On top of throwing some major shade at in-state rival Texas Tech during his Houston Touchdown Club press conference, Steve Sarkisian revealed something interesting about his potential plans for blue-chip 2026 WR Jermaine Bishop Jr.
It's no secret that Bishop absolutely killed it throughout spring practice, and now it looks like Sark could be comfortable with adding even more responsibility to the true freshman playmaker's plate.
Bishop could have a chance to be Travis Hunter-lite for Texas
Heading into the offseason, one of the most intriguing aspects of Bishop's presence in Austin was the simple fact that he was an elite player on both sides of the ball in high school. P4 teams were recruiting him at both wide receiver and cornerback throughout the entire process, and there's apparently a chance that he could be used on both sides of the ball in the future.
When asked about Bishop's progress so far in 2026, Sarksian said that he's "majoring in WR", but he'll be getting reps at defensive back during the summer.
At TD Club of Houston … Steve Sarkisian said Jermaine Bishop Jr. is “majoring in WR”, but will work some at defensive back this summer. He didn’t rule out Bishop having chance to have opportunity to play a little on both sides of ball down the line. @ontexasfootball pic.twitter.com/JRAJQIQ87D
— Gerry Hamilton (@GHamiltonOTF) May 21, 2026
Though there were rumors leading up the Jordan Shipley's true freshman season in 2006 that he could see time on both sides of the ball, he never did. That was really the last time that a Texas player was seen as a potential two-way player for the Longhorns.
If Bishop Jr. does end up playing a little bit of defense for Texas over the next few seasons, it'll probably never be more than 15-20% of total defensive snaps, as he's too important to the team on the offensive side of the ball. It also wouldn't be surprising to see him play in certain, set personnel sub-packages on defense. Will Muschamp could see him as a boundary-only cornerback who would be needed against certain types of receivers.
Texas fans need to realize that he'd never be a Travis Hunter-type player for the Longhorns, regardless of what happens with his defensive outlook. Hunter was a generational athlete who was somehow able to play a bulk of the snaps on both sides of the ball, but Bishop could certainly be a "poor man's version" of Hunter down the line.
As far as the immediate future and how his role figures to be in 2026, wide receiver will most likely be his main focus. He proved that he could be a reliable and dangerous threat to defenses from both the slot and out wide, consistently making splash plays throughout spring and reeling in a couple of huge deep balls during Fan Day.
#Texas freshman WR Jermaine Bishop Jr. moves so effortlessly.
— CJ Vogel (@CJVogel_OTF) March 11, 2026
Initial returns have been overwhelmingly positive. pic.twitter.com/I1nK6CB46k
Overall, Bishop Jr. has the talent and overall skillset to be a top five wide receiver for the Longhorns in 2026 with the ability to see time inside and outside for Steve Sarkisian.
Seeing a bulk of the targets getting split between Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley V, Kaliq Lockett, and Bishop wouldn't be that hard to see in 2026. If the true freshman wide receiver can contribute quality snaps on defense for a series or two as well, that would be amazing.
Add us as a preferred source on Google