We find ourselves in a similar position to last year around this time.
The Longhorns are coming off a disappointing season in which they severely underwhelmed, going 5-7 in the first year under Steve Sarkisian. Thanks to several offseason acquisitions, there seems to be some wind in the sails of Texas again.
Sarkisian and his staff were able to recruit what may end up being one of the deepest classes to ever grace the Forty Acres, as they addressed almost every position of need as possible. They also made out like some bandits in terms of adding talent from the transfer portal, as that is where a lot of the hype surrounding this team is stemming from.
Texas was able to add Ohio State transfer Quinn Ewers, who is expected to be the next generational talent at the quarterback position. The staff and fan base sure hope that is even half true, as the Longhorns were unable to figure out their quarterback situation last season and inconsistency at the position plagued them.
That wasn’t the only spot the team struggled at, as the trenches were abysmal. The offensive line couldn’t block a traffic cone, and the defense was gashed seemingly every game by opposing running backs giving up over 200 yards rushing a game.
Both of those needs were addressed in recruiting, as offensive line coach Kyle Flood supplanted himself as the Big 12 recruiter of the year thanks to the class he wrangled up, headlined by two five-star offensive linemen in Devon Campbell and Kelvin Banks. Bo Davis wasn’t far behind as he added talented recruits all across the defensive line to hopefully help Texas generate a pass rush.
Sarkisian expressed at the end of the season that he wanted to add over 30 new scholarship players, and they surpassed that mark with flying colors. The media and experts seem to be bought in on this team again, as Ewers and Bijan Robinson are early Heisman contenders and the added talent has Texas viewed as an early top-25 team.
It is always hard to predict the future, especially with this program, but here are the worst case scenarios for the 2022 season.