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Texas Football: Projecting the 20-Man Offensive Core for 2025

by: Evan Vieth08/20/25
DeAndre Moore Jr
DeAndre Moore Jr. (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Throughout a year, a college football team uses anywhere from 35 to 50 players on its offensive depth chart. In 2024, Texas had 46 players credited with at least one offensive snap. In 2023, it was 37. 2022 saw 40.

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Despite this, teams usually have a set group of players who are actually of consequence to the team. Last year, Texas used 38 players against ULM. That number was cut by over half by the time Georgia came around.

Even on their healthiest days, a college offense has to use a minimum of around 14 players to withstand fatigue and align with different game plans based on situation. At their least healthy, Texas was using 19 or more players in games against Clemson and Georgia late in the year.

Because of this, Texas’ staff has to create a core group of players they can rely on for the five calendar circle games: @ Ohio State, @ Florida, the Red River Rivalry, @ Georgia, and vs. Texas A&M. In their other seven games, Texas can take the chance of using less experienced players in relief of stars, but in the five listed above, Texas must have its No. 1s out as much as possible.

Over the last three seasons, Steve Sarkisian’s staff has developed a pattern for how many players he uses per position group each season. There has only been one outlier to a generally formulaic approach to roster usage and how many players he wants on the field in the biggest settings.

Quarterback (QB)

Three-Year Average: 2 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 2

Sark has almost always had to call on a reserve quarterback at some point in the season. Quinn Ewers was the reserve in 2022 but had to be backed up multiple times in the next two years. The hope is for Arch Manning to be a generally healthier quarterback than Ewers, but you have to account for the likely chance that a backup will need to play meaningful snaps in 2025.

That’s part of why Texas brought in Troy transfer Matthew Caldwell, who is in the middle of a fierce battle in camp for the QB2 spot with Trey Owens. The winner is sure to see a role in 2025 in some manner, even beyond substituting Manning in blowouts early in the season.

Running Back (RB)

Three-Year Average: 3 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 4

Texas has almost exclusively had three-back setups in Sark’s time. In 2022, it was Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Keilan Robinson. The next year, Jonathan Brooks, CJ Baxter, and Jaydon Blue became the prominent trio. Then, in 2024, Texas was really only able to use two, but Jerrick Gibson played enough to be counted as a guy with a role for the season.

2025 looks to be the season to break that trend. Texas possesses four running backs with different skill sets that all deserve touches. There’s a good chance one of Gibson or Christian Clark gets phased out of the rotation deep into the season, but with the injury history and grind of a CFP-era college season, all four will need to be ready.

Wide Receiver (WR)

Three-Year Average: 4–5 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 4

For the first two seasons, Texas exclusively used four receivers — a main three with one reserve who saw snaps but often not many touches. Then in 2024, Texas aimed to rotate six receivers from the start of the season, but it did not end that way. Texas really only had a four-person group by the time the playoff rolled around.

That’s part of why, even with a good group of young pass catchers behind them, Texas is likely to stick with its main four of Wingo, Moore, Livingstone, and Mosley. We’d expect one of Kaliq Lockett or Daylan McCutcheon to truly push for a spot in that group, but at the end of the day, this is probably all they will need in the biggest games, barring injuries.

Tight End (TE)

Three-Year Average: 2 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 2

Sarkisian has been rigid in his two-tight end system. He has almost never used a third in Austin, and last year would’ve been the season to do so with Amari Niblack. That’s why, even if he says he’d like to use both Shannon and Washington, we have our doubts that both will truly make an impact in 2025. One will win the TE2 spot and play in big games, and the other will likely be on the sideline. There’s just not much point in putting so much thought into the rotation of the TE2 spot for likely marginal efficiency gains.

Flex

Three-Year Average: 1.5 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 1

Every year, Texas has at least one offensive player who doesn’t fit a traditional football position. In 2022 and 2023, that was a jumbo OT/TE hybrid and Savion Red in wildcat. You could maybe count Keilan Robinson in 2023 as an example of this, as he lost most of his true RB touches. In 2024, they shied away, but we ultimately counted Niblett as a flex player.

This is the kind of weapon who will play in every game, but the per-game snap average will be very low. He’ll have a very specific niche to fill: 21 personnel RB, motion and screen game WR, and blocker. He’s not going to find more than five touches or more than 10 snaps per game, but he’ll have an impact on the ones he is in for.

Offensive Tackle (OT)

Three-Year Average: 3 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 3

The position all of us are worried about in 2025. Texas has almost always had to use an extra OT, whether that was Goosby last year or Cam Williams the year prior. 2022 was healthy enough that they didn’t have to rely on a reserve, but you can’t expect that in 2025. Texas is going to need a true OT3 who can swing to both sides. From the sounds of it, Jaydon Chatman will be able to do that in a pinch. The real worry is if he has to play north of 200 snaps in a season and line up against some of the best edge rushers in the SEC or the nation. Andre Cojoe’s injury did not come at a good time.

Interior Offensive Line (IOL)

Three-Year Average: 4–5 Per Season; 2025 Expectation: 5

Texas has mostly been able to get away with just using seven offensive linemen over the last few years. The ideal number of players to be comfortable with is eight, but over the last three years, Texas hasn’t had to use anything more than Hayden Conner, Jake Majors, Campbell, Hutson, and Robertson sparsly. That’s the hope for 2025 as well, as the backup guard position is the thinnest on the roster. Hutson is both the starting center and backup guard, with Robertson filling in at center in case of injury. The hope is that Texas can get away with using as little of Chatman or whoever OL8 is in 2025.

That’s the expectation: 20 guys who will be leaned on in the biggest games of the season. The only group that could likely expand (barring multiple injuries at a single position) is the pass catchers, as Texas has young players who are going to be hard to keep off the field. Maybe that means Lockett or McCutcheon comes in for a series in a game where Wingo gets banged up, or the loser of the TE2 battle sees some time in relief of an injured Endries.

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Whatever the case, this is the group you will need to be familiar with in 2025. While thin at some spots, like the offensive line, this is the deepest group of skill players Texas has possessed in Sarkisian’s era. Anywhere from 11–14 guys getting serious runway on the biggest stages is an impressive number.

All you can do now is knock on wood for injury luck and prepare for this group to take on Ohio State in just 10 days.

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