Ranking the Best Texas Players at Each Offensive Position in the Steve Sarkisian Era

Steve Sarkisian became the head coach of the Texas Longhorns on January 2nd, 2021. Since then, he has made the College Football Playoffs twice, beaten Oklahoma and Texas A&M in five out of their seven combined games and had 34 players drafted to the NFL.

He has coached some of the greatest players of the 2020s, but which are the best?

Here is the 'All-Sark Squad,' the best players at each position that Steve Sarkisian has coached at the University of Texas, starting with the offense.

Quarterback

QB1 - Arch Manning (2023-Present) QB2 - Quinn Ewers (2022-2024)

*Years listed only include those spent with Texas while Sarkisian was coach

In what has to be the closest call of this list, Arch Manning just barely edges out Quinn Ewers as Sarkisian's best field general. The returning quarterback has been less accurate than Ewers but has been better at avoiding negative plays, posting a pressure-to-sack rate of 15.1% to Ewers' 21.8% and an interception rate of 1.8% to Ewers' 2.1%.

Manning is also a significantly better rusher than Ewers, putting up 14 touchdowns and 681 yards on 6.5 yards per attempt to Ewers' eight touchdowns and 356 yards on four yards per carry.

That being said, Ewers was a positive starter for multiple years with Texas, posting 9,103 passing yards on a career 73.8% adjusted completion percentage. If Manning's play falters this year, than Ewers will take the top spot on the basis that he was more consistent.

Running Back

RB1 - Bijan Robinson (2021-2022) RB2 - Jonathon Brooks (2021-2023) HM - Quintrevion Wisner (2023-2025)

Unlike quarterback, running back was not a close call at all. Bijan Robinson is arguably the greatest Texas Longhorn since Colt McCoy, and is the only player on this list to receive Heisman votes.

The unanimous All-American and Doak Walker Award Winner led the conference in rushing yards (1,580) and touchdowns (18) in 2022 while en route to becoming the eighth overall pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. He is without a doubt the best running back Sarkisian has coached, and could remain so until Sarkisian retires.

Jonathon Brooks was no slouch either. After sitting behind Robinson and his backup, Roschon Johnson, for two seasons, Brooks broke out in 2023 to the tune of 1,139 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 6.1 yards per attempt.

Tight End

TE1 - Ja'Tavion Sanders (2021-2023) TE2 - Gunnar Helm (2021-2024) HM - Jack Endries (2025)

In another tight race, Ja'Tavion Sanders just beat out Gunnar Helm.

Sanders put up 1,295 receiving yards and nine touchdowns in his two seasons as a part of the Longhorns' offense. While neither he nor Helm were excellent blockers, Sanders posted PFF run blocking grades of 61.5 and 59.7 as a starter to Helm's 43.5.

Helm did however post the best individual season, putting up 786 receiving yards and seven touchdowns while hauling in a team-leading 60 receptions in 2024. He caught 82.2% of his targets that season, a mark which exceeds Sanders' of 71.2% across both years.

Wide Receiver

WR1 - Xavier Worthy (2021-2023) WR2 - Matthew Golden (2024) WR3 - Jordan Whittington (2021-2023) WR4 - Ryan Wingo (2024-Present) HM - Adonai Mitchell (2023)

While Xavier Worthy did not quite live up to the sky-high expectations that were set for him after his 981-yard, 12-touchdown freshman campaign, he still left Austin as Sarkisian's most accomplished wideout. He finished his career with 2,752 receiving yards and 25 receiving touchdowns on 196 catches.

Matthew Golden spent just one season in Austin and only put up 576 yards throughout the regular season. However, his postseason run was the stuff of legends, as he put up 411 yards across four games to help lead the Longhorns to the semifinals.

Golden's run included the greatest play of Sarkisian's tenure, as in overtime of the quarterfinal against Arizona State, Texas found themself down seven and facing a fourth-and-13 from the 28-yard line. The Sun Devils showed blitz, so Ewers audibled into a shot-play for Golden, who beat his man on a double-move and wrangled in the pass to keep the Longhorns alive.

Another fantastic play from last year:
On 4th and 13 in overtime, Quinn Ewers delivers under pressure—firing a 28-yard strike to Matthew Golden for the clutch touchdown!
Texas Longhorns vs. Arizona State Sun Devils in the Peach Bowl
Final: Texas 39, Arizona State 31 (2OT)
Jan.… pic.twitter.com/IfUYS115Lr
— Longhorn🤘Highlights (@LonghornClips) August 28, 2025

Jordan Whittington was the opposite of Golden, spending five years with the Longhorns, though only three with Sarkisian, as a tough, do-it-all slot receiver. Whittington quietly put up 1,523 yards in his three years with Sarkisian and has been rewarded for his unique skill set by Sean McVay and the Rams in the NFL.

Ryan Wingo was Manning's leading receiver last season and has put up 1,306 yards with the Longhorns so far. While Texas brought in Cam Coleman this offseason, Wingo will still be a major part of the offense next year.

Offensive Line

LT - Kelvin Banks Jr. (2022-2024) LG - Hayden Conner (2021-2024) C - Jake Majors (2020-2024) RG - DJ Campbell (2022-2025) RT - Christian Jones (2021-2023) HM - Trevor Goosby (2023-Present)

Kelvin Banks Jr. is handily the best Longhorn to play every year of their career under Sarkisian, and his hardware is unparalleled amongst his Texas peers. Banks was named to the All-Big 12 team twice, the All-SEC team once, was a second-team All-American as a sophomore, won the Jacobs, Lombardi, and Outland trophies, and was a unanimous All-American as a junior.

Hayden Conner does not have the same kind of accolades that Banks does, but he was a three-year starter for Sarkisian at left guard.

Jake Majors played in Austin for five seasons, four under Sarkisian, and owns the Texas record for most career starts by any player with 56, all but two of which were for Sarkisian-coached teams. Majors was an elite pass-blocker who gave up one sack over his four seasons as the full-time starter, which encompassed 1,985 pass-blocking snaps.

DJ Campbell played 2,633 snaps at right guard for the Longhorns, and while he had mixed results early in his career, he was a key part of last season's offense.

Christian Jones is the only one of these players who did not play on the 2024 line, which was a finalist for the Joe Moore Award. After a paltry start to his career, Jones became a key piece of the offensive line after switching from left to right tackle in 2022 and 2023.

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