Texas football coaches and players have repeatedly emphasized the importance of adopting a “next man up” mentality throughout these past few weeks of Southeastern Conference play — a mindset easier to talk about than to actually implement.
But on Saturday in Columbia, Missouri, the Longhorns showed the Tigers exactly what it looks like to believe in the players forced to patch together an injury-plagued roster.
Texas’ 34-20 victory is proof that it might have the trait that corresponds to SEC success in November: depth — and lots of it.
The Longhorns took the field against Missouri without senior offensive tackle Trevor Goosby, junior running back Hollywood Smothers, sophomore tight end Nick Townsend, junior wide receiver Cam Coleman and freshman edge rusher Richard Wesley. They also played with a limited version of junior edge rusher Colin Simmons.
Head coach Steve Sarkisian took pride in his team’s depth following the matchup, especially given what the team is dealing with in terms of overall health.
“We’re down some really good players right now,” Sarkisian said after the game. “This team kind of gets tighter. The more adversity we get, the tighter we get. So, I think it’s a cultural thing, I think it’s a toughness thing and I think it’s a leadership thing.”
Sarkisian emphasized that Goosby, Coleman and Simmons could all end up being top-15 picks in the 2027 NFL Draft, making their absences — and limitations in Simmons’ case — even more difficult to overcome.
The Longhorns also had to rotate their defensive backs more often than usual due to several players dealing with more minor injuries.
Junior wide receiver Ryan Wingo also wasn’t at 100% and missed a lot of practice this past week, but chose to play the whole game regardless.
In the midst of this chaos, Texas fans saw a wide variety of players fill into more prominent roles. Offensively, freshman running back Derrek Cooper had a 24-yard touchdown reception to get the Longhorns on the board, and freshman wide receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr. added a critical 25-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter of the matchup.
On the defensive side, several lesser known players had to fill gaps that emerged throughout the game. Senior defensive back Warren Roberson saw an uptick of reps on Saturday, and he used one of them to change the game’s trajectory.
The fourth-year Longhorn popped the ball right out of the hands of a Missouri receiver in the fourth quarter, allowing sophomore defensive back Graceson Littleton to secure an interception and help seal Texas’ win.
This all-around display of depth is what separates teams at this point in the season, a reality Sarkisian is well aware of.
“When you have players down, other players have to step up,” Sarkisian said. “That’s the nature of the beast, but like I told the team last night, we don’t recruit really hard, we don’t recruit really well around here for fun … It’s for moments like this.”
Texas didn’t play perfect, but it played like it had something to prove — both to its fanbase and to those confined to the sidelines with injuries. The players who took the field played for the ones who couldn’t, and the Longhorns’ reward for that is a 1-0 record this week.
“The DNA of this organization is mental and physical toughness, and I think that poured out of our pores today in this ballgame,” Sarkisian said.
