Texas Longhorns Stock Watch after Week 1: Who's up & who's down?

Breaking down the players who are rising or falling based on their performance in Texas’s Week 1 loss.

Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) drops back to pass against the Ohio State Buckeyes. | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

The Texas Longhorns look to regroup after opening the season with a tough loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes on the road. The Longhorns should have a much more favorable matchup with the San Jose State Spartans heading into Austin for Texas's home opener at Darrell K. Royal Stadium on Saturday.

Much has already been analyzed and dissected about the performances of the Longhorns against the Buckeyes, and while some performed better than others, Texas should continue to build on the few positives and iron out any negatives from game one.

Here's a closer look at a couple of players and where their stocks are headed. Who is trending upwards or downwards after the Longhorns' first game of the season ended in a frustrating loss?

Trending Up

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Brandon Inniss (1) attempts to make a catch over Texas Longhorns defensive back Graceson Littleton (29). | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

Graceson Littleton, CB

The true freshman was one of the surprises throughout Longhorns training camp. And after Texas's first game, it's clear to see why. Littleton made a few highlight plays in his limited snaps, with the biggest being a pass deflection that targeted Buckeyes wide receiver Jeremiah Smith.

For his performance, Littleton was the highest graded player per PFF in the opener against Ohio State with a performance grade of 86.6. The stock of the freshman cornerback should be on the rise after the wider college football world received its first introduction to Littleton a week ago. The cornerback should absolutely get more opportunities as the season progresses.

Offensive Line

The Longhorns' offensive line was a question mark heading into the season after having to replace all but one starter along the line. The unit was solid in pass protection, giving up just one sack, and allowed the running game to be effective, as the team rushed for 166 yards on 37 carries, averaging 4.48 yards per carry.

Texas should feel confident about the offensive line's debut performance against one of the best defenses in the country, in Ohio State. And with the next few weeks being "comfortable" games, the Longhorns' offensive line will get more reps together and better gel as a unit.

Trending Down

Arch Manning, QB

The stock poured into the new Longhorns quarterback was out of control, and while the Arch Manning hype can be understandable with all the outside factors after game one, Manning's stock undoubtedly took a tumble.

The quarterback finished the game completing 17 of his 30 passes for just 170 yards with one touchdown and an interception. Manning did not look like the same quarterback for the majority of the game as the one who started a pair of games for the Longhorns last season. However, don't sell all of the Manning stock, as the quarterback should improve throughout the season, with 11 games to go in the year.