Texas Coach Pulls no Punches Ahead of Reunion With Oklahoma Transfer Parker Livingstone

Just a few months after he transferred from Texas to Oklahoma, Parker Livingstone gave a couple of memorable quotes about his former team and the Red River Rivalry.

“I want to beat the crap out of Texas,” Livingstone said in March before spring ball. “When I was at Texas and getting ready for that game, that was the game we all looked forward to. We wanted to go out there and beat the crap out of OU. Now, being in an OU jersey, I want to go out there and I want to beat the crap out of Texas.”

Evidently, the feeling is mutual between Livingstone and his former teammates and coaches.

“I hope we kick his ass,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days in Tampa, Fla., on Thursday. “It’s the Red River Rivalry. He chose to go there; he’s on the other side.”

Livingstone spent two seasons in Austin before he transferred. He appeared in four games and redshirted in 2024 before stepping into a significant role in 2025.

The wideout registered 516 yards and six touchdowns on 29 catches during his final season with the Longhorns. He was particularly valuable in the early portion of the season, as he combined for three touchdowns in Texas’ first two games.

Texas, though, didn’t have much of a spot for him in 2026. The Longhorns added former Auburn star Cam Coleman to the roster from the portal, and they also retained Emmett Mosley V and Ryan Wingo.

When OU and Texas battle on Oct. 10, Livingstone will be donning different colors than he did in 2025 — and that will be particularly strange for Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning.

“It's going to be different. I mean, he was my roommate,” Manning said. “So now playing against him is definitely a little bit of a change. I think that's just kind of how college football is now.”

Oklahoma and Texas have battled against one another since 1900. The Longhorns lead the all-time series 65-51-5.

The Sooners commanded the series from 2016 to 2021, winning five of six regular-season meetings. But since then, the Longhorns are 3-1 against Oklahoma.

Played at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in the midst of the Texas State Fair, the Red River Rivalry is one of college football’s most unique atmospheres. And for Sarkisian, nothing will be different with one of his former players on the opposite sidelines.

“It’s epic, pulling into the Cotton Bowl — the state fair, the corn dogs, the turkey legs… split down the middle of the 50-yard line, both teams in the same tunnel,” Sarkisian said. “At the end of the day, it’s competition.”

Though Sarkisian’s SEC Media Days soundbyte regarding Livingstone was blunt, he still has plenty of love for his former wideout — but that won’t get in the way of his desires for the 2026 installment of the Red River Rivalry.

“After the game, I’m sure I’ll give him a big hug,” Sarkisian said. “But before that, we’re trying to beat his ass. That’s the way it goes.”

Sign up to our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X for the latest news.

Add us as a preferred source on Google