Texas Longhorns is on the cusp of making a crucial transition from Quinn Ewers to Arch Manning in the upcoming season. And if sources are to be believed, the team’s HC Steve Sarkisian is building quite the depth chart to back his new QB…

Let’s not forget that Ewers has done a great job at Austin for the past six years. Despite having some stumbling blocks in the season—mostly due to injuries—he managed to lead his team to semis with a 13-3 record and a 7-1 mark in SEC play. During the 2024 college football season, Ewers posted 31 touchdowns and 3,472 yards with a 65.8 completion percentage. However, he couldn’t have done it without the proper depth chart backing him up all along. Now, as the prodigy reportedly leaves for the NFL after foregoing his remaining eligibility, the Longhorns have decided to take a different route with Manning sitting atop.

There have been plenty of comparisons between Manning and Ewers’ backbones in the team and how it could make a difference between the past and the approaching year. No need to mention that the roster will go through a massive change, whether for good or bad. Well, as per the recent intel, we can dub it for good for now, at least.

Pleasant Grove’s Lance Jackson is a five-star recruit at Austin, heading into the Manning era. The edge rusher is much more than a talent. Amidst a chaotically good season, Jackson led the team in tackles and sacks in most of the games. But as we see, he is not just a superlative figure possessing numbers under his belt. The kid brought a lot of intangibles to the table. His work ethic, calm demeanor, and humble approach shine above and beyond the scoreboard. With a five-star tag added to his name, we can expect nothing but more brilliance down the stretch.

However, all these roster extensions wouldn’t have been possible if Sarkisian had not received a financial boost in his new contract.

Steve Sarkisian has added interest in gracing the 2025 roster in Austin

The current era of college football is disturbing as per many. The way players have been floating from one school to another with the NFL money lure, it is heading into a dangerous landscape as Nick Saban already has predicted. Sarkisian, as well, has dealt with all the post-season portal losses, player tampering, and missed targets lately. Although Texas comes under the top five schools assigned the highest paychecks for roster development, he needed a clear contract that could stick him to Austin and focus on swooping more inside and outside stars.

A second appearance in the College Football Playoff semifinals handed Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian a second contract extension in the last year as Sarkisian turned down interviews with two NFL teams, as spilled by Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.

Texas gave the nod to a new seven-year deal for Steve Sarkisian, which added a year to his deal and includes a prominent raise, per a source. He remains one of the top-paid coaches in the mix, being placed at No. 3 at $10.6 million.

 NFL seemed to be more appealing to the coaches for a greater chance of roster building. But despite all the bumps in the road, Sarkisian bagged more job security after leading the Longhorns to consecutive College Football Playoff berths and two straight conference title games, including the Big 12 win in 2023.

Now, it would be a treat to watch how all the money and a rebounded tempo pan out in the next year.