September 4, 2026 • 12 mins
Texas sideline reporter Will Matthews joined The Dan Mathews Show and shared his thoughts on the Horns' matchup with Texas State, the outlook for the season, and much more! Matthews also discussed what to watch for in the matchup and what could ultimately shape Texas' season.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Former Texas running back Will Matthews joining us. Will, it's
always great to catch up with you, man. Hopefully you
are fired up for the season. I know that you are,
and even two as well. Can you maybe even tell
us what you're doing here after you get off the
phone with us this morning?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah, yeah, I am.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
First of all, let's talk about the first thing. I
am so fired up.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We have been talking about the beginning of this season
from the last play that Texas played against Michigan. And,
you know, you've seen the things on social media, 100 days,
99 days. Well, we're right at the doorstep of the
first game of the season against Texas State. And what
I'll be doing right after this call is Texas just
(00:42):
opened their new indoor facility.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I think the guys have practiced.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
There a little bit, but they're bringing a group of
X players and some people through the facility to see
what that place looks like. And I am so excited.
Nothing says the beginning of a season, like, you know,
some indoor facility.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Oh, of course. I mean, it's all, it's all intertwined.
Everybody's got to have their indoor facility.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Everybody's got to have a great weight room, you know,
the great, players lounge, you know, all of those things.
I mean, everything that I'm sure probably you walk through, Will,
as a lifetime Longhorn, and you go through and you're like, man,
this would have been nice when I was a player.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, I mean, so there's a couple of things that
are different between my era and now. We thought we
made it when we got here, but these guys make
a little more.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Money than we did.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
You weren't allowed to make any money during my time. And,
you know, good for those guys being able to take
advantage of their name, image, and likeness. But kind of
the interesting thing is sometimes you'll see a Lamborghini going
by and guys have deals all over the place.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
And so.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
It'd have been nice to get a little bit of that,
but excited for the guys to get going this season.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, no question about it. And a lot of anticipation
for this season too. A lot of people believe in
this Texas team can do some really serious damage, not
only in the SEC, but beyond.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Let's start first.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I mean, obviously the offense and everybody wants to look
to number 16, Arch Manning, but clearly a lot of
upgrades made to the guys that he's going to be
thrown to. And Cam Coleman primarily is the guy that
a lot of people looking at. What do you expect
to see from this Texas group of receivers this year?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
You know, it's an interesting thing. We've been talking about
it a lot, and it just seems like those.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Guys have come to take care of business. When the
addition with Cam Coleman, I really think that not only
did the broader UT community say, wow, they're really going
after the best so that they can do what they
haven't been able to do since 2005, but.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
But that has raised the bar.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Across the team and especially in that room. I'm excited
to see what they're doing. Coach had a lot of
praise and being out there at practice and watching Mosley, Wingo,
and also Jermaine Bishop.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
My goodness, they've got some star power and some firepower.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
In that room. I can't wait to see how Sark
gets them all connected to that offense. And I tell
you what, we were all seeing what Cam Coleman can do.
I can't wait to see that on the field tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And I mean, just what a difference a year makes
as well, because, I mean, you're going to get Ohio
State next week. But last year had a week one
right there on the road. Hey, good luck, Arch Manning.
You got a lot of expectations on you. We're going
to throw you against one of the best teams in
college football.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Have fun.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
But I mean, just with this gauntlet of a schedule
that Texas has this year, how nice is it for
them to not have to have a test like that
right out the gate?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
You know, I think there's with every team, especially early
on in the season, if you look at it in
the NFL, they've got their preseason games to kind of
iron through some of that. What are the matchups we
want to work through? Who are the guys that we
are maturing? Who are the guys that we think are
going to be on that 53 man? And it's because
of that, that when they walk into the season, they're
ready to go. Now, Texas has had a very successful
(03:58):
camp this fall. Not many injuries, a lot of growth
and a lot of experience there. But they can use
this game to go out and just see who's doing
what and who is going to be able to stand
in the limelight and make the right play at the
right time. You know, not many questions as it relates
to talent on the Texas team.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
There's talent from top to bottom.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
But who has the experience and who has the focus
and who's going to be ready to play on Saturday?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And then a couple of more on the offense. I mean, clearly,
you know, I've brought up arch twice now and I mean,
push back if I'm wrong here, will, I kind of
feel like as the season went along last year, we
saw him kind of come out of his shell and
become the quarterback that we thought that we were getting.
