Why Cam Coleman transferred from Auburn to Texas after 2025 season

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Why Cam Coleman transferred from Auburn to Texas after 2025 season originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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The Texas Longhorns are considered one of several teams to beat in the SEC and across the country. A big reason for that is the Longhorns' having both quarterback Arch Manning, and star wide receiver Cam Coleman. 

Coleman was one of the top-rated transfer portal players this offseason, entering the portal after spending the last two seasons at Auburn. Although he was sought-after by a number of schools, he ended up landing with the Longhorns and head coach Steve Sarkisian. 

Let's take a look back at Coleman's college career so far, and what he brings to the Longhorns' offense.   

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Why did Cam Coleman transfer to Texas? 

Coleman is from Phenix City, Ala., which sits roughly 34 miles east of Auburn. Although Coleman was committed to Texas A&M since July 2023, the five-star prospect flipped late to Auburn in December shortly after taking an official visit to Auburn. 

At the time, it was a huge get for then-Auburn head coach Hugh Freeze for his 2024 recruiting class. But across his two seasons with the Tigers, Coleman played with two different quarterbacks, and Auburn struggled overall and offensively.

In 2024 during his true freshman season, the Tigers finished 5-7 on the season. Starting quarterback Peyton Thorne threw for 2,713 yards with 27 interceptions and 13 interceptions, while taking 26 sacks. Coleman finished second on the team in receiving, getting 37 receptions for 598 yards and eight scores.

Things didn't get much better on the plains during Coleman's sophomore season. The Tigers finished 5-7 again, and fired Freeze mid-season. Although Auburn alternated between quarterbacks Jackson Arnold, Ashton Daniels and Deuce Knight, Coleman had the best season of his career, getting 56 receptions for 708 yards and five touchdowns. 

Although newly hired head coach Alex Golesh reportedly worked hard to keep Coleman at Auburn, he entered the portal at the end of December 2025. One of his biggest priorities was working with a high-level quarterback who could make Coleman look like an attractive NFL receiver. 

His final schools included Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Alabama and USC. Ultimately he chose the Longhorns, where he gets to catch passes from a future 2027 NFL first-rounder in Manning. Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian also stated prior to the season about Coleman's desire to play in an NFL offense: 

“He came here for a reason, he was a great receiver at Auburn and he came to a very different system,” Sarkisian said of Coleman. “I credit him because it was very strategic. He wanted a NFL system, he wanted to learn how things are taught in the NFL and he wanted a full route tree. He wanted formations, he wanted motions, he wanted to read coverages and run routes based off of coverages. So he’s been very intentional in his approach.” 

In the Longhorns' Week 1 game against Texas State, Coleman had three receptions for 70 yards and two touchdowns. He's already shown flashes of being an NFL-caliber receiver: 

Arch with his 2nd TD of the day to Cam Coleman.

He catches the weakside safety poaching toward the 3 receiver side and puts the ball in the perfect spot, just out of the safety’s range to recover.#HookEmpic.twitter.com/XpW3yNA2UE

— Scouts Vision (@ScoutsVision) September 8, 2026

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Cam Coleman as a recruit

Coleman was rated as a five-star by 247Sports, and he was the No. 2 overall wideout for 2024, right behind Ohio State's Jeremiah Smith. He was the No. 3 overall player, and was the top-ranked player out of his home state of Alabama. 

Across two seasons tracked by MaxPreps, Coleman had 92 receptions for 1,914 yards with 24 touchdowns. He helped lead his Phenix City Central team to an Alabama Class 7A state title as a senior in 2023. He held offers from LSU, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Miami, Michigan, Oregon, Penn State, Texas and several others. 

Cam Coleman stats

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