Five Texas Football Pairs we want to see emerge in September

With the Ohio State game now four days behind the Texas football team, the Longhorns have more than moved past and set their eyes onward.

[Sign up for Inside Texas TODAY for $1 and get the BEST Longhorns coverage!]

Thankfully for the team, they don’t have to do much straining when looking at their schedule. Three straight home games against bottom-50 rosters and a bye week in the month of September. By all accounts, they’ve been given a free trial for the month of September.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian made it clear that all opponents are studied and taken seriously, but there is a sense of personal development that becomes more important at this time.

“I think a lot of what we do is internal so that each individual works at his craft and gets better,” Sarkisian said. “There are a lot of guys that didn’t play Saturday that we’re going to need to play, and they’re going to need to grow and develop over this time, so they need to work on their craft, too, over this next month.”

That note about what players were used is important. The offense only used 14 players for north of 10 snaps. The defense was at a higher mark with 18, but that’s still only 32 players on a roster filled with multiple elite prospects and talents.

With the goal of September being to get back on track and develop your younger guys, which players are most important in getting up to speed?

RBs Christian Clark and Ryan Niblett

As you’ve read at length from Paul’s writing, the rushing game was not productive, even if the stat sheet may look that way. It wasn’t even so much that they weren’t converting well on the average run, it’s that there was a lot of meat left on the bone with CJ Baxter and Tre Wisner. Of course, Sarkisian had to play those two in an environment like Ohio State, but they both lacked the ability to hit breakaway runs in the lighter boxes Ohio State was showing them.

Enter Christian Clark, a speedy redshirt freshman who we’ve been touting as one of the best natural runners in this room. He has pure breakaway speed and the ability to register explosives in the run game. We just need to see it on the field. Join him with Ryan Niblett, who surprisingly saw zero snaps on Saturday, as weapons out of the backfield. Niblett should get run in 21 personnel and in the RB passing game, working heavily in motions and off screens and swing plays.

Jerrick Gibson could’ve also been the choice here.

WRs Daylan McCutcheon and Kaliq Lockett

Outside of two snaps and one catch for McCutcheon on Saturday, Texas exclusively used their starting three WRs. A lot of that had to do with the injury of Emmett Mosley, but all signs point to him continuing to stay sidelined in practice.

Texas can’t operate with just three receivers throughout the year, and this pair is easily the most advanced of the group of four talented freshmen pass catchers. McCutcheon seems like he’s a few tune-up games away from playing double-digit snaps in a tough environment, while Lockett just needs to see action and dunk on some 5’10” CBs from Conference USA.

Niblett can also be thrown into this discussion.

Offensive linemen Connor Stroh and Brandon Baker

This is a slightly different selection, as these two started and played extensively on Saturday, but Arch Manning is probably the only player who needs a bigger month of development than these two.

The offensive line had an up-and-down game on Saturday, flashing at times but also leaving much to be desired at others. For this inexperienced duo, now is the time to become sounder on assignments and build some confidence against less athletic defenses. Stroh is going to push to solidify his starting spot, while Baker needs to iron out some kinks that cost Texas yardage on Saturday.

Defensive linemen Lance Jackson and Justus Terry

It’s hard to look at the defense’s performance on Saturday and ask to add to that roster. The 18 players who played double-digit snaps pretty much all played their part well, maybe outside of a recovering Derek Williams on a pitch count. Adding more to that group feels greedy, but that’s exactly how defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski is feeling.

Jackson and Terry are imposing athletes on the defensive line who can each play as a base defensive end or as a JACK edge rusher. While Colton Vasek is ahead on the depth chart and will also see more snaps, these two players were two of the four best DL recruits in the nation last season. They are going to be hard to keep on the third team of a two-deep. They’re going to have their chance to play, and we’re confident it’s going to look good when they’re out there.

Cornerbacks Kobe Black and Kade Phillips

The cornerback room got some clarity on Saturday. Malik Muhammad is still a stud, Graceson Littleton deserves to start, and Jaylon Guilbeau may not be the season-long answer at outside cornerback. He’ll play a large role, no doubt, but some of the younger talent have seen their chance at emerging into an even better role.

Kobe Black was someone who we knew would play, and he did on Saturday, registering 16 snaps, but there is more to be done for the true sophomore. He’ll be looking to either completely take over the role opposite Muhammad or turn it into a 50-50 job with Guilbeau. Kade Phillips, on the other hand, didn’t play but is one of the purest cornerbacks in the 2025 class. He’s long, athletic, and we’ve heard good things about his technique. While Warren Roberson is CB4 right now, Phillips will enjoy the chance of showing out late in games to try to earn that spot.