AUSTIN, Texas — Although Texas Longhorns wide receiver Daylan McCutcheon has only been on the Forty Acres for eight months, he finds himself in a familiar position heading into Saturday’s matchup with the UTEP Miners at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial — poised to take advantage of injuries at wide receiver.
During the spring, McCutcheon was able to take more significant reps because of injuries to junior wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. and sophomore wide receiver Ryan Wingo that gave McCutcheon the chance
to play inside and outside.
“He picked up what we did really well — it was very natural to him. He wasn’t perfect, but his ability to learn multiple positions, his ability to be fearless, and I think that’s something that as a freshman receiver you kind of need to be, because you’re never really known if you’re right or wrong half the time, and they’re just out there, especially early on in their career, in spring ball and training camp. But he was fearless, and when his opportunities presented themselves, he went and made plays,” Sarkisian said on Thursday.
Now, with Moore reportedly in concussion protocol and sophomore Emmett Mosley likely to miss his third straight game, the Lucas Lovejoy product could make his first college start against the Miners. At the least, he should factor heavily into the rotation after playing two snaps against Ohio State and 16 snaps against San Jose State, recording one catch for three yards in each game.
The coaching staff anticipated better perimeter blocking from the wide receivers this season, an area where the Horns haven’t been executed well through two games, perhaps impacted by Mosley’s absence, but Sarkisian has been impressed by McCutcheon’s willingness to compete on as a blocker even though he’s listed at 5’11 and 178 pounds.
It’s one of many areas where McCutcheon has been a high achiever so far.
McCutcheon arrived at Texas as a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 103 player nationally and the the No. 13 wide receiver, according to the 247Sports Composite, lofty rankings overshadowed by the high-profile recruitments of consensus five-star wide receiver signee Kaliq Lockett and one-time consensus five-star wide receiver signee Jaime Ffrench, who was a top-20 prospect when he committed to Texas in August 2024.
The nature of McCutcheon’s recruitment influenced perceptions, too — he was committed to the Seminoles when the Longhorns circled back after missing out on the nation’s No. 1 wide receiver, Duncanville’s Dakorien Moore, to the Ducks, eventually flipping McCutcheon in October as Florida State struggled on the field.
A one-time teammate of Longhorns redshirt freshman wide receiver Parker Livingstone, McCutcheon was highly productive at the highest levels of Texas high school football, recording a combined 181 catches for 2,590 yards and 38 touchdowns over his junior and senior seasons.
On the Forty Acres, McCutcheon looks poised to make an early impact after accomplishing one of the most important tasks in Sarkisian’s program.
“He’s earned a lot of trust from us. That’s probably the biggest thing that’s occurred. He’s earned trust and with trust comes more opportunities,” Sarkisian said. “Then with opportunities, what do you do? What do you do with those opportunities? And so he’s got a great one here in front of him this week. And if you know the if history is any indicator of the future, I think he’s going to maximize the opportunities that are presented to them this weekend.”
