Front‑and‑Center: Steve Sarkisian Headlines the 2025 Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Cover, Building the Longhorns His Own Way

When the gatefold of the 66th summer edition of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football was unveiled on June 12, the spotlight fell squarely on a familiar burnt‑orange silhouette: Steve Sarkisian, arms folded, trademark half‑smile in place, the bold tagline beside him declaring that he is “rebuilding a powerhouse his way.” The moment felt less like a routine magazine reveal and more like a milestone, the latest affirmation that Texas’ fourth‑year coach has moved the Longhorns from national curiosity to legitimate heavyweight in remarkably short order.

Being chosen for DCTF’s marquee cover is no small honor in the Lone Star State. The annual keepsake—in publication since 1960—has chronicled the ebbs and flows of Texas football at every level, from six‑man high‑school programs to the NFL. Sarkisian is just the seventh Longhorns head coach ever to front the magazine, joining icons such as Darrell Royal and Mack Brown.

But this isn’t merely about nostalgia. It is an acknowledgment of momentum. Last autumn Texas posted an 11‑2 record in its SEC debut, finishing one score shy of the College Football Playoff title game. The program’s trajectory, after 15 years of lurches and resets, finally looks linear again—and that stability radiates through every page of the new issue.

Inside the feature, editor‑in‑chief Greg Tepper narrates Sarkisian’s transformation of a locker room that once teetered on entitlement. The coach’s first order of business upon arriving in 2021 was deceptively simple: shrink the gap between five‑star potential and Saturday production. Position meetings now start to the minute; attendance at optional lifting sessions hovers near 100 percent. “We’re violent about details,” Sarkisian tells DCTF, insisting that small habits compound into championship habits.

That philosophy has already paid dividends. Texas finished top‑10 nationally in both third‑down defense and explosive‑play rate last season, metrics that haunted previous regimes. Offensive innovation remains Sarkisian’s calling card, but insiders say his imprint on strength and conditioning may be even more significant; players routinely tout the program’s injury‑prevention record as a competitive edge.

Of course, no renaissance happens without replenishing talent. Sarkisian’s staff has strung together four consecutive top‑eight signing classes, but the key word around the Moncrief Complex is fit. Yes, quarterback Arch Manning is the draw—he’ll enter the 2025 campaign as a redshirt sophomore with a laser for an arm and a Manning‑sized target on his back—but the roster’s spine is populated by under‑recruited maulers such as linebacker Jasper Lott and right guard Cooper Powers. “We stopped chasing the recruiting‑service parlor trick,” defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski says in the article. “Give me a kid who hates losing more than he loves his ranking.”

Flip to the inside gatefold and you’ll also find Celina high‑school coach Bill Elliott alongside quarterback Bowe Bentley and linebacker Luke Biagini, a nod to DCTF’s DNA: celebrating every corner of the Texas gridiron. Yet even that imagery reinforces Sarkisian’s narrative. Celina dominates 4A football with the same pace‑and‑precision ethos Texas now champions, a visual tie‑in that suggests the Longhorns’ transformation resonates far beyond Austin city limits.

For all the glossy celebration, Sarkisian knows the only currency that truly matters is hardware. Texas opens the 2025 season with a neutral‑site brawl against Ohio State in Arlington before diving into an SEC slate that includes road trips to Georgia and LSU. The DCTF story highlights how Sarkisian has quietly lobbied athletics director Chris Del Conte for facilities tweaks—larger recovery pools, virtual‑reality third‑down simulations—to keep the roster fresh through the November grind.

Vegas oddsmakers currently slot Texas with the SEC’s shortest national‑title odds, 10‑to‑1, and ESPN’s Football Power Index gives the Longhorns a 24 percent chance to lift the CFP trophy—both figures that dwarf preseason expectations just two years ago.

Perhaps the most telling detail in the profile is Sarkisian’s refusal to declare the rebuild complete. “We’re not done,” he repeats, echoing the internal slogan printed on team wristbands. Culture, he argues, erodes the moment complacency is tolerated. DCTF captures that mentality by juxtaposing glossy photos of Sarkisian’s media‑day smile with candid shots of him at 5 a.m. workouts, stopwatch in one hand, notes in the other. That contrast—polish and grind—encapsulates the dual identity he has cultivated: Hollywood play‑caller and blue‑collar architect.

The 2025 Dave Campbell’s Texas Football cover is more than a commemorative poster for dorm‑room walls. It is a statement that college football’s sleeping giant has thrown off its blankets, stretched, and started moving with purpose. Whether Texas parlayed last season’s breakthrough into sustained dominance will be determined over the next five months, snap by snap. But in the pages of DCTF, the blueprint for bridging that final gap—Sarkisian’s blueprint—has been etched in ink. And in Texas, ink on DCTF carries the weight of prophecy.