Heading into 2025, the Texas Longhorns had high expectations for the tight end position after adding Jack Endries via the transfer portal. In two years in a run-heavy, and frankly struggling, Cal Golden Bears offense, Endries put up 89 receptions for more than 1,000 yards and four scores before entering the transfer portal.
Coming off of two years of explosive play from Gunnar Helm and Ja’Tavion Sanders, Endries turning in a career-low 33 receptions and 346 yards was far from the standard. Heading
into the 2026 season, there is still a big question mark at the spot, despite the offseason portal addition.
“We’ve got a lot of depth in the tight end room. All a bunch of good guys,” quarterback Arch Manning said at SEC Media Days. “I think it’s going to come down to camp to see who takes that role. But it’s been a good offseason with those guys.”
Texas returns a trio of players to campus — Spencer Shannon, Emaree Winston, and Nick Townsend — who combined for just four receptions for 54 yards in 2025. In the offseason, Texas added Michael Masunas, a 6’5. 259-pound transfer from Michigan State who was ranked as the No. 6 overall tight end by 247Sports, but his pedigree as a pass catcher has room to grow. In three years with the Spartans, he caught just 24 balls for 270 yards, although the Arizona product did bring in three touchdowns last year.
At Michigan State, Masunas was highly effective as a pass blocker, but didn’t grade as a standout player for his run blocking in East Lansing and served almost exclusively in an in-line role in 2025, lining up outside or in the slot on only 10 snaps.
For Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, though, scheming up opportunities for his tight ends isn’t typically difficult even though the production from Endries last year didn’t match expectations, so it wasn’t surprising to hear that Masunas was making an impact in the passing game during the spring.
“He’s given us probably more in the passing game than maybe we were anticipating. He’s very capable there,” Sarkisian said in April.
“When you see guys like Michael make those strides, it’s like, ‘Man, we’re going to get more out of him than maybe we thought we were.’”
Less clear is whether Spencer Shannon will make his first impact as a receiver as a fourth-year player. Because while it’s commendable that the Mater Dei product was listed among the team’s model citizens by Sarkisian last month at the THSCA convention, Shannon still doesn’t even have a target in the passing game and rarely ran routes last year even though he played almost 350 snaps.
“Spencer Shannon’s had a great spring, and Mike’s had a great spring,” Texas offensive coordinator Kyle Flood said in April. “Those two guys are your traditional C-area blockers, and to have two of them on the same team is rare. It’s rare. So it definitely gives us some flexibility in that room.”
Townsend and Winston will serve as the H-backs as Sarkisian looks for the 2025 signees to emerge as impact players in their second season.
‘This is a big moment for them to see where they’ve gotten from year one to year two, and we need them,“ Sarkisian said last week.
During portions of practice open to the media last week, Towsend’s physical development was evident — the Spring Dekaney product is now listed at 6’3, 250 pounds. As a move blocker as a true freshman, Townsend carved out a role for himself and flashed his upside with his effort.
With two receptions for seven yards on three targets, Townsend didn’t have many opportunities in the passing game besides hurdling a defender in the Citrus Bowl.
Breaking tendency in the Lone Star Showdown win over Texas A&M, Sarkisian dialed up a rushing touchdown for Townsend.
Built more like a fullback at 6’1, 245 pounds, Winston is a pure move blocker who might have the best hands in Jeff Banks’ position room.
“These guys give us opportunities to do different things. More things may be different than we’ve done historically, and they’re not identical, either. They have different things that they do well,” Sarkisisan said.
Bringing in a tight end with the size and skill set of Masunas signals that Texas is planning on leaning into the tight end as a blocker in 2026 – both out of necessity and schematic preference. Sarkisian has been known to employ two-tight sets for the run, which would align with the offseason decision to spend big portal money on two of the top running backs in the transfer portal.
Having an in-line blocker with the size and skill of Masunas should pay dividends in the zone scheme that Sarkisian seems to be leaning into based on the additions of Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown. Putting him on the frontside of a stretch zone scheme to pair with the skills of Goosby or new right tackle Melvin Siani opens one of them up to reach to the second level, creating an opportunity to spring one of the backs for a big play.
“The versatility of the tight ends is critical, and Michael’s a big part of that, because our ability to run the ball with an inline tight end is something that sets up a lot of the other things that we like to do, and Michael’s providing that for us right now,” Flood said.
If Masunas and a conglomeration of the other tight ends on campus can help Texas improve from their No. 78 finish in explosive run plays from a year ago, the offense has the opportunity to reach its potential even if the passing game impact at the position doesn’t look like it did with Ja’Tavion Sanders and Gunnar Helm.