It seemed like that Texas OU was really when that happened,
what changed for him? What, what, what allowed him to
(04:46):
loosen up and start playing better last year?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
You know, and just kind of listening to Sark and
getting to know some of the team, it felt as
if he was trying to be something.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
And what I've.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Learned from my time as playing and also just being
around athletes, it's your athletic ability. It's your decision making.
It's your pedigree that got you here. Just play ball
and have a good time. Unfortunately, we didn't really get
to see that step forward until after the Florida game,
which pushed Texas out of that playoff run. But that
(05:23):
way he played ball down the stretch really showed me
that he just went back to the backyard kind of mentality.
Let's just... throw the ball. He was the number one rusher,
most explosive. He had the most explosive plays. He's got
that ability and to be able to put it on
showcase and fast forwarding to this year where he has
the talent, he has got the pieces on the offensive line.
(05:45):
And we haven't even said anything about that running back room.
I'm excited about a relief in Hollywood. I think we're
going to get something special this year. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I mean, and that's where I wanted to go because
I mean, you mentioned the offensive line and that was
a little bit of a concern last year.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
But I mean, with that running.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Back room, I mean, is it kind of feel like
he's going to have a strong compliment to be able
to go along with what he can do in the
past game?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
It really is.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And I I'm excited to see what happens when Texas
has a functional run game for the last few years.
It's felt like that run run game has been sluggish.
And also the running backs were getting hurt. I mean,
we lost three of those guys just a year ago.
And we had to piece things together. And of course,
(06:29):
we had some serviceable talent that kept us in games
and kept the run game going. But what's gonna happen
when you get those big nasties up front? and they're
opening holes for these explosive backs, I think it's going
to take the pressure off the whole rest of the offense,
allow Stark to manage the time and also be able
(06:53):
to open his bag and pull out some of those
plays that we may not have been able to run,
which will open up things for Big 16 and allow
Manning to do what he does.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I just can't wait. He's Will Matthews.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
You're going to hear him on Texas football broadcast doing
sidelines along with Craig Way and Roger Wallace right here
on Sports Talk 790. All season long, of course, former
Texas Longhorn football player, too, as well. Running back there
during his time on the 40 acres. Hey, defensive side
of the ball. I mean, had a lot of guys
that go out the door. So, I mean, it's one
(07:28):
of those that you have good players. Well, then you
lose good players to the NFL. But where do you
think the strength of that group is going to be?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
You know, I think Raheem Biles and Briar, right in
the middle, there has been a lot of talk about
them as.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Well as their playmaking ability.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I mean, we have seen that from they were at
Florida State and also at Pitt, what they were able
to do there. But we're talking about change. what they're
doing in training camp, it's been super special. Those guys
have been making it a problem for arch. And I
love that because one of the things that was special
about the time that we were here, I knew I
was playing against Derek Johnson. And if I could best
(08:07):
him in practice, I knew that I would be able
to do that in a game. And so I think
that raises the bar, not only for the defense, but
for the offense, we've got, six seven eight guys up
front right in the middle led by my guy hero
canoe and i mean there's just some big humans in
that space who are going to do some special things
(08:28):
we we've got we've got the defensive backs i'm feeling
great and you know what i also want to see
young guys like jonah like jonah williams who also plays
baseball get his opportunity to have a season where there
are no injuries i the sky's the limit with what's possible.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And I think it starts right there with those linebackers.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
And well, I mean, you're closer to the program that
I think a lot of people are, but I'm sure
that even the decision to go away from Pete Kwiatkowski
last year was even surprising to you. But then when
you see who they bring back in, what do you
think Will Muschamp brings back to this program? Like where, where,
where do you think he's going to really shine as
a defensive coordinator?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Well, I mean, just being in practice and hearing his
voice as it cuts through the air and what happens
to the defense when he brings that intensity. I was
just with a friend of mine, lifetime Longhorn, Alex Okafor,
who played for him right after me in those early
2000s when he was his first round as a Texas coach.
