4 biggest questions for the Texas Longhorns in fall camp

The Texas Longhorns are the closest they've been to a National Championship title they have been since the 2009 season, making their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance last year.

Texas looks to be back in a big way despite new challenges. This College Football season, the Longhorns will play in the SEC after many years of playing in the underachieving Big 12 Conference. Texas and Oklahoma look to make a solid transition into the new conference, but only Texas possesses legitimate national championship hype.

The Longhorns are primed and ready on both sides of the field in the fourth year under head coach Steve Sarkisian. While their team is ready, their schedule is brutal. They will face five teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 coaches poll, released on Monday, Aug. 5. For the Longhorns to thrive in a new conference, they’ll have to answer these questions in the remaining few weeks of fall camp.

4. Can Quinn Ewers keep Archie Manning off his back?

One of the biggest reasons why the Longhorns are serious contenders for a national title is the leadership and experience of senior quarterback Quinn Ewers. He is one of the most recognizable faces of college football, but so is redshirt freshman quarterback Arch Manning.

Ewers has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in college football and led the Longhorns to a great season last year. Manning is recognizable for his family name and media outlets expect him to be eventually given the starting job. Manning has received one of the top NIL compensation packages going into his second season at Texas.

Ewers shouldn’t have to battle for his job, but the fame of Manning is going to keep him at the heels of Ewers. In his one season, Manning has completed two of his five passes for 30 yards.

Ewers completed 272-of-394 of his passes for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns, six interceptions and a quarterback rating of 158.6. He has played great in big moments and in big games. One of his biggest flaws is that he hasn’t played a full season due to injuries. While he hasn’t missed a lot of time and lost his starting job, he will face even more questions of his health if he is injured for a third consecutive season.

Manning’s reputation and potential will always have Ewers on his toes. This Lonhorns’ offense may be in Ewer’s control, but that can quickly change if Manning shows on the second-team offense and is healthier than Ewers.

3. Which wide receiver will be the star?

This Longhorns’ offense shouldn’t have real questions regarding their quarterback, but there are going to be questions regarding the wide receivers. The Longhorns are attempting to finalize their roster this fall camp at all positions, including wide receiver where they have to replace all three starters.

Texas lost all five leaders in receiving yards from last season, including three wide receivers. Xavier Worthy was a first-round pick while Adonai Mitchell was a second-round pick. The Longhorns took careful measures to ensure their passing game wouldn’t lose a step.

The Longhorns added transfer receivers Isaish Bond from Alabama and Matthew Golden from Houston. Golden caught 76 receptions for 988 yards and 13 touchdowns in two years at Houston. Bond is a big-play, reliable receiver who caught 48 receptions for 668 yards and four touchdowns last season. Any one of these transfers can be the number-one receiver.

The Longhorns are putting a lot of trust and pressure on the former four-star receiver and sophomore DeAndre Moore Jr.  Finally, the Longhorns could turn to 5-foot-8 slot receiver Silas Bolden, who caught 54 receptions for 746 yards and five touchdowns for Oregon State last season.

Offensively, Texas has the capability of installing an elite passing offense by committee. They will, however, need one pass-catcher to stand out and be the player to make the big plays in the final quarter or drive.

2. How will the defense recover after last season? 

While the Longhorns could be primed and ready, the same might not be said for the defense. Texas possessed one of the most elite rushing defenses in college football, ranking third in the nation (82.4 rushing yards allowed per game).

Their pass defense, however, was among one of the weaker units in the playoff teams. The Longhorns were ranked 116th in the nation in passing yards allowed per game (254.4). It was the biggest reason why the Washington Huskies took down the Longhorns in the CFP semifinals.

This season, the Longhorns are having to replace six key starters who left for the NFL or transfer portal. Among the biggest losses was in the secondary where Texas lost four of their five starters.

The good news is that they were able to utilize the transfer portal for some solid additions. Three of the biggest pickups in the off-season were Clemson safety Andrew Mukuba, Alabama linebacker Kendrick Blackshire and UTSA edge rusher Trey Moore.

There is still work to be done with this Longhorns defense. This is going to be a critical year for fourth-year defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski. He will be without co-defensive coordinator Jeff Choate, who left to be the head coach of Nevada. If there is any reason why the Longhorns underperform this season, it’ll be because of the defense.

1. Can Texas withstand the grueling SEC schedule?

This 2024 College Football season is the most crucial season for the Longhorns as they must engage in a win-now campaign in their first year as an SEC program. The SEC possesses several teams that will be serious national title contenders. Texas will be one of those teams, along with the Georgia Bulldogs, the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Ole Miss Rebels.

The good news for the Longhorns is that they will only have to face one of the four teams in the regular season. Texas will host Georgia on Oct. 19, one week after its rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, in the Red River Rivalry.

Texas won’t have to face Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Missouri and Tennessee, all of whom were ranked in the top 15 of the coaches poll. They will, however, have to juggle facing Oklahoma and Georgia two consecutive weeks before facing tough tests against Florida, at Arkansas, Kentucky and Texas A&M to end the regular season.

The Longhorns could afford to lose one game in the regular season due to the CFB Playoff expansion to 12 teams. Two losses would be too much unless they somehow win the SEC Conference Championship.