Spring football begins in earnest next week when colleges across the state return from spring break. A few programs began work a week prior to spring break, while others dust off the pads beginning on March 21. Spring games are littered throughout April with the season set to start the first week of September. 

The 2022 season is an intriguing one inside the state of Texas. The Aggies and Longhorns hope to climb back to the top of the perch as a collision in the SEC approaches. Baylor hopes to stay atop of the Big 12 under the cool, calm, and collected leadership of Dave Aranda. And Texas Tech and TCU begin new eras under exciting new regimes. 

But what is the best and worst that can happen in 2022? Here's what think regarding the Horns.

Texas Longhorns

2021 record: 5-7

Best case for 2022: Texas hopes an influx of talent from the transfer portal and in the 2022 recruiting cycle helps Steve Sarkisian creep the Longhorns back into conference title contention. An upset win over Alabama early in the year could catapult this program back into national relevance. The quarterback position appears to be addressed by the arrival of former five-star Quinn Ewers. Bijan Robinson is the best running back in college football. The defense added Gary Patterson to help against Big 12 offenses. Baylor proved last year that a team can rise from the ashes to win the Big 12 and Texas is plenty talented on both sides of the football to make a real run. A Big 12 championship and an early season win over Alabama, or even a close defeat, places the Longhorns in the discussion for the College Football Playoffs which leads to Texas dominating the 2023 recruiting cycle in the same fashion Texas A&M pulled off last cycle. 

Worst case for 2022: Sarkisian continues to struggle as a head coach as the offensive and defensive line again prove underwhelming against top-level competition. A blowout loss to Alabama erases any confidence built in the offseason and the Longhorns limp into Big 12 play with the same second-half issues that plagued the 2021 version of the Texas football program. Ewers doesn’t pan out in Austin and Robinson shifts his focus to being healthy for the NFL Draft rather than the late part of the 2022 season. Defensively, no improvements take place with the pass rush or at linebacker.