Steve Sarkisian Reveals Longhorns TE Plan for Ja'Tavion Sanders & Jahleel Billingsley

Texas Longhorns tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders has emerged as one of coach Steve Sarkisian's best offensive weapons, but the return from suspension for tight end Jahleel Billingsley leaves room to wonder how both will be utilized.

The attention surrounding the Texas Longhorns' tight end position has made for an interesting watch this season.

After a freshman year where he didn’t record a catch, sophomore tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders has exploded onto the scene this season. Following Texas’ 49-0 shutout over the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday, Sanders emerged as the best statistical tight end in the Big 12, as he now leads the position in catches (25), and receiving yards (283) and is tied for first among all pass-catchers in the conference with five touchdowns.

But along with the attention toward Sanders, it was the transfer addition of Alabama tight end Jahleel Billingsley over the offseason that also drew tons of eyes, as his connection and familiarity with Texas coach Steve Sarkisian was intriguing. 

However, after a season-opening win against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks on Sept. 3 and a week before the 20-19 loss against Billingsley’s former team on Sept. 10, Sarkisian announced that the tight end was serving a six-game suspension. It was a punishment Sarkisian said was not the result of any legal trouble, and that it was not a suspension from Alabama or Texas but from the NCAA itself.

But as Texas is now six games into the season ahead of a matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones at home on Saturday, Billingsley is set to suit up for his first time as a Longhorn. And on Monday, Sarkisian admitted that having a guy back like Billingsley - who totaled 37 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns during his three-year career with the Tide - makes the offense all the more dangerous. 

“It’s great to have Jahleel back," Sarkisian said. "It’s just another addition for us. I’ve said this all along, when we’re at our best offensively, when we can do a lot of really good things, that makes us harder to defend."

It's a salivating site for Texas fans to imagine the receiving skills of Sanders and the experience of Billingsley potentially lining up together and making plays on play-action passes from quarterback Quinn Ewers. 

But this also leaves room to wonder how it will affect what has been a dominant season for Sanders. Sarkisian made sure to clear the air on that front.

"I think Jahleel can just add to that," Sarkisian said of the offense. "It should not take away from JT at all."

Sanders now has back-to-back two-touchdown games after totaling five catches for 71 yards and two scores in the win over OU. He’s certainly lived up to the offseason hype that Sarkisian made sure everyone should be aware of. 

But a coach like Sarkisian isn't looking to buff the stats of his best players. If an advantage presents itself, he's looking to exploit it. This doesn't exclude matchups for Sanders and Billingsley.

"JT is a fantastic player and has earned the opportunities that he’s getting in our offense," Sarkisian said. "But again, week in and week out, you never know the matchups that are favorable to you and we’re always in search of those things.”

Texas and Iowa State will kickoff at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. 

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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