Longhorns Country

'When, Not If!' Texas Longhorns Receive Huge Future Prediction

On3 analyst J.D. PicKell says that the Texas Longhorns are in good hands under head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Emma Hutchinson

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks at his play sheet against Ohio State Buckeyes in the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl Classic during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January, 10, 2025.
Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks at his play sheet against Ohio State Buckeyes in the second quarter of the Cotton Bowl Classic during the College Football Playoff semifinal game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on January, 10, 2025. / Kyle Robertson/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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A new era is set to dawn on the Texas Longhorns in 2025 as rising sophomore and starting quarterback Arch Manning hopes to lead his team to a national championship title.

Joined by the No. 1-rated 2025 recruiting class and a handful of returning key players, next season looks bright under Manning and head coach Steve Sarkisian.

And On3 college football analyst J.D. PicKell believes the future of the Longhorns includes being the top ranked team in the nation over the next three years.

PicKell discussed his top 10 programs on his talk show The Hard Count on Tuesday, naming Texas as his primary choice for having the best foundation for success in the next couple of seasons thanks to Sarkisian at the helm.

"You have a coach who I believe is top three in the sport, who is very much so a known commodity at this point," PicKell said. "I feel like he's just so developed as a head coach, which is weird to say, but you talk about Marcus Freeman, Dan Lanning, and some other guys in this list, Sharon Moore, and a lot of those guys, I think, are still finding who they are as head coaches. Steve Sarkisian has been around the block."

Sarkisian just capped off his fourth year with the Longhorns, bringing them to their second consecutive 12-2 regular season record and College Football Playoff appearance and their first SEC Championship as conference newcomers. To say he's come a long way from the 5-7 record Texas boasted within its first year under Sarkisian would be an understatement, but the culture and success he's been able to provide is all a product of his past trials and tribulations.

A former football star himself, Sarkisian began his coaching career at USC as a quarterbacks coach while working alongside then-head coach and legend Pete Carroll. His first head coaching tenure came in 2009 when he took the Washington Huskies from a winless season in 2008 to a 7-6 season by the time 2012 came around. From there, he became an analyst and eventually an offensive coordinator for Alabama, where he met mentor and then-head coach Nick Saban. Sarkisian would leave the Crimson Tide in 2021 for Texas, and the rest is history.

It's clear that PicKell is right in the fact that Sarkisian has had plenty of experience to be able to sit comfortably at the top of the food chain, and there's no signs of him stepping down anytime soon, seeing as he just accepted a contract extension and pay raise to remain with Texas through 2031.

"I think [Texas] will be a College Football Playoff/national title contender every single year," PicKell said. "I think it's when, not if he wins one."

Sarkisian's veteran leadership combined with the weapons he has to chose from and those he continues to recruit, there's no limit to just how far he can take the Longhorns within the next decade.

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Emma Hutchinson
EMMA HUTCHINSON

Emma Hutchinson is a senior journalism student at the University of Texas at Austin, covering the Texas Longhorns for SI/Fan Nation since June of 2024. Her previous sports journalism experience includes writing and editing for The Daily Texan, where she covered Texas athletic programs such as softball, women’s basketball, football, and baseball. Originally from Washington, D.C., Emma now resides in the Dallas metroplex. She enjoys rooting for the Mavericks, Rangers, and Stars, as well as supporting the Nationals and Commanders.

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