The vigor with which Texas addresses the wide receiver position in the transfer portal likely depends on the answer to one question.
How much faith does Steve Sarkisian have in Ryan Wingo emerging as a bona fide No. 1 option for Arch Manning?
Leading the Longhorns in receptions (50), receiving yards (770) and touchdown receptions (seven) en route to second-team All-SEC recognition from the league’s coaches constitutes a successful sophomore campaign through 12 games. Still, finishing the regular season with the second-most dropped passes among SEC wide receivers (Wingo’s seven are currently two behind Alabama’s Ryan Williams for the league high), which contributed to Manning suffering from 21 dropped passes, fourth-most among SEC quarterbacks and tied for 21st in FBS, according to Pro Football Focus.
With his 50 catches coming on 87 targets (a 57.5 percent catch rate, according to PFF), Wingo’s 2025 season mirrors what Xavier Worthy went through in 2022.
Worthy’s sophomore season saw him lead Texas with 59 receptions (on 113 targets for a catch rate of 52.2 percent), yards (757) and touchdowns (eight) and drops (seven). The 2024 first-round pick turned things around with an All-American season in 2023, with his 75 receptions for 1,014 yards and five touchdowns (two fewer dropped passes on six more targets from the previous season) helped the Longhorns win the Big 12 and reach the College Football Playoff.
Will Wingo make the same kind of leap in his first draft-eligible season?
— DeAndre Moore Jr.’s decision to jump to the NFL leaves a void in the slot (a team-high 216 snaps according to PFF) and opens a role as Manning’s go-to target in the intermediate passing game. According to PFF, Moore leads the Texas offense in receptions (14) and yards gained (229) when targeted from 10 to 19 yards down the field, accounting for 36.8 percent of the receptions (38) and 43 percent of the yards (522) he tallied in his final season with the Longhorns.
In the intermediate game, Emmett Mosley V’s PFF season grade of 94.9 is higher than Moore’s (94). Mosley is a safe bet to rack up more than the 11 targets he got on intermediate throws.
As for the workload in the slot, Sarkisian has to decide whether a portal acquisition would be an upgrade over a potential tandem of Daylan McCutcheon and Jermaine Bishop Jr. While Sarkisian can’t leave anything to chance in what’s expected to be Manning’s last season behind center, losing Trevor Goosby, Hero Kanu, Jelani McDonald or Quintrevion Wisner to the NFL could force Texas to use its available resources to shore up position groups with greater, more pressing needs.
— With Liona Lefau leaving the program ahead of entering the transfer portal on Jan. 2, Ty’Anthony Smith is at the top of the list of the Longhorns who stand to gain the most leading up to and coming out of the Citrus Bowl against Michigan on New Year’s Eve.
Smith ended the regular season with 364 snaps logged, according to PFF, recording the fifth-best season-long grade against the run (78.9, with PFF considering a grade of 70 to be above average) of any Longhorn defender.
The Jasper product leads the team in forced fumbles (three) and missed tackles (12), showing how often he finds himself around the football. The latter should get better with experience, but the same must be true of Smith’s coverage ability for him to take the next step as a player.
According to PFF, no Texas linebacker has been targeted this season more than Smith (33). Only Graceson Littleton and Jaylon Guilbeau have allowed more completions among Longhorn defensive players than Smith (26), who has allowed 244 yards (fourth-most on the team behind Guilbeau, Littleton and Lefau) and an NFL passer rating of 107.6 when targeted.
With offensive play-callers looking to exploit the second level of the opposing defense when hunting favorable matchups, all linebackers are a liability in coverage in some way, shape or form. Nevertheless, Smith has the tools to be better in coverage than the numbers have shown this season.
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