Steve Sarkisian Explains Exactly What Cam Coleman’s Addition Means for Ryan Wingo

Cam Coleman was the Texas Longhorns’ prize addition in the transfer portal, but what does it mean for Ryan Wingo after a breakout year?

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo runs against Ohio State Buckeyes cornerback Denzel Burke during the first quarter of the College Football Playoff semifinal in the Cotton Bowl at AT&T Stadium. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Any time you have the opportunity to add a player of Cam Coleman’s caliber to the offense, it has to be taken. Texas won the sweepstakes this offseason over teams like Texas A&M and Texas Tech, and the star wide receiver could transform the Longhorns’ passing attack overnight.

One player it could impact in a big way is wide receiver Ryan Wingo, who broke out in 2025 and led the team in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. Coleman’s presence and gravity will undoubtedly impact Wingo, but it may be for the best.

Steve Sarkisian Urges Cam Coleman Addition Is a Positive for Ryan Wingo

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo attempts to make a catch in the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Wingo enters his junior year as a candidate to receive all-conference honors in 2026, but his new teammate, Coleman, is of a similar ilk. Both were five-star recruits in the Class of 2024 and have the same career yardage: 1,306. Coleman has four more touchdowns (13-9), while Wingo adds 142 yards on the ground.

Coleman was brought in to be the alpha in the Longhorns’ offense, but that was a position Wingo was preparing to handle. Despite concerns that Coleman could stunt Wingo’s growth, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian sees it differently.

“I think it helps both of them, honestly,” Sarkisian said to the media on April 7. “I think both of those guys are so accustomed to always having the safety cheating toward them. There are times when, if you’re only going to play with one safety, you can only cheat so many ways. If you’re going to play with split safety, surely that helps their run game.”

Sarkisian not only sees the presence of Coleman and Wingo on the field together as benefiting both players but also as something that could help the Longhorns’ running game. After adding Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers via the transfer portal, Texas could return the explosive running game it had during the start of Sarkisian’s tenure.

Auburn Tigers wide receiver Cam Coleman catches a pass as Auburn takes on the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Iron Bowl at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Auburn, Ala., on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. | Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Few players test defenses vertically as Coleman does. He uses every bit of his 6’3” frame to extend for passes and box out defenders, and he turns contested plays into big gains.

According to Rod Babers of On Texas Football, Coleman caught 81.8% of his contested targets 20+ yards down the field. That was the highest rate of any player with double-digit such targets in a season since at least 2017.

“I think for Cam, he continues to grow. I credit Ryan Wingo, I credit Daylan McCutcheon, because those guys have been in the system, Emmett Mosley, and kind of helping him along,” Sarkisian said. “The athleticism is easy to see, and now it's the nuances of what we are trying to get accomplished, and he’ll get there. … We’ve had a pretty good track record of transferring wide receivers, figuring it out, so we’ll be OK.”

In recent years, the Longhorns have turned several high-profile transfers into star wide receivers and NFL draft picks. Matthew Golden had 987 yards and nine touchdowns in 2024 after transferring from Houston, and Adonai Mitchell had 845 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023 after transferring from Georgia. They were the 23rd and 52nd picks in the 2025 and 2024 NFL drafts, respectively.

Coleman seems a likely candidate to follow in their footsteps, and while he is still adjusting to Sarkisian’s offense, he seems to be off to a good start.

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Ryan Wingo celebrates scoring a touchdown with teammates in the second half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

Sarkisian also wants to challenge his duo of outside receivers in 2026. ”We’re going to ask them to do multiple things, probably more than they’ve done in their past, and they’re more than capable of doing that, and that’s going to benefit them not only for us and this team in this year, but it’s going to benefit them for the future as they kind of grow into their career,” he said.

Texas tied for 49th nationally with a 63.83% touchdown-conversion rate in the red zone. With players like Coleman and Wingo on the outside and Brown and Smothers in the backfield, that number should go up.

That gravity and star power could redefine the Longhorns' offense, and Texas will be better for it. There was a lot that needed to change from last season's offense. Arch Manning, meanwhile, showed positive development in the second half of last season, and the team hopes he can maintain that momentum in 2026.

The duo of pass-catchers can make life easy for Manning and tough on defenses. As the Longhorns look to return to the College Football Playoff, both Wingo and Coleman will need to develop how Sarkisian envisions and work in tandem.

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