AUSTIN, Texas — Before Saturday’s game against the Kentucky Wildcats, the No. 3 Texas Longhorns will honor its senior class. There may be some “gangster tears” from cornerback Jahdae Barron, walking for the second time, and plenty of other emotions from a group that features head coach Steve Sarkisian’s 2021 transition class in addition to a few other holdovers from the Tom Herman era and players out of the NCAA transfer portal.
Some of the players experienced the COVID year that marked the end of Herman’s tenure. Others endured the 11-11 start to Sarkisian’s time on the Forty Acres prior to an important culture-building summer in 2023 that vaulted the Longhorns to a 12-2 record, the program’s first Big 12 title since 2009, and its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoffs.