The Texas Longhorns' version of Cam Coleman will probably look unrecognizable to the one the Auburn Tigers had don the orange and blue over the past two years. It will hurt, Tiger fans. But it's coming whether you want it to or not.
We know Coleman is bulked up. We know that he and Texas quarterback Arch Manning looked natural together during the Longhorns' open spring football practice at DKR Stadium. Manning's description of the extent of Coleman's buy-in during the final day of 2026 SEC Football Media Days on Thursday was overwhelming, still.
"He's a great teammate. He works really hard. The good thing about Cam and how we built our relationship is he always wants to throw. He always wants to meet extra. And I think anytime you get a guy like that, it's easier for me to become close with. He's also a good guy. He can joke, and we can go eat. And I'm excited to have him on my team. That's for sure," Manning said of Coleman.
Coleman was, by many accounts, the complete opposite on the Plains. When I spoke to On3's Jake Crain in January after Coleman hit the portal, I heard the former Central Red Devils star wasn't giving his all in practice. SEC Network analyst and former Auburn center Cole Cubelic doesn't miss Coleman or Deuce Knight.
It's been a radical transformation of Coleman's character in a short period. It cannot speak enough to how ineffective fired ex-head coach Hugh Freeze was as the locker room leader that Coleman has become such a good receiver teammate for Manning in Austin.
Auburn should've gotten Cam Coleman's best, but didn't earn his respect
In hindsight, the Tigers didn't get anywhere close to Coleman's full respect. That's not to say he gave Auburn disrespect, but he certainly never felt incentivized to be his best like he is now. Coleman clearly didn't feel like the Tigers were good enough.
He was probably right. Key drops and the infamous 2025 Iron Bowl fumble aside, Coleman was still the team's top receiver last season. He was still tied for the most receiving touchdowns in 2024 with KeAndre Lambert-Smith. Coleman was by no stretch bad. And we all know he could've had much better stats if he had a better quarterback. Hell, both seasons he was at Auburn, he didn't have a definitive QB1 once the campaigns were in full swing. Coleman deserved more than QB battles bleeding into the season.
Even if there was a better QB, there wasn't enough talent at the tackle spots to keep said signal-caller safe in the backfield. Coleman was never going to get the deep balls he'll receive this season from a well-protected Manning.
The topic has been dissected every which way for months, but hearing Arch go into detail about how dialed-in Coleman is these days is a painful reminder that the Tigers may have never deserved Coleman.
More aptly put, Freeze never deserved to land Coleman, but had other people's money to spend to pay for him. Unfortunately, that money isn't coming back, and neither is Cam.
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