What the Film Shows About Texas WR Cam Coleman

Through the transfer portal, the Texas Longhorns added players on both sides of the ball who can prove to be X-factors in the 2026 campaign. One of those acquisitions, without a doubt, is former Auburn Tigers wide receiver Cam Coleman, who arrives on the Forty Acres after being ranked No. 1 in the On3 Transfer Portal player rankings.

Coleman provides a distinct, game-changing skillset to head coach Steve Sarkisian's offense, as a one-on-one matchup nightmare for opposing defenses at 6-foot-3.

In a YouTube video released on The Film Guy Network on Tuesday, Brooks Austin reviewed the tape of Coleman's performance against the Vanderbilt Commodores last season, analyzing the role and changes he brings to the Longhorns' offensive versatility and play style.

Cam Coleman is an "attention-getter"

Texas Longhorns wide receiver Cam Coleman — Auburn wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) catches a touchdown pass in front of Vanderbilt cornerback Martel Hight (4) during the fourth quarter at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

To start his video, Austin points out that at Auburn, former Tigers head coach Hugh Freeze used his star wide receiver primarily as a "vertical asset," Coleman not really asked to employ the full route tree game by game. Yet, in that, he showed he doesn't have to in order to be effective.

"I don't know if Cam needs to be (a great route runner)," Austin said. "I think we can get this guy to 120 yards a game just throwing him seven verticals — he's that good with the ball in the air."

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Austin describes Coleman as "sure-handed," a guy that Sarkisian and company likely won't have to worry about in the drop department, an issue that plagued Texas pass-catchers last season. And, he gathers defensive attention like no other Texas wide receiver of recent years.

Against Vanderbilt, he had just one catch after 36 plays. But after back-to-back catches late in the second quarter, as Austin pointed out in his video, Coleman attracted defensive coverage like a gravitational pull, leaving the opposing defense in a dangerous position.

"This is what you pay an X (wide receiver) for ... Even if you want to bracket him, even if you want to drop a DB up underneath him when we're in (a) three by one (alignment), you're playing nine on 10 now," Austin said about Coleman's impact.

In 2026, the Longhorns are set to have playmakers across the line of scrimmage. Outside of Coleman, the names surrounding quarterback Arch Manning include running backs Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown and wide receivers Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley V, Kaliq Lockett and Daylan McCutcheon. Giving any of them extra room to operate could also cause lethal consequences for opposing teams.

"You might be able to play nine on 10 against Auburn. You're not going to be able to play nine on 10 against Texas," Austin said.

Coleman erupted over the course of the second half in Nashville, behind his elite ability to make plays even without much separation. He ultimately totaled 10 catches for 143 receiving yards against the then-No. 15-ranked Commodores.

The pinnacle of his showing came on a pair of standout, one-handed catches in the fourth quarter — the first for a touchdown and the next for the two-point conversion — that both came on fading routes in the endzone.

"If you told me, 'hey Brooksy, you got one guy. We're going to have a perfect ball. Don't worry about that. It's going to be up in the air. Go get it — whose it got?' It's Cam Coleman, every single time for me," Austin said.

Now entering a system led by Sarkisian's playcalling and Manning's arm, there is undeniable potential for Coleman to take the next step in his productivity and, simultaneously, to help out his fellow pass-catchers. Texas' opportunity to establish one of the country's most threatening passing games is right in front of them.

The one-two combination of Wingo and Coleman is all the reasoning needed.

"If you're a Texas fan, just know that all the screen stuff is still Wingo's department. It should be. He is tremendous after the catch," Austin said. "But now, when we're in the redzone and it's third-and-six, and we need a slant to get space. Now we don't have to worry about Wingo maybe dropping it. Now we just throw it to Cam Coleman. So some of these things get much, much easier for us as an offense."