Texas offense welcomes a dynamic threat after Emmett Mosley's breakout game

Against Mississippi State on Saturday, the Texas offense was asked to do something it hadn’t done all of 2025.

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The Longhorns needed to score in bunches—up to the 41 points it took to beat the Bulldogs in overtime.

With scoring comes passing, meaning Texas needed a high-level game from Arch Manning and his wide receivers. Manning played exceptionally, but the biggest storyline that emerged from this game was the performance of the wide receivers.

Despite four drops, Texas’ pass catchers had their best game together. Ryan Wingo sparked 180 yards of offense off explosives, DeAndre Moore was key on third downs, and Parker Livingstone and Emmett Mosley combined for four touchdowns.

Mosley was the most interesting wrinkle, however. It was just his fourth game in a Longhorn uniform, having transferred after one year at Stanford this offseason.

“It’s been a tough go for him,” Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said about Mosley. “With the injury basically all throughout training camp and the early point of the season, and a guy that just didn’t have the exposure to the offense and didn’t have those thousands of reps with Arch and catching balls, and so finding his stride, finding his rhythm, I think, has been big.”

Mosley ended the game with four catches for 53 yards and two touchdowns. Not gaudy numbers, but based on the eye test, Mosley looked like the best receiver on this team. He was consistently beating his defender in man coverage and flashed really strong hands on multiple passes from Manning—none as impressive, however, as the game-winning touchdown in overtime thrown by backup QB Matthew Caldwell.

Never a doubt 😮‍💨🤘 pic.twitter.com/BSfqHdbb7d

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 26, 2025

While that snag on the right side of the endzone was remarkable, that ball had to have zero bobble as soon as it hit his hands, Mosley’s most impressive play might’ve been on his first touchdown, where he sold a block and burst past the defensive back before perfectly reeling in a Manning pass out of the defender’s challenging arms.

16 ➡️ 3 pic.twitter.com/GexiO5MuW5

— Texas Football (@TexasFootball) October 25, 2025

A lot of comparisons can be made between Mosley and first-round pick Matthew Golden from the 2024 team. Both transferred from smaller Power Conference programs; Golden originally took some time to get going for the Longhorns.

He had just 19 catches for 246 yards in his first six games and didn’t make a full stride as the WR1 on this team until late October of last year, scoring five touchdowns in three games spanning from October 26 to November 16.

Mosley’s path might just be a similar one. While Golden was a gifted route runner and contested catcher, he looked far from a player going inside the top 25 picks in the NFL Draft at the start of October. Mosley himself has barely gotten the chance to ramp up, having spent that time injured and away from valuable reps with his quarterback.

“I don’t think we’ve gotten the best version of him yet,” Sarkisian said. “I think he’s even a better blocker than we’ve gotten, which is a big component of why he’s here. But he’s a very talented player. He’s got the right mindset and approach to it all.”

While rushing to make comparisons to a first-round pick would be foolish for someone with just eight receptions as a Longhorn, Saturday’s game against Mississippi State really felt like a breaking point.

The Longhorns have been looking for a true No. 1 WR this season. Despite Wingo’s excellent baseline stats, most of those yards came from screens and a singular bomb downfield in desperation mode from Manning.

What Texas really needs is reliable hands from the first play to the last—someone the quarterback feels comfortable targeting at all times. With Mosley’s underrated size and excellence in route running, he might just be that target for Manning and Caldwell, who may be starting on Saturday.