Meaningless exhibition or preview of the future?
For the No. 13 Texas Longhorns facing off against the No. 18 Michigan Wolverines in the Citrus Bowl on Wednesday, those two polarities are not mutually exclusive
for head coach Steve Sarkisian’s team as it closes a 2025 season that started with huge expectations that quickly fizzled so badly not even three top-10 wins could salvage it.
With Texas missing the College Football Playoff, the number of opt outs for the Citrus Bowl increased substantially over recent seasons with multiple seniors and two early entrants into the 2026 NFL Draft sitting out for the Longhorns. Combined with departures into the NCAA transfer portal, including starting running back Quintrevion Wisner, starting wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., and starting linebacker Liona Lefau, the Longhorns had to make significant changes to practices during bowl preparation down towards 60 scholarship players.
“One thing that we have done has been a little bit more servicing of each other from offense to defense, defense to
offense, as opposed to scout team. It has been great for me, because it has allowed me to see the whole team all practice long, as opposed to being separate offense and defense and doing things simultaneously,“ Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said on Tuesday in Orlando.
“I have really enjoyed it. I have enjoyed being around a lot of our younger players, and I think that they are excited to show what they can do. You can feel the excitement from their teammates, some of the older guys, that maybe they came into school with and now they are seeing some opportunities for them.”
Across the roster, young players will have chances to preview their futures at Texas against Michigan, especially members of the No. 1-ranked 2025 recruiting class.
Under the guidance of new running backs coach Jabbar Juluke, hired from Florida after Sarkisian fired Chad Scott after one season on the Forty Acres, the position room has a new look after four departures to the NCAA transfer portal, a group that includes redshirt sophomore CJ Baxter, the No. 1 running back in the 2023 recruiting class.
The scholarship players available in the Citrus Bowl — redshirt sophomore Ryan Niblett, redshirt freshman Christian Clark, freshman James Simon, and freshman Michael Terry III — combined for only 69 carries this season, mostly during non-conference play.
The game feels especially important for Terry, the No. 1 athlete in the 2025 recruiting class who started the season at wide receiver before moving to running back after sophomore Jerrick Gibson left the program. Terry has enough talent to become an impact player for the Longhorns, but his athlete designation as a recruit speaks both to his versatility and question marks about his ideal position.
To avoid Terry wasting an offseason, the staff needs to determine whether running back or wide receiver is a better fit for the Alamo Heights product.
At wide receiver, Moore’s absence means increased opportunities for the three signees in the 2025 class, Kaliq Lockett, Jaime Ffrench, and Daylan McCutcheon, the latter of whom played 125 snaps on offense.
Earlier this month, Sarkisian didn’t include wide receiver among the positions of need when the portal opens, but Moore’s departure increases that need. To what extent depends on how well those three young wide receivers have performed during bowl preparation and will perform if given the opportunity against the Wolverines, which should be an imperative for position coach Chris Jackson, who is set to receive his own performance evaluation from Sarkisian after the season when the Longhorns head coach faces a decision about whether to offer Jackson a new contract.
The tight end position features more stability with junior Jack Endries electing to play in the game after walking on Senior Night, but Sarkisian still wants to get a look at his freshman there, Emaree Winston and Nick Townsend. Winston only played seven snaps in conference play, while Townsend found a role blocking on slice zone plays, eventually setting up his touchdown run against Texas A&M. But even though Townsend saw significantly more action than Winston, he’s still at less than 100 snaps for the season.
And although the offensive line features all five starters available for the Citrus Bowl, key development has happened behind those starters, according to offensive coordinator Kyle Flood.
“Guys like Danny Cruz, Nate Kibble, Jaydon Chatman, this has been a really good
two-week stretch for them as they have improved,“ Flood said on Sunday.
The defense, coached for the Citrus Bowl by co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Johnny Nansen after Sarkisian unexpectedly fired Pete Kwiatkowski, features plenty of opt outs.
Along the defensive line, tackles Josiah Sharma and Myron Charles have developed during practice even though the opt outs are on the edge, where Lance Jackson and Justus Terry stand to see plenty of playing time against the Wolverines.
Linebacker is the most thin position on the team with Lefau set to enter the portal, star Anthony Hill Jr. declaring for the draft, and Trey Moore opting out, thrusting junior Brad Spence and freshman Bo Barnes into the spotlight. Spence moved from inside linebacker to the edge during the offseason, but will play both positions in Orlando.
“He has done a great job. He is a fast learner. We are probably going to use him in both spots over at linebacker and outside and third down, things like that,” Nansen said on Sunday.
“He has really grown. He is becoming a good leader for our room. He is in with me right now getting ready for the game. I like what I see. Obviously, that is something we are going to have to talk about is where his next role is
going to be next year.“
Barnes has only played 24 snaps on defense, but is regarded as an important piece to the position’s future, setting up an opportunity for valuable playing time against the Wolverines.
The secondary will have a new look, too, with three starters opting out. Older players like junior Warren Roberson and sophomore Kobe Black will have a chance to step forward at the cornerback position with freshman Kade Phillips. On the back end, Sarkisian mentioned freshman Zelus Hicks, who re-classified from the 2026 recruiting class, but didn’t name Jonah Williams, who came along slowly during the season because of a lingering hamstring injury initially suffered during the baseball season.
So although Sarkisian’s Tuesday attempts to heighten the stakes for the game likely fell flat for fans still disappointed that Texas missed the playoff, the Citrus Bowl will offer an unprecedented opportunity to evaluate players the Longhorns will need to step forward next year to make it back into the CFP.
