Texas Football: 3 returning starters assuming big leadership roles in 2023

Texas football will return most of its starters on both sides of the ball from the 2022 squad. Head coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas bringing back all but one starter on offense and more than half of the starters from the 2022 defense is one of the driving factors as to why this team is getting Big 12 title-level hype early in the 2023 offseason.

While there is plenty to be excited about heading into spring ball for this Longhorns squad, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be new faces that still have to step up in 2023. Texas is still losing some key leaders on both sides of the ball, namely star junior running back Bijan Robinson, senior running back Roschon Johnson, senior defensive lineman Keondre Coburn, and senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, among others.

Some of those aforementioned losses for the Longhorns brings about the need for some new leaders to emerge in the locker room heading into spring ball. And it sounds like there are already some new leading voices surfacing within the program in the midst of the winter conditioning program.

Quinn Ewers and the returning Texas football starters stepping up in new leadership roles heading into the spring

Here’s a look at three returning starters for the Longhorns assuming bigger leadership roles in 2023.

Jordan Whittington, WR

The wide receiver room is loaded for the Longhorns in 2023. Texas returns each of its starters from last season, along with bringing in a key new addition via the NCAA Transfer Portal in the former Georgia Bulldogs sophomore wide receiver AD Mitchell.

Among the returning wideouts for the Longhorns in 2023, the one that is likely going to be entrusted with the biggest leadership role is rising redshirt senior slot receiver Jordan Whittington. The fifth-year wideout arguably emerged as one of the more vocal leaders on the Texas offense last season.

You could tell last season by the way that Whittington spoke that he was already showing the maturity that a true leader within the Texas locker room would.

"“I always make a conscious effort to take it serious. When I was younger I didn’t. I saw the consequences of that.”"

Whittington also showed that type of maturity and grit on the field that you need out of a leader by example on the offensive side of the ball. He was one of the high-effort blockers in the run game and he was willing to do almost anything that Texas needed out of him in order to come out on the right side of the win column in games.

That type of effort, grit, maturity and overall experience for Whittington will be crucial as Texas is ushering in another new wide receivers coach this offseason. Texas is bringing in a WR coach that is new to coaching at the collegiate level in the former Jacksonville Jaguars wide receivers coach Chris Jackson, who is replacing Brennan Marion (who left to join UNLV’s staff last month).

Whittington’s mental maturity and experience as a multi-year starter at Texas is something that should be a stabilizing force in this wide receiver room as the Longhorns bring in their third WR coach in as many years this offseason.