'Cam wants to be great': Arch Manning meshing with new Texas Longhorns ahead of Week 1
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For the Texas football team, this is a game week. Finally.
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Last week, however, was a mock week. When it came to its schedule and practices, Texas acted as if a game was happening that weekend. The team even stayed in a hotel Friday and went through its pregame routine Saturday.
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The concept of a mock week isn't new, but it may have served a greater purpose for the Longhorns this season. As head coach Steve Sarkisian pointed out Monday as UT prepared for Saturday's opener against Texas State, the Longhorns welcomed nearly 50 newcomers into their program this offseason.
"When you look at 48 scholarship additions on our roster, how we go about a game week is new to them. It's foreign to them," Sarkisian said. "I thought the mock week was very important."
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Two of the newcomers that partook in their first mock week with the Longhorns were transfer receivers Cam Coleman and Sterling Berkhalter. The same could be said for freshmen pass catchers like Jermaine Bishop Jr., Kohen Brown and Chris Stewart.
Those fresh faces in the Texas receiving corps will look to emerge in a passing attack that returns a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Arch Manning. Ryan Wingo, who led the Longhorns in receptions (54), receiving yards (834) and touchdown catches (seven), is back. The Longhorns also retained the services of Emmett Mosley V after a 28-catch season that included a game-winning touchdown at Mississippi State.
Texas, though, still needs to replace 57.4% of last season's receptions. That's where someone like Coleman, an Auburn transfer and possible first-round draft pick, is expected to emerge.
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Coleman and his fellow newcomers, however, will head into this weekend's season opener against Texas State without an established connection with Manning. Sure, there have been practices – Manning was limited during the spring as he recovered from foot surgery – and a trip the receivers took to see their quarterback in New Orleans this summer, but that's different than a game.
On Monday, Sarkisian was asked what's the key to a quarterback developing a rapport with a new receiver. Himself a former quarterback who transferred to BYU before his junior year, Sarkisian insisted that off-the-field work is as important as on-field reps.
"Ryan and Arch and Emmett and Arch, they've got banked reps," Sarkisian said. "Cam, I give him a lot of credit, he's been very intentional to be close to Arch, and I think Arch has been intentional with him as well because they know they've got some ground to make up. I think their rapport is really good. I would say time on task (is important), physical and non-physical time on task of just being with one another."
Texas wide receiver Cam Coleman (8) catches a pass while running drills during Longhorns football practice at Frank Denius Fields in Austin, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (Mikala Compton/Austin American-Statesman)Texas QB Arch Manning: 'Cam wants to be great'
When later asked the same question as his coach, Manning echoed Sarkisian's sentiments. "(It's) definitely really important building rapport," Manning said. Manning later told reporters that Coleman responds well to criticism, which is something he learned while spending time with the receiver during the offseason.
"Cam wants to be great, which is a good thing," Manning said. "He takes coaching well. I can yell at him. I can also say whatever I want to him. He doesn't care. He wants to be great. So it's nice having that.
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What's something that Manning has learned about Coleman off the field?
"He's really just a really normal, nice guy. Treats everyone with respect," Manning said. "His brother (Bobby) is also a quarterback. He's going into his senior year, I think he's committed to Georgia State. He comes from a good family, and I'm excited to see what he can do this year."
The connection that UT has tried to establish this offseason will be on display this weekend when Texas hosts Texas State. Last season, the Bobcats ranked 61st nationally with the 218.1 passing yards they allowed per game.
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