(09:29):
And he said there was just an uncomfortability about every
defense day knowing that I needed to be focused, I
needed to be mature, and I needed to execute. I
think that alone permeates through the whole defense. And you're
starting to see guys being held accountable for the plays
that they're playing. And it's not a bend and don't
(09:50):
break defense.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
PK did a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
But I love, especially as we continue to push our
weight and establish ourselves in the SEC, that that we
are hungry and we are going after quarterbacks that we
make people pay for trying to run an offense against
our defense and so i'm excited to see.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
That Get you out the door on this again. Will Matthews,
you hear him doing sidelines on the Texas football radio
broadcast that, of course, we'll have right here on Sports
Talk 790 all season long. I mean, you were there
when things were really good. Well, I mean, I mean,
it seemed like every single year it was OK. We'll
at least win 10 games. Now, do we get into
the BCS, things like that? And then, of course, now
(10:33):
it's into the college football playoff. But I mean, like
I said, you're there every single day. I mean, how
nice is it to be able to go into a
season and realize that huge expectations are warranted?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, I mean, finally, you know, and last year we
had some pretty huge expectations going into the season. And,
you know, whether they were misplaced or whatever happened when
that first snap went off and we were in Ohio State,
we really saw that we may not have had the
pieces and we may not have had the maturity and
(11:06):
the scheme to get it done in the way. But
I tell you what, the way they have retooled, the
way that they hit the portal, I think there's 41
new faces between high school guys coming in. as well
as portal players, the way that they're building culture and
the way that they are planning to be the best
and to win. It really does feel like it is
(11:28):
the year to drink the Kool-Aid finally. And now it's time,
we gotta put up or we gotta shut up. And
so we got the people, it's not about talent, we
just gotta get it done on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Well, it's a position that almost every single college football
fan base wants to be in.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
There's no question about it.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Again, you're going to hear this man all season long,
as you have here on Sports Talk 790, working alongside
Craig Way and Roger Wallace. He is a lifetime Longhorn
at Will Matthews. And we'll appreciate your time, man. It's
always great to catch up with you. Have a great season.
And I'm sure we'll probably be catching up with you.
We'll be bothering you here at some point here down
the road.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I hope so. You better. There you go. There you go.
Will Matthews again. Appreciate it, man. We'll catch up soon.
Former Texas running back Will Matthews joining us. Will, it's
always great to catch up with you, man. Hopefully you
are fired up for the season. I know that you are,
and even two as well. Can you maybe even tell
us what you're doing here after you get off the
phone with us this morning?
Speaker 2 (00:16):
Yeah, yeah, I am.
Speaker 3 (00:17):
First of all, let's talk about the first thing. I
am so fired up.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
We have been talking about the beginning of this season
from the last play that Texas played against Michigan. And,
you know, you've seen the things on social media, 100 days,
99 days. Well, we're right at the doorstep of the
first game of the season against Texas State. And what
I'll be doing right after this call is Texas just
(00:42):
opened their new indoor facility.
Speaker 3 (00:44):
I think the guys have practiced.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
There a little bit, but they're bringing a group of
X players and some people through the facility to see
what that place looks like. And I am so excited.
Nothing says the beginning of a season, like, you know,
some indoor facility.
Speaker 3 (01:00):
Oh, of course. I mean, it's all, it's all intertwined.
Everybody's got to have their indoor facility.
Speaker 1 (01:04):
Everybody's got to have a great weight room, you know,
the great, players lounge, you know, all of those things.
I mean, everything that I'm sure probably you walk through, Will,
as a lifetime Longhorn, and you go through and you're like, man,
this would have been nice when I was a player.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Yeah, I mean, so there's a couple of things that
are different between my era and now. We thought we
made it when we got here, but these guys make
a little more.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Money than we did.
Speaker 2 (01:29):
You weren't allowed to make any money during my time. And,
you know, good for those guys being able to take
advantage of their name, image, and likeness. But kind of
the interesting thing is sometimes you'll see a Lamborghini going
by and guys have deals all over the place.
Speaker 3 (01:43):
And so.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
It'd have been nice to get a little bit of that,
but excited for the guys to get going this season.
Speaker 1 (01:47):
Yeah, no question about it. And a lot of anticipation
for this season too. A lot of people believe in
this Texas team can do some really serious damage, not
only in the SEC, but beyond.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
Let's start first.
Speaker 1 (01:58):
I mean, obviously the offense and everybody wants to look
to number 16, Arch Manning, but clearly a lot of
upgrades made to the guys that he's going to be
thrown to. And Cam Coleman primarily is the guy that
a lot of people looking at. What do you expect
to see from this Texas group of receivers this year?
Speaker 3 (02:16):
You know, it's an interesting thing. We've been talking about
it a lot, and it just seems like those.
