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The Texas Longhorns football team has a ‘nearly impossible to cover’ weapon many are overlooking
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- The Texas Longhorns football team has a ‘nearly impossible to cover’ weapon many are overlooking
The Texas Longhorns football team has a 'nearly impossible to cover' weapon many are overlooking originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Texas Longhorns have what CBS Sports' Brad Crawford considers one of the 17 "sophomore standouts that will define the 2026 playoff race" in former 5-star Sachse Mustangs star receiver Kaliq Lockett.
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As one of the somewhat unsung weapons Arch Manning has at his disposal in the WR room, alongside headline-grabbing Auburn Tigers transfer Cam Coleman and returning upperclassmen producers Ryan Wingo and Emmett Mosley V, Lockett enters 2026 with one career touchdown and 47 yards on five catches. Crawford believes Lockett's speed will separate him in the room, though acknowledging the Longhorns won't have a ton of targets to go around, given the volume of talent.
Per Crawford, "Are there enough footballs to go around for the Longhorns? That's the only dilemma that could potentially limit Lockett's production as a redshirt freshman on the Forty Acres. One of the program's fastest players, Lockett is option No. 4 in an ultra-talented wideout room and nearly impossible to cover from the slot given his agility."
Lockett was a legend in Texas High School Football UIL Class 6A's Region II, District 9, amassing 150 receptions for 2,698 yards and 29 touchdowns in the notoriously competitive DFW region. He has the pedigree to be a difference-maker.
Ideally for Steve Sarkisian, Manning, and Co., Lockett will have a Mosley-esque sophomore non-slump in Austin this fall. Despite suffering a leg injury this spring and undergoing surgery , Lockett will be back in full force this summer.
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Texas is strong at the skill positions, but are Longhorns good enough in the trenches?
With Manning, a star-studded transfer duo in Hollywood Smothers and Raleek Brown, and the aforementioned stacked receiving corps, the only question mark is in the trenches. Blindside tackle Trevor Goosby is an obvious NFL draft day-one candidate, and Melvin Siani projects as a day two pick right now at the right tackle spot, but the interior offensive line is where there are questions.
Connor Robertson is an experienced rock in the middle, but whether Dylan Sikorski can hack an increase in competition after dominating the Oregon State Beavers' Mountain West-heavy schedule, and/or whether Brandon Baker can be effective at right guard in his move inside, are the defining questions for UT.
Kyle Flood is under the gun in Central Texas, with that in mind. He can come out of it as a defining championship coach or a scapegoat. Time will tell.
