Every year opposing fanbases have to hear about how the University of Texas is back. Whether it be the new coach, the young up and coming stud you’ve never heard of, or the last season where they almost won something, it never fails. However, this season things for real feel different. Coach Steve Sarkisian has flipped the roster upside down, and for the better. In this piece the offensive talent will be addressed, and I will give my outlook to how the 2022 Texas offense will look on field.
2021 Season:
To start, last year the Texas offense was above average. They finished 18th in the country in points per game. Not bad for a team that had one real WR and no offensive line. It was proved that Coach Sark’s offense can work, it’s just a matter of executing it. In just the first one and a half games, Texas QBs missed six wide open 30+ yard throws. Four of which were walk in TDs. Sark got receivers open time and time again, just to have the throw missed. The downfield passing attack is one thing that the 2022 Texas offense will have to improve if they wants to get back to relevance.
2022 Transfers Set to Make an Impact:
Quinn Ewers:
The 2022 recruiting class saw a huge wave of offensive talent come to the 40 acres. Headlined by five-star, number one player in his class, QB Quinn Ewers. Ewers initially committed to Texas before flipping to Ohio State. He then entered the transfer portal after his redshirt freshman year, and headed back home where he rightfully belonged.
The Bama Boys:
Ewers is joined by former Alabama pass catchers Jahleel Billingsley and Agiye Hall. Hall was a borderline five-star, top-50 player in the country out of high school. In fact, he was rated higher than Xavier Worthy in his own class. Hall saw work in just three games for Alabama where he reeled in four catches for 72 yards. Jaheel Billingsley was a four-star, just outside the top-300 player out of high school. He spent three years at Alabama catching 37 balls for 559 yards and six touchdowns. Both very talented players, teaming back up with Coach Sark because they know what he can do with an offense.
Isaiah Neyor:
Another one of the big offensive additions comes in the form of Isaiah Neyor. Neyor was a one man passing attack at Wyoming. Standing at 6’3″ 216 pounds, he is a mammoth of a WR. When you turn on his tape though, you notice how much speed and wiggle he has at his size. He also possesses the go up and get it, big WR skills as well. In 13 games last season Neyor had 56 touches for 901 yards and 13 TDs. Expect him to be a large part of the downfield passing attack for the Longhorns.
Tarique Milton:
The last offensive transfer to touch on is former Iowa State WR Tarique Milton. Milton is a guy with loads of speed. He was the #304 WR in his high school class, hence ending up in Ames, Iowa. Milton has a career stat line of 99/1519/7. As previously stated, he is known for his speed, and showed that off as a sophomore with over 20 yards per catch. I’m not sure how much of a factor Milton will be, but when he’s on the field expect him to use his burners and get behind some safeties.
Freshman Set to Make an Impact:
Kelvin Banks & Devon Campbell
Offensive lineman headlined the 2022 high school class for the Longhorns. Kelvin Banks was rated the number one offensive tackle at times, and finished number three. Devon Campbell was the consensus top interior offensive lineman, and remained that way for the entire cycle. These guys should start along the OL quickly, if not from day one. Recent videos and pictures of these dudes emerged recently, and they already look like grown men.
Brennen Thompson:
There are not many other offensive freshman to touch on, as Thompson was the only WR in the class. He was ranked as a four-star and the 20th WR in his class. Thompson was a 10.2 second 100m kid in high school, so he can absolutely fly. Sark has proven that Thompson is his type of receiver, choosing speed over size. If Thompson can put on a few pounds, while retaining his speed, he could very well make an early impact.
Other Freshman with Early Impact Potential:
As I referenced with Thompson, I don’t see many true freshman making a huge impact outside of the OL. Jaydon Blue shouldn’t see many touches, Thompson was the only WR, and Maalik Murphy won’t see the field unless things are going very badly. The only other freshman I could see making an impact are IOL Cole Hutson and OL Cameron Williams. These guys are getting rave reviews out of camp.
2022 Season Outlook:
The 2022 Texas offense has very high expectations, and for good reason. If Quinn Ewers lives up to expectations, with the weapons around him, this offense could put up 40 points per game easily. Bijan Robinson, Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington, Roschon Johnson, the list goes on and on with skill position talent. Texas needs to see some OL improvement, because is they don’t that is one of the only things that could stop this offense from being the nation’s best. Start sipping the burnt orange kool-aid folks, because this is the last part of the year where it will taste good!