If you’ve been a Longhorn fan since the 2009 season, you’ve likely got a case of burnt orange PTSD. Colt McCoy’s injury in the national championship game wasn’t just a crushing moment—it was the first domino to fall in more than a decade of heartbreak. That moment taught you the cruel truth of college football: dreams can vanish just as fast as they’re born.
I won’t rehash every gut punch you’ve endured since that night in Pasadena, but let’s just say the football gods have had a hell of a sense of humor. Just when it looked like Texas might kick the ball, Lucy yanked it away. Sometimes the Horns did get the kick off … like the missed PAT vs. Cal or the botched field goals in the conference title game against Georgia, and the Peach Bowl. Somewhere, someone in a remote village is probably still rocking a “We’re Back” shirt with pride.
But here’s where it gets interesting: Steve Sarkisian has built something that deserves to be put into perspective as the 2025 season looms.
Yes, we all know Texas is expected to compete for a national title now. And yes, they’ve reached the College Football Playoff semifinals in back-to-back seasons. But did you know that the majority of this year’s team has never experienced a losing season at Texas?
Seriously, you might be surprised to learn who was even around for 5–7 in 2021.
For most of these players, Texas football means playing in conference title games and spending New Year’s week preparing for playoff semifinals. That’s all they know.
Welcome to Texas, where competing for championships is no longer a hope.
It is the norm.
Every coach in America talks about “culture.” A culture where players hold each other accountable. Where development is expected. Where one team hands the standard to the next.
That’s the culture you’ve watched Alabama, Georgia, and Ohio State live in for the past decade. No, they don’t win the national championship every year—but if you walk into those programs, that’s the expectation. And if you don’t measure up, you’re headed for the portal with a handshake and a “best of luck.”
Now here’s the thing.
Sarkisian has built that culture in Austin. The foundation’s not just laid—it’s finished. The house is built. Jeff Banks would’ve cut the ribbon himself, but he was too busy scouting a special teams gunner in South Florida and begging Sark for a scholarship offer.
Look at @Ketchum ‘s recent scholarship breakdown:
– 85 scholarship players currently on the roster.
– 11 are first-year transfers. That leaves 74 returning players for this exercise.
– 26 of those are incoming freshmen. That leaves 48 returning, non-freshman players.
– More than half of the roster (56.5%) have been on a team that participated in the 2024 SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoff Semifinal.
Let’s break that down further:
Incoming Freshmen (26) – Every one of them is walking into a program that just made the CFP.
Redshirt Freshmen (11) – All were part of a semifinal team their first year on campus.
Sophomores (21) – After removing Maraad Watson and Emmett Mosley V, every sophomore was on the 2024 playoff team, and redshirt sophomores were there in 2023 and 2024.
Juniors (8) – After removing Bred Spence, Hero Kanu, Lavon Johnson, and Jack Endries, every junior has experienced two straight winning seasons.
Seniors (7) – After removing Matthew Caldwell, Travis Shaw, Jack Bouwmeester, Cole Brevard, Trey Moore, and Mason Shipley, the rest have been part of three straight winning seasons. Trey Moore, while a first-year player in 2024, still reached the CFP semifinals.
Redshirt Senior (1) – Michael Taaffe is the only player left on scholarship who was part of a losing season in 2021.
In short, every player who arrived in 2022 or later has only known winning:
2022: 8–5 — Winning season
2023: 12–2 — Big 12 Champs + CFP Semifinal
2024: 13–3 — SEC Runner-Up + CFP Semifinal
Every redshirt sophomore or true junior—guys like Anthony Hill Jr., Arch Manning, and DeAndre Moore—has made the College Football Playoff every year they’ve been on campus.
Every non-transfer senior? They’ve seen three winning seasons and two semifinal runs.
This isn’t a team that hopes to be great.
This is a team that expects it.
As Sarkisian put it:
“Well, I think the thing with this group—you think about Arch, Anthony Hill, Malik Muhammad—that class of guys going into year three, they don’t even know anything different than playing in a conference championship game, playing in the College Football Playoff, going to the semifinals,” Sarkisian said. “That’s been their college experience so far.
“But I also know that the majority of these guys—they’re champions. You referenced Michael Taaffe. Just think about his high school career and what he was able to do at Westlake. And Ethan Burke, and Colton Vasek—so many of these guys have been champions. Trey Wisner was a champion at DeSoto.
“There’s a real sense of hunger on our team right now that I’m as much or more encouraged by than anything else they’ve done this summer. You can see the intent in the way they’re working. We’ve got a ways to go, but the intent is there. The mindset is right to try to go be a champion.
“That’s something you don’t just do one time—you have to live that life every day. It’s a championship lifestyle to ultimately become a champion. I think they’re probably tired of being close, and they want it. They want to reach the summit. So we’ll see how far we can take it.”
This is a team that went on the road and beat Alabama by double digits.
They marched into Michigan and ended the defending national champs’ reign.
They’ve walloped Oklahoma in two of the last three matchups.
Some of these guys have Big 12 championship rings sitting on their nightstands.
Others have Peach Bowl rings.
Texas isn’t preparing for the Texas Bowl or the Alamo Bowl anymore. We are no longer focused on the consolation prize of 15 extra practices for the freshmen in December. Instead, incoming freshmen are stepping on campus in late December and practicing with the Longhorns as they prep for playoff games.
Want proof the culture has changed?
At SEC Media Days, I asked Michael Taaffe if this year’s defense could be as good—or better—than last year’s. His answer said everything:
“What’s cool is we’ve never even talked about last year’s defense — and that’s never happened before,” Taaffe said. “Every other year I’ve been here, it’s always like, ‘All right, let’s compare last year’s stats to this year’s. How are we going to beat last year’s numbers?’ And a lot of times, because of how our seasons went, we were just trying to improve.
“But this year, we were number one in a lot of categories, and we haven’t even brought up last season. Instead, we’ve talked about being a completely different defense. We’ve talked about running to the ball every single chance we get and being the kind of defense where, when the opponent turns on the film on Monday, they’re like, ‘Shoot… we can run this play, but there’s going to be ten hats flying to the ball within ten yards.’
“We’ve got the talent — everybody knows that. But the question is, can we instill that mindset where, if somebody misses a tackle, the other ten guys on the field are flying in to get the guy down?”
This is what Texas football looks like now.
Welcome to Texas, where competing for championships is no longer a hope.
It is the norm.
