Longhorns Country

Texas Longhorns Players React to Boos Against UTEP

Texas Longhorns fans let the players have it on Saturday.
DJ Burton|
Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. answers questions from the media during SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel.
Texas Longhorns linebacker Anthony Hill Jr. answers questions from the media during SEC Media Days at Omni Atlanta Hotel. | Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images

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Texas Longhorns

The Texas Longhorns’ Week 3 victory over the UTEP Miners left Texas fans with much to be desired. While a win is a win, this one should have been more lopsided in the Longhorns favor, or at least the fans thought.

Quarterback Arch Manning struggled throughout the game and logged 10 incompletions in a row at one point in the second quarter before finishing the day with 44 percent completion, 114 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

After Manning missed wide receiver Ryan Niblett on what seemed like a routine slant on third down, the Longhorn-faithful let the team have an earful as the boo-birds began to sing.

Texas Longhorns Players React

Texas football player, Arch Manning
Texas football player, Arch Manning, stands on the field during warm up before a game against UTEP at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025. | Gaby Velasquez / El Paso Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Manning started feeling the wrath of Longhorns fans after a debut at Ohio State that left many feeling disappointed with a players who was touted as the best passer in the country. Against UTEP, their frustrations came to a head and let the quarterback know.

“I’ve got to play better,” Manning said after the game. “I’m just frustrated. I know I’m better than this. It’s going to be hard to sleep tonight.”

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian did not seem too concerned with the boos and acknowledged that they are part of the game.

“I told Arch before the season, you’ve never really been a QB until they boo you,“ Sarkisian said at halftime. “He got booed in the first half, now he can start playing.”

Defensively, Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taaffe use the boos as motivation. While Texas’ defense held strong and only allowed 50 yards on the ground and just over 150 through the air, the defense still heard the boos.

”I heard the boos,” Hill said after the game. “We have a tough fan base, and if we're not playing to the standard that we expect to play at, I mean, how can I be mad at the fans for being mad at us?“

Despite the performance, Hill is optimistic for the rest of the season.

“We're gonna look at the tape and just go back to work the next weekend,” Hill said. “Hopefully the result comes out better.“

Defensive back Michael Taaffe had a message for the fans following the boos.

“Trust me, we got it,“ Taaffe said. “We're gonna take care of business. We wake up at 5:30 every single morning to try to go execute what hasn't been executed in 20 years here at the University of Texas. So just trust us and keep cheering loud for us. We really appreciate it.“

The Longhorns have a get-right game against hte Sam Houston Bearkats on September 20.

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DJ Burton
DJ BURTON

DJ Burton is a journalist from Kingwood, Texas. He is a credentialed writer for Texas A&M Aggies On SI. He graduated from Texas A&M with a journalism major and a sport management minor. Before attending A&M, Burton played offensive line for two seasons at Hiram College in northeast Ohio, where he studied sport management. Burton brings experience covering football, baseball, softball, men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball. He also served as a senior sports writer for A&M’s student newspaper, The Battalion.

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