Last season, the Texas Longhorns saw flashes of Arch Manning's swagger.
Between standing over a Sam Houston Bearkat defender after scoring a touchdown and unleashing a torrent of excellence against the Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl, the alpha-dog mentality was there. It just seemed to be simmering.
Now, that swagger and mentality is fully ablaze.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian shared that "Arch probably talks a little more shit than people give him credit for outside of our building" after the Horns' QB1 and linebacker Colin Simmons got into it at a fall camp practice, in the best way possible.
That is exactly what was missing from Texas's offense last season, and now that Manning has unlocked this side of his personality, he may be the unstoppable quarterback everyone expected.
Longhorns fill up college football preseason award watchlists
With the football season just a few weeks away, the preseason award watchlists have started flooding in, and the Longhorns are all over them.
- Maxwell Award: Arch Manning (quarterback), Cam Coleman (wide receiver)
- Bronko Nagurski Trophy: Colin Simmons, Rasheem Biles
- Outland Trophy: Trevor Goosby, Brandon Baker
- Rimington Trophy: Connor Robertson
- Lou Groza Award: Gianni Spetic
- Paul Hornung Award: Ryan Niblett
- Allstate Wuerffel Trophy: Colin Simmons
- Lombardi Award: Colin Simmons, Trevor Goosby, Rasheem Biles
With nearly a dozen other award watchlists still to be released this summer, including the Butkus Award, Davey O'Brien Award, and others, there will undoubtedly be more Longhorns with eyes on a trophy or two for themselves.
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Sarkisian didn't only talk about his quarterback when speaking to members of the media this week, sharing his take on Cam Coleman's gravity-defying, jaw-dropping catch.
"I had to check his gloves, thought it was the old school stickum on there," Sarkisian said.
He also praised transfer running back Hollywood Smothers as one of the most consistent players so far this fall, and shared that the Longhorns will be leaning into the run game more this season.
"We want to be able to be a team that can run the football when you know we're going to run it. That's running through down safeties who are unblocked, doing those things, and so I'm seeing that from them that they're having the ability to do that," Sarkisian said. "You know, we’ve got to run the football. It’s got to be our identity."
Also read: Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers' closeness speaks volumes to Texas's culture
Of course, there are still more than four weeks until the season officially kicks off, but it sounds like Texas's offensive lineup is undeniably starting to solidify.
Texas track and field represented the burnt orange in fine fashion at the World U20 Championships, bringing in hardware even after the college season was well over.
Mia Maxwell secured gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter dash, with her twin sister Mariah earning bronze in the 200. Then, Pinjah Karha locked down a silver medal in the hammer throw with a resounding toss of 68.51 meters.
The Texas soccer team is kicking off its regular season tonight with a home matchup against the Houston Christian Huskies.
Five Longhorns were included on the SEC preseason watchlist: Ashlyn Anderson, Mya Brandon, Ava McDonald, Hannah Tate, and Amalia Villarreal, with McDonald, Tate, and Villarreal also making the TDS Top 100 Players list.
Top 💯🤘#HookEm pic.twitter.com/EY7RNdeSrg
— Texas Soccer (@TexasSoccer) August 11, 2026
Texas and HCU are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m. CT on Wednesday, Aug. 12, at Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field.
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