Speaker 2 (02:21):
Guys have come to take care of business. When the
addition with Cam Coleman, I really think that not only
did the broader UT community say, wow, they're really going
after the best so that they can do what they
haven't been able to do since 2005, but.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
But that has raised the bar.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Across the team and especially in that room. I'm excited
to see what they're doing. Coach had a lot of
praise and being out there at practice and watching Mosley, Wingo,
and also Jermaine Bishop.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
My goodness, they've got some star power and some firepower.
Speaker 2 (02:58):
In that room. I can't wait to see how Sark
gets them all connected to that offense. And I tell
you what, we were all seeing what Cam Coleman can do.
I can't wait to see that on the field tomorrow.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
And I mean, just what a difference a year makes
as well, because, I mean, you're going to get Ohio
State next week. But last year had a week one
right there on the road. Hey, good luck, Arch Manning.
You got a lot of expectations on you. We're going
to throw you against one of the best teams in
college football.
Speaker 3 (03:24):
Have fun.
Speaker 1 (03:25):
But I mean, just with this gauntlet of a schedule
that Texas has this year, how nice is it for
them to not have to have a test like that
right out the gate?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
You know, I think there's with every team, especially early
on in the season, if you look at it in
the NFL, they've got their preseason games to kind of
iron through some of that. What are the matchups we
want to work through? Who are the guys that we
are maturing? Who are the guys that we think are
going to be on that 53 man? And it's because
of that, that when they walk into the season, they're
ready to go. Now, Texas has had a very successful
(03:58):
camp this fall. Not many injuries, a lot of growth
and a lot of experience there. But they can use
this game to go out and just see who's doing
what and who is going to be able to stand
in the limelight and make the right play at the
right time. You know, not many questions as it relates
to talent on the Texas team.
Speaker 3 (04:18):
There's talent from top to bottom.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
But who has the experience and who has the focus
and who's going to be ready to play on Saturday?
Speaker 1 (04:25):
And then a couple of more on the offense. I mean, clearly,
you know, I've brought up arch twice now and I mean,
push back if I'm wrong here, will, I kind of
feel like as the season went along last year, we
saw him kind of come out of his shell and
become the quarterback that we thought that we were getting.
It seemed like that Texas OU was really when that happened,
what changed for him? What, what, what allowed him to
(04:46):
loosen up and start playing better last year?
Speaker 2 (04:49):
You know, and just kind of listening to Sark and
getting to know some of the team, it felt as
if he was trying to be something.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
And what I've.
Speaker 2 (04:59):
Learned from my time as playing and also just being
around athletes, it's your athletic ability. It's your decision making.
It's your pedigree that got you here. Just play ball
and have a good time. Unfortunately, we didn't really get
to see that step forward until after the Florida game,
which pushed Texas out of that playoff run. But that
(05:23):
way he played ball down the stretch really showed me
that he just went back to the backyard kind of mentality.
Let's just... throw the ball. He was the number one rusher,
most explosive. He had the most explosive plays. He's got
that ability and to be able to put it on
showcase and fast forwarding to this year where he has
the talent, he has got the pieces on the offensive line.
(05:45):
And we haven't even said anything about that running back room.
I'm excited about a relief in Hollywood. I think we're
going to get something special this year. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
I mean, and that's where I wanted to go because
I mean, you mentioned the offensive line and that was
a little bit of a concern last year.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
But I mean, with that running.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Back room, I mean, is it kind of feel like
he's going to have a strong compliment to be able
to go along with what he can do in the
past game?
Speaker 3 (06:06):
It really is.
Speaker 2 (06:08):
And I I'm excited to see what happens when Texas
has a functional run game for the last few years.
It's felt like that run run game has been sluggish.
And also the running backs were getting hurt. I mean,
we lost three of those guys just a year ago.
And we had to piece things together. And of course,
(06:29):
we had some serviceable talent that kept us in games
and kept the run game going. But what's gonna happen
when you get those big nasties up front? and they're
opening holes for these explosive backs, I think it's going
to take the pressure off the whole rest of the offense,
allow Stark to manage the time and also be able
(06:53):
to open his bag and pull out some of those
plays that we may not have been able to run,
which will open up things for Big 16 and allow
Manning to do what he does.
Speaker 3 (07:04):
I just can't wait. He's Will Matthews.
Speaker 1 (07:07):
You're going to hear him on Texas football broadcast doing
sidelines along with Craig Way and Roger Wallace right here
on Sports Talk 790. All season long, of course, former
Texas Longhorn football player, too, as well. Running back there
during his time on the 40 acres. Hey, defensive side
of the ball. I mean, had a lot of guys
that go out the door. So, I mean, it's one
(07:28):
of those that you have good players. Well, then you
lose good players to the NFL. But where do you
think the strength of that group is going to be?
