Longhorns Land in Top 20 of 247Sports' Cumulative Preseason Top 25
With the college football offseason in full swing and spring ball starting up across the country, we are likely to see even more reactionary takes in the coming months until the season starts in the fall.
Some teams will be deemed preseason national championship contenders while others will see their coach placed on an offseason hot seat. As for the Texas Longhorns, well, it will likely be a little bit of both.
There have already been various way-too-early preseason Top 25 rankings, several of which list the Longhorns. According to 247Sports' cumulative top 25 preseason poll, they land in the top 20.
No. 18 - Texas Longhorns
The word: Where's the love for Texas? The Longhorns are always adorned with preseason hype, but many are taking the wait-and-see approach with Steve Sarkisian's team in 2023 after last year's success.
Quinn Ewers is being pressed for snaps this spring by five-star freshman Arch Manning and the rest of the Texas cast has star potential. There's a reason the Longhorns will receive their share of first-place votes this summer in what we expect will be a wide-open Big 12 race.
On paper it isn't hard to see why the Longhorns are a preseason darling to so many publications - returning 10 of 11 offensive starters, another year in the system for quarterback Quinn Ewers, continued defensive improvement as well as an elite 2023 recruiting class.
All things considered, this should be the year that the Longhorns take the next step under Steve Sarkisian and find themselves in the Big 12 championship game. Not making it is not an all-out failure, depending on the circumstances.
The Longhorns will continue to get plenty of off-season hype throughout the spring and summer, with some of it being deserved. The time is now, though, to show that it isn't just hype, but warranted expectations.
You can find Connor Zimmerlee on Twitter @Connorjz98
Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Longhorns? Click Here to Subscribe to the Longhorns Country Newsletter
Want even more Texas Longhorns? Check out the SI.com team page here
Follow Longhorns Country on Twitter and Facebook.
Make sure to subscribe to the Longhorns Country Podcast today! Click here To Listen.
