"Texas squats heavy": CFB analyst makes a case for Steve Sarkisian's Longhorns to win it all in 2025 

To many, Arch Manning becoming the starter has turned the Texas Longhorns into one of the national championship favorites for 2025. However, On3’s college football insider JD Pickell believes there is more to Steve Sarkisian’s squad in 2025.

While Pickell believes the Longhorns should still have an explosive attack, it’s in the trenches that the analyst believes Texas could take advantage. Fickell believes the team has enough power up front to win in one of the most physical conferences in the nation.

“This team is strong enough at the most important spots to be able to bully around a little bit in the SEC. That’s saying something," Pickell said via On3. "First year in the conference, Quinn Ewers left something to be desired through the air. Let’s be real about this, he wasn’t who we thought he would be, but the way that ‘Sark’ has built the line of scrimmage at Texas, again, it’s not just show muscles.

“Like you think about Texas, you think about the wide receivers, you think about Sark wearing a sick suit walking in on game day and then having a certain flash and pizzazz to them… They still have those show muscles, but they got real-deal leg strength. Texas squats heavy,” he added.

(from 1:35 mark onwards)

While the Longhorns lost four starters on the offensive line, including both tackles leaving early for the NFL draft, they could still boast one of the top groups in the nation.

Guard DJ Campbell is the lone starter returning in 2025 and Cole Hutson has starting experience at both guard and center. Furthermore, Neto Umeozulu could get the other guard spot if Hutson moves to center, while the tackle spots could be manned by Trevor Goosby and Brandon Baker.

Connor Robinson, Malik Ogbo, Jaydon Chapman and Andre Cojoe offer experienced depth across the line, along with some incoming talent through recruiting. The Texas Longhorns' offensive line is as deep as any in college football.

JD Pickell has a sneaky contender for Texas in CFP picture

While most analysts’ lists of contenders for the 2025 season center around Notre Dame, Big Ten and SEC teams, JD Pickell had a slight surprise among his contenders, and it was the same team Texas eliminated in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

“One more team that I actually feel really intrigued by and might be the sneakiest of this whole group is Clemson,” JD Pickell said.

(from 10:06 mark onwards)

Clemson was among the premier programs in college football in the second half of the past decade but has fallen behind in the last few years.

There are three main reasons why the insider is counting the Tigers among national title hopefuls.

“The explosive weapons, Cade Klubnik being the quarterback, I feel better about those spots. The third thing here, Dabo [Swinney] being quote-unquote, stuck in his ways. And it’s something that we’ve talked about. The portal is one thing, it’s kind of nice to see them go to the portal, but them hiring a Tom Allen… that’s encouraging,” he added.

(from 11:25 mark onwards)

Clemson will have an early chance to prove they belong, as they face the LSU Tigers at home on Aug. 30 in their season opener.