Let’s be real—Steve Sarkisian‘s Texas ain’t duckin’ the smoke no more. After coming up short in the Playoff semis to Ohio State, the vibes in Austin been a lil’ off. Quinn Ewers and key dogs on offense like Kelvin Banks Jr, Matthew Golden, Isaiah Bond (Jail potentially), Gunner Helm? All off to NFL. The Longhorns are heading into a New era of football with Arch Manning. But it ain’t all rainbows and sunshine over at Austin. It’s more like curiosity and questions. Let’s start with that wideout room? Got names, sure, but new chemistry. Tight end? That joint was empty. Offensive line? Swiss cheese status. And while everybody was tryna act like the house ain’t on fire, one Texas legend stepped up and said what everybody else was too scared to: this offense might got star power, but it’s walking on glass.
It was on the “On Texas Football” podcast that Rod Babers pulled the curtain back. He ain’t sugarcoat it. “I’m just curious,” he said, “But the biggest question I think is really for me, and I don’t know if you’ll get a lot of the answers to it, is about the jelling of the offensive line and how that will, um, translate to the running game.” Translation? Sark’s play-calling don’t mean a damn thing if the O-line don’t get it together. Pass pro? Cool. Arch got legs—he ain’t takin’ the sacks like Quinn did. But this run game? It’s on shaky ground, and Babers made it clear: it’s time for a new identity up front.
See, Texas lost FOUR outta five starting O-linemen. That’s not just a gap—that’s a damn crater. DJ Campbell and Cole Hutson gotta hold it down now, but Trevor Goosby and Brandon Baker? They are fresh meat. If that front five don’t mesh, Arch Manning’s welcome party might turn into a horror show. And we ain’t even hit Week 1 yet.
The run game? Deep. Like, stupid deep. Cedric Baxter Jr. and Jerrick Gibson? They bringing smoke. Texas got thunder, lightning, third-down juice—you name it. But here’s the catch: without a cohesive O-line, all that backfield talent ain’t hitting max volume. Rotation’s cool and all, but if nobody establishes themselves as that dude? That rhythm dies real quick.
Now let’s talk tight end—a flat-out crisis before spring. We all know Steve Sarkisian loves tight ends. Rod Babers kept it buck “And I feel like Sark and the staff, via the transfer portal, uh, brought in a lot of possibilities. And now I’m just more curious how it’s gonna look. Tight end—that was my number one question going into the spring. It’s like, “What the hell are they going to do at tight end?” Like, they really had nothing at tight end.” Gunnar Helm? Off to Titan. Amari Niblack? Hit the transfer highway. Who’s left? A group of guys with zero catches last year. Sark wasn’t gonna trust Arch’s breakout season to some invisible tight ends. So what’d he do? He went portal-diving and pulled out a damn gem: Jack Endries from Cal.
The former Cal tight end put up 623 yards and 56 catches last season. Quiet assassin-type. Sark ain’t even tryin’ to play it off: “The one room that we probably have our biggest question mark in is the tight end room.” That’s coach speak for “We were desperate.” But now? With Endries in the fold, there’s a legit weapon at TE1. Question now is, who’s TE2? Spencer Shannon? Jordan Washington? Whoever wants that spot better learn to block like it’s their job—‘cause it literally is.
This offensive reset ain’t a rebuild—it’s a straight-up remix. New O-line, reshuffled WR depth, portal-patched TE room, and a fresh QB1 in Arch. Chemistry gonna be the secret sauce. Sark’s got weapons, but it’s all about how they cook together.
Adam Breneman backs Sark’s call to ride with Quinn Ewers over Arch Manning
Now let’s address the spicy stuff. Arch Manning season is finally here. But not without some folks doing that revisionist history thing. Since Quinn Ewers took a nosedive in the NFL Draft, a bunch of fans started playin’ hindsight heroes—“Should Arch have been QB1 last year?”
In an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, Adam Breneman shut that noise down quick. “I don’t think Arch was held back — Quinn was playing high-level football,” he said. “You don’t make a change when your QB is leading you to a Big 12 title and a playoff spot.” And he ain’t wrong. Ewers might’ve slid in the draft, but that don’t erase what he did in burnt orange. Back-to-back CFP appearances? That ain’t nothing to sneeze at.
Still, the Manning truthers got ammo. When Arch stepped in for Quinn’s injury? Manning boy won both games. Showed Peyton’s arm, grand pop Manning’s legs, and flashed that zip on the ball. Sark even sprinkled him in on some third-down scheming. You could feel it—like the future was tapping on the glass, saying “Let me in.” But Sark held steady. Loyalty or logic? Maybe both.
The twist here is wild: no matter what Arch does in 2025, Sark’s in a weird spot. If Arch goes off, folks’ll ask why he wasn’t unleashed sooner. If he struggles, they’ll say he ain’t ready. It’s a lose-lose for the coach unless the Longhorns hit the natty. Breneman gets it, though: “Arch is the future, and the experience he got last year behind the scenes will only help him. Sark handled it the right way — now Arch gets his shot to shine.”
Fair. And now? It’s go-time. The excuses are gone, the spotlight’s cooking, and Arch Manning’s name ain’t just a legacy—it’s the new headline. And Sark? He better hope all them puzzle pieces snap into place, or it’s gonna be a long, loud fall in Austin.
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