Speaker 2 (07:36):
You know, I think Raheem Biles and Briar, right in
the middle, there has been a lot of talk about
them as.
Speaker 3 (07:44):
Well as their playmaking ability.
Speaker 2 (07:46):
I mean, we have seen that from they were at
Florida State and also at Pitt, what they were able
to do there. But we're talking about change. what they're
doing in training camp, it's been super special. Those guys
have been making it a problem for arch. And I
love that because one of the things that was special
about the time that we were here, I knew I
was playing against Derek Johnson. And if I could best
(08:07):
him in practice, I knew that I would be able
to do that in a game. And so I think
that raises the bar, not only for the defense, but
for the offense, we've got, six seven eight guys up
front right in the middle led by my guy hero
canoe and i mean there's just some big humans in
that space who are going to do some special things
(08:28):
we we've got we've got the defensive backs i'm feeling
great and you know what i also want to see
young guys like jonah like jonah williams who also plays
baseball get his opportunity to have a season where there
are no injuries i the sky's the limit with what's possible.
Speaker 3 (08:45):
And I think it starts right there with those linebackers.
Speaker 1 (08:48):
And well, I mean, you're closer to the program that
I think a lot of people are, but I'm sure
that even the decision to go away from Pete Kwiatkowski
last year was even surprising to you. But then when
you see who they bring back in, what do you
think Will Muschamp brings back to this program? Like where, where,
where do you think he's going to really shine as
a defensive coordinator?
Speaker 2 (09:08):
Well, I mean, just being in practice and hearing his
voice as it cuts through the air and what happens
to the defense when he brings that intensity. I was
just with a friend of mine, lifetime Longhorn, Alex Okafor,
who played for him right after me in those early
2000s when he was his first round as a Texas coach.
(09:29):
And he said there was just an uncomfortability about every
defense day knowing that I needed to be focused, I
needed to be mature, and I needed to execute. I
think that alone permeates through the whole defense. And you're
starting to see guys being held accountable for the plays
that they're playing. And it's not a bend and don't
(09:50):
break defense.
Speaker 3 (09:51):
PK did a wonderful job.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
But I love, especially as we continue to push our
weight and establish ourselves in the SEC, that that we
are hungry and we are going after quarterbacks that we
make people pay for trying to run an offense against
our defense and so i'm excited to see.
Speaker 1 (10:12):
That Get you out the door on this again. Will Matthews,
you hear him doing sidelines on the Texas football radio
broadcast that, of course, we'll have right here on Sports
Talk 790 all season long. I mean, you were there
when things were really good. Well, I mean, I mean,
it seemed like every single year it was OK. We'll
at least win 10 games. Now, do we get into
the BCS, things like that? And then, of course, now
(10:33):
it's into the college football playoff. But I mean, like
I said, you're there every single day. I mean, how
nice is it to be able to go into a
season and realize that huge expectations are warranted?
Speaker 2 (10:46):
Yeah, I mean, finally, you know, and last year we
had some pretty huge expectations going into the season. And,
you know, whether they were misplaced or whatever happened when
that first snap went off and we were in Ohio State,
we really saw that we may not have had the
pieces and we may not have had the maturity and
(11:06):
the scheme to get it done in the way. But
I tell you what, the way they have retooled, the
way that they hit the portal, I think there's 41
new faces between high school guys coming in. as well
as portal players, the way that they're building culture and
the way that they are planning to be the best
and to win. It really does feel like it is
(11:28):
the year to drink the Kool-Aid finally. And now it's time,
we gotta put up or we gotta shut up. And
so we got the people, it's not about talent, we
just gotta get it done on Saturday.
Speaker 1 (11:39):
Well, it's a position that almost every single college football
fan base wants to be in.
Speaker 3 (11:43):
There's no question about it.
Speaker 1 (11:44):
Again, you're going to hear this man all season long,
as you have here on Sports Talk 790, working alongside
Craig Way and Roger Wallace. He is a lifetime Longhorn
at Will Matthews. And we'll appreciate your time, man. It's
always great to catch up with you. Have a great season.
And I'm sure we'll probably be catching up with you.
We'll be bothering you here at some point here down
the road.
Speaker 3 (12:05):
I hope so. You better. There you go. There you go.
Will Matthews again. Appreciate it, man. We'll catch up soon.
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