The burnt orange hype train was losing steam down the stretch last season before eventually coming to a scarlet red stoplight at the Cotton Bowl. Zoom out and look at the bigger picture, though. You’d realize this has been a bit of a trend for Texas over recent seasons. Yes, Steve Sarkisian has propelled the program into perennial championship contenders. Back-to-back playoff appearances with realignment to the SEC sandwiched in between is great. But there’s been a proverbial glass ceiling over UT. Preventing them from ascending to the absolute top echelon. Not only does one analyst reckon that’s about to change. They’ve identified the primary reason behind why the Longhorns couldn’t break through.

Last season, Texas’ modus operandi was founded on defense. They boasted elite talent in both the front 7 and the secondary, so this made sense. It worked, too, as evidenced by the statistics and the eye test. However, it was a little strange. An offensive whiz in Steve Sarkisian riding the coattails of his defense? Perhaps this wasn’t by design. As talented as your receiving corps and tailbacks are, teams only go as far as their quarterback takes them. There’s a school of thought, somewhat rational, that Texas just didn’t have the best quarterback play. Which didn’t just cause Sark to lean into his defense but hard-capped the team as a whole.

Quinn Ewers was an outright stud coming out of high school, destined for greatness. But finding yourself on the same depth chart as CJ Stroud at Ohio State is rather unfortunate. Ewers’ decision to jump ship and trade Columbus for Austin largely worked, but it wasn’t as prosperous as both parties would’ve thought. Conceded injuries really affected Quinn Ewers’ Texas career. He and Sarkisian even proclaimed he was playing hurt through the playoffs last season. Alas, whatever the sticking point, Ewers couldn’t be the force multiplier at QB people hoped. In fact, Joe DeLeone thinks he was outright holding them back. Previewing Texas’ 2025 season over “The Ruffino & Joe Show,” DeLeone laid a massive indictment on Ewers. Worked into some gaudy hopes for his successor, Arch Manning.

“Texas is my national championship pick,” he said. But more than any addition to Steve Sarkisian’s roster bringing about this opinion, it was indeed the subtraction of Ewers. DeLeone proceeded, “I firmly believe what held back Texas was Quinn Ewers…his inability to step up to the plate and make big plays in crucial situations, and more importantly, make the worst possible outcome occur, was what held them back.” He pointed to the interception against Arizona State and the strip-sack vs OSU as instances Ewers folded in high-leverage moments.

Although Sarkisian’s play calling on the 3 downs before that strip sack was quite abysmal, Ewers didn’t do himself any favors. “I know we haven’t seen Arch Manning play. But I feel like as long as Arch alleviates 15 to 20% of those turnovers and those types of mistakes, this team is going to ascend to a new level,” added Joe DeLeone. 

This wasn’t all DeLeone had to say on Arch. It’s safe to say there are a couple of distinct factions when it comes to expectations from Arch Manning heading into his first season as QB1. With some overlapping in the middle, sort of like a Venn diagram. There are people who are completely bought into the skill and the pageantry that comes with the last name. Those who feel like this is someone who’s been crowned too soon and those on the fence. Being cautiously optimistic but knowing the jury is still out on the player. Well, DeLeone firmly falls into category #1.

Steve Sarkisian expected to feature in the Natty picture because of Arch Manning

As aforementioned, Quinn Ewers struggled with injuries throughout his Texas career, but especially last season. He even missed time with an oblique strain early in the year, meaning Arch Manning started a couple of games. If his performances- at such short, unexpected notice-can be extrapolated into predicting what’s to come, Steve Sarkisian and co. are in safe hands. Manning was quite brilliant as the backup thrust into the team, and that’s all Joe DeLeone needed to see to know what’s in store next year.

“A lot of people want to push pause on Arch Manning and say, ‘Let’s let the kid play first.’ I understand that. But he’s shown us a lot of really brilliant things that typically we don’t get from guys when they spot start or they come in for a series,” he said. Apart from starting in Ewers’s absence, Manning was even utilized by Sarkisian in certain scenarios where his athleticism and ability to move the chains with his legs could help. Manning’s dynamism is also a factor why DeLeone implicitly suggested he’s an upgrade on Ewers. “[Arch Manning] has shown a very nice, natural playmaking ability. I love the fact that Year 3 is when he’s playing…this has been a situation that has been able to incubate and to process, and we have been able to let it be patient and not rushed.”

That burnt orange hype train is refueled and fitted with new wheels. It remains to be seen whether it can go further this time around, but the signs do bode well. Steve Sarkisian will hope his offense and defense are a little more complimentary as well. It’s the dawn of a new day in Austin. It’s poetic how they begin where they ended last year—against Ohio State.