Steve Sarkisian Makes Eye-Opening Admission About Texas Freshman Jermaine Bishop

The Texas Longhorns have one of the best rosters on paper entering the 2026 season and are led by a team full of veterans developed through the program and the transfer portal, expectations are high entering the year.

For head coach Steve Sarkisian, though, while the roster saw an influx of talent from the transfer portal, there were also plenty of incoming freshmen who are looking to make an impact early on.

One of those includes Jermaine Bishop, who has impressed the coaching staff plenty since arriving on campus, and now Sarkisian believes he can find the field early in the season and have a chance to make an impact right away.

Bishop Doesn't Have a Freshman Mentality

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on before a game against the Michigan Wolverines at Camping World Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Bishop is an incoming freshman for the Longhorns and was ranked as the No. 2 athlete in the class and the No. 16 overall prospect for the cycle. He was brought on campus with the staff unsure whether he would stick on offense or defense, but throughout camp, he made the biggest waves as a receiver on offense.

"Jermaine has worked extremely hard. I think the one thing about Jermaine that I really value about him," Sarkisian said of the freshman. "The moment is never too big for him, you know. Whether we put him in with the ones in a two-minute drill, whether it's with the ones in a red zone lockout situation, whether it's putting him in the ones in a situational master's walk-through at night, where it's a very intricate situation. He's very poised. He's very composed. He's very confident to go along with his ability."

Now, though, Bishop has continued to impress throughout fall camp, and with his blistering speed and 6-foot frame, he has been turning heads in a way that makes it tough to deny him a spot on the team this season for the Longhorns.

"He's got a playmaking ability, he's a savvy route runner, he's competitive, he's tough," Sarkisian continued on. "So it wouldn't surprise me at all in a couple of weeks if he has a significant role offensively for us."

The Longhorns are pretty set in their starting rotation at receiver, especially with the offseason addition of Cam Coleman, but Bishop could find a way into the rotation with the twos, and there is potential for sweeps to involve putting the ball in his hand and letting him use his speed to get around the edge.

Despite being a freshman, Sarkisian doesn't believe that will hinder him, and he could be the first one from his recruiting class to make an impact on the field for the program, and he could do so in a big way.

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