Longhorns WR Room Looks Expanded and Dangerous in Season Opener

The Longhorns found success in a brand new way compared to last year: passing the ball to many targets, instead of just a few.

Texas Longhorns receiver Isaiah Bond (7) catches a pass during the game against Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Though it can be easy to overreact to early-season, out-of-conference games when fans are just excited to see football back, one aspect of the Texas Longhorns' opening game against Colorado State cannot be overlooked.

The diversity in receiving weapons and opportunities is no longer off-season coach speak, it's a reality in Austin. Though many fans and pundits around the Longhorn community could project a balance of receptions between multiple players, it would've been very hard to predict just how versatile the Texas passing game looked in week one.

Just in the first half, Texas had ten different players catch a pass, with contributions from the backfield, tight ends, and out wide. By the time the Longhorns entered the tunnel and brought Darrell K Royal Memorial Stadium to break, junior quarterback Quinn Ewers had already eclipsed 240 yards and three touchdowns. His day would shortly be over after the half.

Texas ended the game in a 52-0 trouncing over the Rams that featured many great contributions from the team, but it's hard to say one room looked better than the pass catchers in burnt orange. Between Ewers and sophomore quarterback Arch Manning, the Longhorns threw for 355 yards and four touchdowns, with 11 different players catching passes.

This is such an important point because it is starkly different than that of the 2023 team that managed to make the Sugar Bowl. Outside of NFL-bound receivers Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, Jordan Whittington, and tight end JaTavion Sanders, the Longhorns struggled to spread the ball around and find ways to get more players involved. After Saturday, it seems like coach Sarkisian has added a new dimension to its offense.

"That's a really comforting thing. We didn't have that the last couple of years," Sarkisian said. "We probably had to keep guys on the field that were probably too tired to play at an optimal level. Now we have a very good rotation. They've earned our trust."

Texas Longhorns receiver Ryan Wingo (5) runs the ball during the game against Colorado State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. / Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

Six different receivers eclipsed 35 yards, all of them registering more receiving yards than Colorado State's top receiver in terms of yardage. The Longhorns, who mostly took its foot off the gas in the fourth quarter, had 10 pass plays eclipse 15 yards, showing its strength to not only stretch the field but also turn shorter passes into yards after the catch.

Sarkisian has now found a new element to his coaching game that has been lacking in his time at Texas. In all three of his full seasons so far with Texas, Sarkisian has never had more than eight players register double-digit receptions in the season.

Just one game into the season, six players recorded double-digit catches and it's quite hard to expect players like Silas Bolden, Amari Niblack and Tre Wisner to remain in the single digits throughout the year.

Though it's hard to take too much away from a game in which Texas dominated from the first half, Longhorns fans can expect to see something new this year in Austin: a complete rotation in the wide receiver room, and the passing game.