Everybody wants to talk about Texas's five-star recruiting haul and the flashy offensive skill players, but the real reason the Longhorns are going to be a problem this fall is hiding in plain sight on special teams. Texas ranked 67th in punt return average last season at just over 7 yards per return, and the coverage unit was even worse, giving up 12.4 yards per punt return which put them in the bottom third of the SEC. That is not acceptable for a program with this much talent and it is the single easiest area to fix with a coaching staff that actually prioritizes it.
The narrative that special teams is just a random outcome generator is completely wrong when you look at the data. Programs like Iowa and Michigan State consistently rank in the top 10 in special teams SP+ year after year because they treat it as a core identity, not an afterthought. Texas has the athletes to dominate in the kicking game if the coaching staff commits to it. The Longhorns brought in a new special teams coordinator this offseason and the early returns from spring practice suggest they are finally giving this phase the attention it deserves.
Fall camp is where this gets decided. If Texas can jump from 67th to inside the top 30 in punt return average and shave off 3 yards per return on coverage, that is worth an extra possession per game in hidden yardage. In a conference where games are decided by one score more than 40% of the time, that is the difference between 9 wins and 11 wins. The SEC is too deep to leave points on the field because of poor punt protection or bad field position decisions.
The Texas State game in week 1 is the perfect test. The Bobcats have a solid special teams unit that ranked 45th in SP+ last season. If Texas comes out and handles business in the kicking game, that tells me the emphasis is real. If they still look disorganized and give up a big return or miss a makeable field goal, then it is the same old story. The talent is there to be elite in all three phases and the numbers show that special teams is the fastest path to closing the gap with Georgia and Alabama.