Don’t underestimate Steve Sarkisian’s impact at Texas

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The SEC has a way of throwing its weight around each recruiting season. The 2026 cycle was no exception. Major recruiting services—247Sports Composite, On3 Industry Rankings, ESPN, and Rivals—consistently cite Texas football’s class as potentially one of the conference’s strongest

At No. 7, 247Sports Composite Team Rankings—one of the industry’s most renown systems—ranked the Longhorns’ recruiting class alongside SEC titans such as Georgia, Alabama, LSU and (most hated) Texas A&M. On3 Industry Team Rankings has Texas at No. 10 (notably, Georgia is consistently the highest-ranked SEC program ahead of 2026.) ESPN is particularly high on the Longhorns, as the so-called “Mothership” has Texas at No. 3.

Praise often heaped on Texas football’s incoming freshmen include its consistently in balance across position groups—defensive end Richard Wesley, quarterback Dia Bell, and more.

Given his success throughout his tenure in Austin, head coach Steve Sarkisian has demonstrated his hunger on the recruiting trail each offseason—most notably, perhaps, when Sarkisian became the deciding factor in now-returning starting quarterback Arch Manning’s decision to commit to Texas and, more recently, Auburn transfer Cam Coleman.

At this point, it seems as though Sarkisian’s pitch to recruits goes beyond Texas football’s deep-rooted tradition. Given his resume leading the Longhorns—two College Football Playoff semifinals appearances, an SEC Championship finalist in the program’s inaugural season in the conference in 2024, and a slew of players he’s actively played a role in developing from green to mean, as the NFL Draft has reacquainted itself with Texas’ locker room

He made Texas football great a—

Wait. Let me rephrase that.

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