Texas Will 'Have a Shot Every Year' to Compete For Championships
Three years ago, things weren't looking great for the Texas Longhorns.
Tom Herman had just been fired, the culture of the program was in a precarious position, and the team seemingly had no direction going forward.
Then, Steve Sarkisian landed in Austin, and things began to change.
Flash forward to today, and Texas is fresh off of a Big 12 championship, a College Football Playoff run, and about to wrap up their third-straight top-5 recruiting class.
And according to 247Sports analyst Josh Pate, the Horns could not be in a better spot heading into their first season of SEC Play.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian talks with Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) during a timeout in the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023, in Austin, Texas.
Ricardo B. Brazziell/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK
“This could be an evergreen prediction,” Pate said. “Keep saying it. Like predicting Saban’s retirement... keep predicting it every year, because eventually you’ll get it right. Keep predicting this, because Texas is going to have a shot every year.”
From the outside looking in, that may seem like a wild prediction. After all, the Horns lost its four top pass catches in Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, Adonai Mitchell, and Ja'Tavion Sanders, its top running back in Jonathan Brooks and arguably its three best defensive players in T'Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy II and Jaylon Ford.
However, thanks to the way Sarkisian has built the foundation of the program, Texas shouldn't lose much of a beat.
Even before their elite transfer portal haul Texas was expected to at least compete for an SEC title in 2024 - especially after the announcement of Quinn Ewers' return. Sarkisian's recruiting had been that good.
But now they aren't expected to miss much of a beat at all - and now that it is built to last, it won't be for a long time.
“Texas doesn’t have to [rebuild],” Pate said. “Texas has entered that rarified air in our sport where they can take their best shot, and if they win a title, fine. If they lose to Washington in the semifinals, fine. They’ll have an excellent chance to do it again the next year.”
Will Texas look different in 2024? Absolutely.
Matthew Golden, Silas Bolden, Isaiah Bond, Amari Niblack, Kendrick Blackshire and Tiaoalii Savea, are different players from Worthy, Mitchell, Whittington, Sanders, Ford, and Sweat.
That said, other Portal additions like Andrew Mukuba, and Trey Moore are both massive improvements at their respective positions, and incoming freshmen like Colin Simmons, Ryan Wingo, Xavier Filsaime, Brandon Baker, and Kobe Black are all expected to be big contributors.
In other words, these kinds of big additions to the roster are not just a flash in the pan. Sarkisian has been consistent in his improvements of the team in all three of his seasons at the helm.
And as long as he and his culture are in place, he will be able to keep the roster and the program at the forefront of the college football championship conversation for years to come.
