3 biggest question marks surrounding Texas football heading into the summer

Steve Sarkisian and Texas football have experienced one of the best offseasons that they've had in a while when it comes to player acquisition, but three fairly large questions need to be answered before the 2026 season kicks off.

Every elite program has it's initial concerns

Though the Longhorns have already sorted out some major unknowns this offseason, such as the linebacker and running back rooms, a few other position groups remain in limbo after Texas' spring practice period.

1. Will Laurence Seymore come in and run away with the starting LG spot?

After finally being granted another year of eligibility in March, Seymore looks to come in and immediately compete for the starting job at left guard alongside Jaydon Chatman this summer.

Though most of the media has already crowned Seymore as "the guy", fans shouldn't be at all surprised if Chatman continues to impress the coaching staff throughout the fall and holds on to the starting job heading into week one.

Seymore undoubetdly has more experience and could be better at different aspects of the game than Chatman, but it's undoubtedly going to be an exciting position battle that could be taking place all the way up until the regular season begins.

2. Who will separate themselves at the tight end position?

Similar to Seymore's situation, everyone wanted to pencil in sophomore TE Nick Townsend as the starter in 2026, but that hasn't been the case on the field this year.

Spencer Shannon came into spring looking much healthier and stronger than he did in 2025. He's apparently lost around 15 pounds and has been impressive as both a blocker and pass-catcher throughout spring practice. There's no doubt in anybody's mind that Townsend is the better athlete, but when it comes to well-roundedness, Shannon has by far been the No.1 guy at tight end.

Shannon has also had just as much work with the first-team unit this spring as Townsend has. It's going to be interesting to see if one of them breaks away and locks themselves into the starting role before week one.

Note: Incoming transfer TE Michael Masunas appears to be locked into the blocking "Y" role for 2026.

3. Will Derek Williams Jr. solidify himself as a starting safety alongside Jelani McDonald?

Though the coaching staff was incredibly relieved when Jelani McDonald officially announced that he's returning for 2026, there's still a massive hole at the other safety spot in Will Muschamp's defense.

Texas needs to determine who can step up and fill Michael Taaffe's role in 2026. As of right now, a healthy Derek Williams Jr. is the favorite to start, but Xavier Filsaime or even Jordon Johnson-Rubell might have a legitimate shot to win the job.

Both safeties have to be pretty versatile in Muschamp's defense, as he uses the free safety position and strong safety pretty similarly. They have to be able to line up closer to the line of scrimmage and play with physicality in press coverage situations and against the run.

Filsaime might be the better coverage player, but Williams Jr. and Johnson-Rubell are undoubtedly more aggressive, so this is another spot that could take a while to get sorted out in 2026.

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