Texas Longhorns Remain High in ESPN Post-Spring Top 25 Rankings

"After waiting patiently for two years, the highly-anticipated Arch Manning era is off and running in Austin," Schlabach wrote. "Though Manning had limited action against SEC teams, he looks more than ready to take over for departed starter Quinn Ewers. The Longhorns will have to replace four starting offensive linemen; Trevor Goosby was working at left tackle and Cole Hutson moved to center in the spring. Right guard DJ Campbell also had a great spring.

"Texas' top three pass catchers from 2024 (Matthew Golden, Gunnar Helm and Isaiah Bond) are also gone. There are still good options in Ryan Wingo, DeAndre Moore Jr. and Mosley, who caught 48 passes for 525 yards with six scores as a Stanford freshman in 2024. Moore and Wingo were limited in the spring because of injuries. Hill and Simmons are the leaders on defense, along with safeties Taafe and Jelani McDonald. Texas brought in five defensive line transfers, including Watson, a freshman All-American at Syracuse last season."

The Longhorns' season can, and likely will, hinge on the performance of Manning, one of the most hyped quarterbacks in recent college football history. If he lives up to the hype and becomes a Heisman Trophy contender, then the Longhorns will be in great shape. If he falls short of those expectations, then the Longhorns could end up sharing the same fate.

That's not to diminish the rest of the very talented players on both sides of the ball, but there's no denying how important Manning is this year.

The Longhorns will have to overcome some tough tests to get where they want to, but with so much talent on the roster, it's just a matter of putting all the pieces together.