The old saying goes that it’s more difficult to stay on top than it is to get there. Often when you hear those words, they are related to becoming complacent. For Steve Sarkisian and the 2025 Texas offense, complacency shouldn’t be a problem. But player turnover could be a challenge.
The Longhorns will have to find 8 new starters on the offensive side of the ball this off season. Quarterback Quinn Ewers, along with Left Tackle Kelvin Banks, Right Tackle Cameron Williams, and Wide Receivers Isaiah Bond and Matthew Golden all elected to forego their Senior years and enter the 2025 NFL Draft. With NFL potential themselves, Left Guard Hayden Conner, Center Jake Majors and Tight End Gunnar Helm have all exhausted their NCAA eligibility. Throw in Running Back Jaydon Blue and Wide Receiver Silas Bolden who were both big contributors on offense in 2024, Coach Sark is losing 52% of his total yardage production, 78% of his passing yards and 61% of his touchdown production.
Despite the wall of evidence to the contrary, the college football world is very high on this Texas team in 2025 and the Longhorn faithful have high expectations. It’s hard not to with the recent success Texas has had and with, what many college football pundits consider one of the best play callers in the game, Steve Sarkisian orchestrating it all. But, when I hear any team is losing 4starters on their OL, their QB, their TE and 2 WRs to the NFL draft, I have to wonder how they expect to match or exceed the offensive output the next year. Who will step up? Which position group will rise to be the strength of the offense? Here’s how I would rank the offensive position groups heading into spring football.
Quarterback– How do you replace a 3-year starter at QB, that posted 9,128 career passing yards on 65% completions, 68TDs and expect the offense to not miss a beat? A Manning! That’s how. Arch Manning and the Quinn Ewers detractors have waited their turns (one patiently, the others not so much) and the Arch era has officially begun on the 40 Acres. .
Arch Manning tallied 939yards on almost 68% completions and 9 TDs in his role as backup and 2 starts due to Quinn Ewers injury. He added another 108 yards and 4 TDs on the ground. Drawing big cheers every time he stepped onto the field, Arch dazzled Texas fans with his big play ability. Big, fleet of foot, accurate down the field and a championship pedigree should alleviate some of the concern about the 2025 offense.
Trey Owens is likely penciled in as the backup heading into spring football. He completed 50% of his passes for 19 yards in 2024. Owens impressed in the 2024 Spring game, throwing 228 yards on 66% completions and 3 TDs.
Incoming Freshman, KJ Lacey, from Alabama will battle it out with Owens for the backup position. Lacey fell just a few yards short of setting Alabama’s all time career high school passing record in 2024 and has 10,985 yards to his credit.
AJ Milwee and Steve Sarkisian have a great QB room once again.
Pass Catchers – The Top 3 targets in reception yards in 2024 will be playing their football for NFL franchises in2025, but Coach Sark has done a great job recruiting, especially the wide receiver position, and has the credibility to be in the hunt with players in the transfer portal.
The 2025 group of pass catchers is in much better shape headed into spring football than they were when the season ended in 2023. Before a couple of big pickups in the portal last spring, Texas had 398 yards and 2 TDs returning to this position group. Right now, Texas has 928 yards and 9 TDs returning.
Sophomores Ryan Wingo and DeAndre Moore Jr look poised to do the bulk of the heavy lifting at the WR positions in 2025 after having productive freshman campaigns on the gridiron.
Behind them there are talented players like Aaron Butler and Parker Livingstone that have been in the program for a full year now.
The 2025 recruiting class was headlined by a pair of 5 Star WRs named Kaliq Lockett and and Jaime Ffrench who are both Top 50 recruits in the country.
The TE position is more of a question mark headed into this spring but I think 6-4 250lb Jordan Washington is going to be a pleasant surprise for Longhorn fans.
Chris Jackson and Jeff Banks have loaded rooms to throw into the breech.
Offensive Line – I don’t care what anyone says about the talent that was waiting in the wings on the 2024 roster or the fact that some of them made starts earlier in their careers, replacing 4 offensive lineman is no easy task and it may take the new unit some time to work the kinks out.
The projected lineup heading into 2025 varies slightly depending on who you’re talking to but here’s my best guest at who we might see jog onto the field in The Shoe on August 30th.
LT– Soph Trevor Goosby: Goosby filled in nicely at both LT and RT when Kelvin Banks went down during the season finale in College Station and when Cam Williams was unable to go in the SEC Championship game. Outside of DJ Campbell, and barring injury, Goosby is about as much a lock to hold down a starting gig as you can get.
LG– Neto Umeozulu: Neto is a guy that came in with Banks, Agbo, Williams and Campbell and he’s gotten some playing time while on the 40 Acres. At 6-4 330lbs, he fits the BIG Human mold that Coach Flood loves.
C– Cole Hutson: Hutson would be the old man in this OL configuration. The 6-5 310lb senior has played over 1500 snaps at G and C during his time on the 40 Acres. With 13 career starts, he’d represent 29% oft he returning starts.
RG– DJ Campbell: Campbell has 30 career starts and is known as a tough guy in the run game. His recruiting class’s most highly rated OL recruit, the potential is certainly there for a breakout year.
RT– Brandon Baker: The 6-4 315lb true freshman, and former 5-star recruit, played in limited action this season but looks to be the heir apparent at the right tackle position.
This group is long on talent and really short on experience compared to the OL this time last season. Does that mean they can’t be really good? Nope. But it means there could be some growing pains as this group gets used to each other in their new roles. Kyle flood has 218 days to find his guys and have them ready.
Running Backs – The 2024 season started off about as bad as it could for Tashard Choice and his running backroom. Both CJ Baxter, the projected starter, and Freshman Christian Clark went down with season ending injuries in fall camp. Tre Wisner and Jaydon Blue were able to carry most of the load, rushing for 1794 yards and 9 TDs combined. Freshman Jerrick Gibson added 377 yards and 4TDs of his own.
The lack of a consistent running game was the 2024 offenses’ achilles heel. In all 3 of Texas’ losses, the running game was a non-factor. Finding a run game identity this offseason should be one of the main goals for Steve Sarkisian, yle Flood and Tashard Choice.
With Jaydon Blue’s departure to the NFL and uncertainty looming about CJ Baxter and Christian Clark’s return to full health, finding some quality depth in the transfer portal may need to be a focus as well.
Texas is losing a lot of talent, experience and production on offense but there is reason for optimism. The QB room is one of the strongest in the country. Steve Sarkisian and Chris Jackson have recruited the WR room about as good as it can be done. Kyle Flood has a stable of Big Humans, many of whom have been in the program for multiple years. Tashard Choice is one of the best running back coaches in college football and the Texas staff has recruited this position very well in recent years.
As Texas looks to replace 8 starters in 2025, a cautious brand of optimism is probably warranted. It will take some time for the new OL to gel and no offense can reach its full potential if the OL is struggling. This Texas offense will be dangerous, but we could see even more inconsistency in 2025 than we did in 2024, especially early in the season.