Texas has the financial resources to sign any college football player it wants. The Longhorns are making a statement by spending millions of dollars in NIL money to help build the roster around Arch Manning.
It also proves they are not broke.
Two of the biggest moves in the transfer portal directly contradict a recent narrative surrounding the college football program in Austin. There is plenty of cash!
Texas will not overpay for unproven contributors.
The University of Texas have seen 23 outgoing players enter the transfer portal this cycle. That is a little bit less than 25% of the 105-player roster.
NIL money is the driving force behind a large number of these departures.
Many Longhorns players are going to the financial administrators with requests for a pay raise, or threatening to enter the transfer portal based on their projected roles rather than proven on-field performance. Players and agents view the program as flush with cash so they want their piece of the pie. That initially created a lot of tension because Steve Sarkisian and his staff are unwilling to overpay for backups and/or unproven contributors. Their demands are unrealistic.
Some fans of college football, especially those who root for rival programs, learned of this targeted approach by Texas and used it as a reason to point and laugh. They thought the Longhorns didn’t have enough money to pay their players after flaunting their money for recruits with a fleet of Lamborghinis.
That is far from the truth, as we learned on Sunday.
Alabama didn’t offer enough NIL money for Cam Coleman or Hollywood Smothers.
This whole narrative about Texas being broke largely stemmed from Christian Clark. The rising sophomore running back initially announced his decision to enter the transfer portal after getting 55 carries for the Longhorns in 2025. He may or may not return to Austin.
Either way, Texas will now split the bulk of carries between Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers. Clark is an afterthought. If he decides to leave, good riddance.
Smothers was the top-ranked running back in the transfer portal. The former four-star recruit ran for 939 yards and six touchdowns on 160 carries at N.C. State last season.
Smothers initially committed to Alabama last week. He later flipped to Texas on Sunday.
The Longhorns shoved the Crimson Tide into a locker. They offered him more money.
Smothers’ decision was announced just a few minutes after Cam Coleman. Coleman was the second-ranked wide receiver in the recruiting Class of 2024 as a five-star prospect. He caught 93 passes for 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns in two years at Auburn. He committed to Texas on Sunday.
Coleman initially chose Auburn over Alabama out of high school. The Crimson Tide felt good about its chances of getting him in the boat the second time around. And then the Longhorns shoved them into a locker. It was a huge get for Arch Manning.
All of this goes to say that, no, Texas is not broke. Steve Sarkisian is choosing to spend his money on proven talent instead of guys that have not yet seen the field.
It actually sounds like Alabama is the one that doesn’t want to spend big money…