Playing next to star wide receiver Cam Coleman, and with the benefit of what projects as a resurgent ground game, Texas Longhorns junior wide receiver Ryan Wingo should be open frequently in 2026 thanks to his elite speed.
The question is what he does with those opportunities.
The 6’2, 214-pounder had seven drops as a sophomore, the most on the team, contributing to an abysmal catch rate of 57.4 percent as 40 of his 94 targets went incomplete. In contested-catch situations, Wingo only came down with four of his 14 opportunities.
When Coleman was asked on Thursday about the best way for Wingo to improve his hands, the answer was simple — the Jugs machine. But the Texas wide receivers also regularly catch passes in practice without gloves to ensure that their fundamentals are sound without the benefit of sticky modern gloves.
According to A to Z Sports college football insider Ryan Roberts, the Longhorns have also used some modern technology to develop Wingo’s hand-eye coordination, which was expected to improve after the St. Louis product underwent LASIK surgery last offseason.
So what are the practice results indicating as the season rapidly approaches?
The reviews are mixed, according to Roberts, as a team source indicated “massive improvements” in Wingo’s hands and ball skills through a consistent offseason after returning from wrist surgery, in line with a report from Inside Texas that Wingo is “catching everything.” A scout who recently attended a Longhorns practice, however, saw the drop issues return for Wingo, a concerning sign.
If Wingo isn’t entering the season fully confident in his ability to make catches, he could start pressing again, the diagnosis that Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian offered for Wingo’s slow start last season when he only had nine receptions on 23 targets with one drop through the first three games.
At the time, Wingo wasn’t receiving much help from quarterback Arch Manning, whose own early-season struggles regularly manifested when targeting Wingo, including multiple throws on crossing routes that peppered the wide receiver’s lower body.
Sarkisian’s predictability as a play caller wasn’t helping, especially against Ohio State, when Buckeyes defenders regularly anticipated Wingo’s routes or baited Manning to throw into coverage. Of Manning’s first three interceptions in 2025, which occurred over the first three games, two of them came while targeting Wingo.
Coleman’s presence this season will create more one-on-one opportunities for Wingo as defenses shift their attention to the Auburn transfer, simplifying Sarkisian’s job in scheming his speedy pass catcher open, and the Texas head coach has spoken approvingly of Manning’s offseason work improving the consistency of his mechanics.
But none of that really matters unless Wingo’s hands become more consistent, a critical factor upon which this Texas team’s ceiling and Wingo’s draft stock both hinge.