AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The big group of Texas transfers brought the big plays and the big violence to their burnt orange debut, a romp over Texas State.
The No. 5 Longhorns will want more of that next Saturday against No. 1 Ohio State.
Wide receiver Cam Coleman caught Texas’ first touchdown of the season from Arch Manning, then added a second one in the second half.
Hollywood Smothers set up the first TD with a 45-yard run on the Longhorns’ first play. Raleek Brown ran for two touchdowns. And linebacker Rasheem Biles forced a fumble and had an interception.
Texas made a big push in the transfer portal to upgrade at key positions after missing the College Football Playoff last season. It was done with an eye toward what comes next: a Week 2 showdown with the Buckeyes.
Ohio State has gotten the best of Texas in recent years. The Buckeyes won a CFP semifinals matchup in 2024, and beat Texas again in the 2025 season opener.
“The new faces showed up,” in front of a sellout crowd of more than 102,000 against Texas State, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said after the opening victory.
Sarkisian expected nothing less. He brought in the offensive firepower to build a big-strike unit around QB Manning. Biles is the lynchpin for the defense. Coleman and Biles are preseason All-Americans.
Sarkisian had noted in the offseason that Texas let some trusted veterans leave because the program felt like it could find better players. Overall, Texas brought in 22 transfers.
Coleman, who transferred from Auburn, and Biles, who came from Pitt, were two of the most coveted players across college football. Smothers, who transferred from N.C. State, brings an explosiveness Texas hasn’t had in the backfield since Bijan Robinson in 2022. Brown was all-conference in the Big 12 at Arizona State last season.
Manning appreciates the new level of talent.
“I liked how we got a lot of guys involved,” he said. “We have a lot of playmakers who can do everything.”
Wide receiver Ryan Wingo likes it, too. He led Texas with seven receptions for 121 yards and had a touchdown Saturday.
“That dude is good,” Wingo said of Coleman. “And, yes, he’s a luxury for sure. We’ve got a lot of tools.”
Biles can seemingly do everything himself on defense. Against Texas State, he crashed into ball carriers and chased receivers.
On the fumble he caused, Biles used a short punch to knock out the ball that teammate Graceson Littleton scooped up for a 59-yard touchdown.
“He’s a violent player,” Sarkisian said. “The play he made to cause that fumble was elite. He has those instincts about him.”
Said Biles: “It was a telephone booth type of tackle: just me and him. I punched at it.”
Biles’ interception in the second half also set up a Texas touchdown. After the interception, Biles ran toward Texas’ massive live steer mascot, Bevo, in his pen.
“That’s what everybody says to do: Get an interception, go straight to Bevo,” Biles said.
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Jim Vertuno, The Associated Press
