College football programs around the country awake from hibernation on July 31 as camp begins in earnest. Twelve of the 13 FBS teams in the Lone Star State start practice in preparation of Week 1 games on the last weekend in August. SMU began a week earlier than everyone else because of a Week 0 road trip to Nevada. 

And while on-field storylines tend to take a backseat to off-field distractions such as court settlements and realignment chatter in the news headlines, there are plenty of narratives to concentrate on for the 2024 season. Here’s our top six heading into camp. 

1. Is the recent past truly in Texas’ rear-view mirror? 

The Longhorns kicked the proverbial money off their backs with a Big 12 championship for the first time since 2009 and a berth in the College Football Playoff for the first time ever. Steve Sarkisian won 10 games and a conference championship for the first time in his career. Texas steered into the hate and came out dry on the other side. And the Longhorns return a third-year quarterback, four starters on the offensive line, and multiple five star recruits ready to breakout while adding potential difference makers through the portal on both sides of the ball.  

Is Texas actually back? I mean, truly? The Horns won 10 games and the Sugar Bowl over Georgia in to cap the 2018 season before posting a 28-20 record over the next four seasons. They lost at least two conference games as Big 12 members every year from 2010-22. Texas played to its competition – good and bad – for years. That changed last year when Sark’s squad ran through the Big 12 and into the Sugar Bowl. Doing it again requires marching through the SEC gauntlet. Our money is on Texas proving its believers correct. 

2. What does the Texas A&M offense look like? 

A new era begins in College Station as the Aggies revert to the R.C. Slocum handbook of defensive-minded head coach who served as an assistant for the previous administration in hopes that he’ll provide stability and a clear direction. Enter Mike Elko. But it isn’t the Wrecking Crew we’re worried about. We’ll assume Elko’s defensive mastery plus an elite defensive line, Taurean York at LB, and a revamped secondary makes the Aggie defense fearsome again. 

The offense is a bigger question mark. Offensive coordinator Collin Klein used mobile quarterbacks at Kansas State with Will Howard and Avery Johnson. How does he use a previously injured Conner Weigman? A closer look at the numbers reveals that it might not be a huge change. Kansas State quarterbacks ran the ball 24.9 percent of the time last year. A&M’s accounted for 25.6 percent. Weigman ran the ball 12 times over four games, however. As long as he’s the starter, the A&M run game will feature the stable of Amari Daniels, Le’Veon Moss, and Reuben Owens. 

3. What is the quarterback status for Texas Tech, TCU? 

The presumptive starting quarterbacks in Lubbock and Fort Worth weren’t healthy enough to finish spring practice. TCU quarterback Josh Hoover didn’t play at all in the spring as he recovers from surgery. Texas Tech’s Behren Morton was shut down halfway through spring ball to rest his throwing shoulder and to consult with experts. 

The good news is that both reported at Big 12 media days that they’re 100 percent and ready for the fall. TCU and Tech were predicted to finish in the bottom half of the Big 12 despite the potential on the roster. Some of that is because of uncertainty at quarterback. Morton and Hoover are young players who needed as much time behind center as possible between 2023 and 2024. Did they take the next step? Will they stay healthy enough in 2024 for their teams to contend for a conference championship? Only time will tell, but a drama free camp would ease some nerves. 

4. Is SMU Power Four ready? 

The Ponies are back at the big kid’s table for the first time since the Southwest Conference disbanded after the 1996 season. It might be truer to go even further back than that before SMU was left to pasture with the Death Penalty in the mid-1980s. Those days are behind the Hilltop now. Rhett Lashlee’s squad enters the ACC, the Power Four, with momentum on and off the field. The Mustangs won the AAC last year while collecting an NCAA-best $159 million in athletic donations in one calendar year. 

SMU experienced its best season since the early 80s but it wasn’t without hurdles. The Ponies were 0-3 against P5 competition, including a loss to rival TCU in non-conference and to future conference mate Boston College in a bowl game. They know winning in the ACC required improved play in the trenches, so Lashlee & Co. added over a dozen new faces through the portal who’ve played P5 football. 

5. Is Texas State or UTSA a legit playoff contender as the G5 champion? 

SMU’s move to the P4 ranks leaves the Lone Star State with six G5 programs. It is fair to eliminate Conference USA members UTEP and Sam Houston from this discussion until someone in that league can figure out how to dethrone Liberty. Rice and North Texas are more likely fighting for bowl bids than CFP spots in 2024, so let’s take those two programs out of the discussion. That leaves rivals Texas State and UTSA as true G5 contenders in Texas for 2024. And the two teams play each other in Week 2. 

Texas State is bolstered by Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year Jordan McCloud, who takes over at quarterback after success at James Madison. The Bobcats also return WR Joey Hobert, RB Ish Mahdi, and DE Brian Bell. UTSA boasts a big and bad offensive and defensive line, as well as playmakers on offense and defense. The other G5 playoff contenders figure to be Liberty, Memphis, and Boise State. 

6. Will Houston and/or UTEP enjoy instant success under new regimes?

The patience of college football fans and administrators are shorter than ever, but Houston’s Willie Fritz and UTEP’s Scotty Walden should be afforded grace in Year 1 makeovers. Even in the transfer portal age, instant gratification is a dangerous route. Fritz is a builder. Walden wants to rework the roster with quality high school prospects. Both plans take time. And both teams face hard schedules in 2024.