Well, are there any doubts that Steve Sarkisian is the best fit for the Texas Longhorns? Come on, the Longhorns head coach enters his fifth season in 2025. This makes him last longer than both of his immediate predecessors, Tom Herman and Charlie Strong. And in the new SEC era of Texas football, Sarkisian is not just surviving—he’s winning. Unfortunately, in the current college football landscape, your charm is only going to bring you visits from players. For official commitments, one needs to have heavy pockets. While Sarkisian’s Texas doesn’t have to worry about its fortune reserve, someone got too carried away by spreading false news about Sarkisian’s spending budget this season. That’s when the head coach came up with a regretful $15 million admission.

Steve Sarkisian is a flashy recruiter who uses Lamborghinis in Texas’s orange and white colors and even makes helicopter visits to attract new players. It was even widely reported that in 2023, the Longhorns’ coach spent a huge $280,000 on a recruiting trip just to bring five-star player Arch Manning to Texas. And in this world, where the college football landscape is dominated by NIL, where teams are ballooning to payouts, it’s quite difficult to pinpoint exactly what NIL groups are spending on their players.

For instance, Dan Lanning and Oregon’s “Division Street” and “Ducks of a Feather” keep the numbers under wraps. Poor Sarkisian! Even before he could find ways to keep his team’s confidential data a secret, a recent report from the Houston Chronicle’s Kirk Bohls shattered all privacy. The reporter claimed the Longhorns plan to spend $35 and $40 million on their 2025 football roster. A month later, Sarkisian shot down the April report, claiming it to be a rumored NIL roster cost. There is no way Texas spent so much on the roster. “What’s frustrating on that was it was a little bit of irresponsible reporting,” Sarkisian said on College Sports on SiriusXM.

The head coach continued, “It was one anonymous source said that was what our roster was. I wish I had $40 million on our roster. We’d probably be a little better team than we are.” Well, already the NIL makes it one of the most sensitive topics to discuss recently. After all, the schools await the pending House vs. NCAA settlement, which will limit the amount of money they’re able to spend on developing their rosters.

For the first time in history, there is going to be a revenue-sharing model. As per the projections, schools will be able to pay about $20 million directly to players in all sports. Out of this amount, the bulk will be assigned for football. Already, Sarkisian’s Longhorns come into the 2025 season as one of the most talented overall rosters in college football. But even then, Sarkisan craves a bit more.

“It is what it is. Hey, we’re fortunate, don’t get me wrong. We’ve got great support… I wish I had another $15 million or so. I might have a little better roster.” Well, you can guess where the reporter came up with the projections. Last cycle, Texas pulled in the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. In this process, their average NIL valuation was higher than anyone else’s, too, sitting at $248,000. While Sarkisian thinks of bringing in new recruits, he had to go to great lengths for his old recruit, Manning.

Steve Sarkisian’s insurance policy to stabilize the QB room 

Well, the Manning hype train must have been speeding up. That’s when Greg McElroy called out and warned fans to slow down. He was the No. 1 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class. However, he has played sparingly so far in his career, throwing for 969 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions as Quinn Ewers’ backup. No doubt, there have been some high moments for Sarkisian’s quarterback. For instance, against UTSA, he racked up 223 yards and 4 touchdowns. But that was not considered a heroic feat. Why though?

Programs like San Antonio and Louisiana-Monroe had a low-ranked overall defense. Maybe that’s why McElroy was not ready to tab Manning as a top-10 quarterback. For so long, Sarkisian rode high with his confidence in the quarterback. But he, too, is now taking things seriously.

Manning has remained largely healthy since arriving in Austin, but Sarkisian isn’t letting the past be forgotten. After all, Ewers has given the head coach enough trauma. So, walking into the 2025 season, Sarkisian’s primary goal is to build a strong, reliable quarterback room that won’t falter under pressure if injuries strike again.

And the head coach walked his talk, bolstering the quarterback room. Texas added veteran quarterback Matthew Caldwell, a late portal pickup from Troy with experience at multiple stops. Post which, Steve Sarkisian broke his silence about his move….

“We’ve had four straight years where our starting QBs have gone down. We’ve got two young, talented guys, but adding an older, experienced QB puts us in the best spot for a long season. You need depth to survive 17 games.” Right now, it’s Arch Manning, third-string quarterback Trey Owens, and Joe Tatum as the fifth-string quarterback. But again, precautions are better than a cure. Caldwell last year played in 10 games for Troy and passed for 1,608 yards for 13 touchdowns. Here’s to hoping the Lone Star State’s QB struggles are history.