit, there is still more to prove for Texas as it looks to take the next step.
The talent and depth is there for head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team heading into a fourth season on the Forty Acres. The majority of those that naysay that assertion have allegiance to the team in Norman or College Station. They were the loudest to reject Texas’ ability to win a Big 12 title or 10 games, much less 12, only a season ago. They struck out swinging.
The question for Sarkisian’s program is year-to-year consistency.
Consistency has been an issue for starting quarterback Quinn Ewers, though it has improved. Andy Staples’ hesitation on Texas revolves around whether or not Ewers can take a step to the next level. It’s a fair question.
Texas’ ability to elevate to a national title contender hinges on Ewers improving at a rate similar to last year’s trajectory. You might know the statistical improvement he made last season. Ewers improved from a 58.1% completion rate to 69% in 2023. That’s a playoff caliber mark. So, too, was Ewers’ 8.8 yards per attempt a season ago. Even so, playoff caliber and title contending production are two different things.
Ewers passed for just 22 touchdowns last season. That’s a borderline at best mark for a playoff contending quarterback. The number might have to improve, and so does his play at the beginning of games.
The Texas offense notoriously endured slow starts in the 2023 season against Rice, Wyoming, Oklahoma and Washington. It needs its quarterback to move from a game manager of the offense to one who can take complex defensive looks in stride. The inability to do so made Rice and Wyoming games tense in first halves and led to losses against Oklahoma and Washington.
The receiving corps is there for Ewers to have a more explosive season despite what some suggest. Transfer receivers Isaiah Bond (Alabama), Silas Bolden (Oregon State) and Matthew Golden (Houston) add three productive power conference starters to the fold.
Five-star Ryan Wingo joins blue chip talents in Johntay Cook and DeAndre Moore have emerged as players who look to have a path to significant playing time. They should have plenty of time to get open behind one of college football’s most experienced and talented offensive lines.
Texas has the players to become a title winner in one of the next few seasons. The talent is being developed. 11 players were selected in the 2024 NFL draft. Several more are expected to be drafted over the next two departing classes. That said, they will need to duplicate success which won’t be easy in a more competitive Southeastern Conference.
Texas probably isn’t the next Georgia. But it could be a title contender in 2024. It simply needs to continue along the same trajectory that saw the team go from an 8-5 season to 12 wins in 2023.
