In 2024, the Texas Longhorns faced a glaring weakness special teams. From missed field goals to costly penalties on punt returns, their struggles in this area were hard to ignore. With the 2025 season approaching, Texas is taking steps to address these issues.
On Tuesday, the Longhorns made a key move to strengthen their special teams unit. According to Joe Cook of Inside Texas, the team is bringing in Matt Moran, a former special teams assistant at James Madison, for a similar role in their program.
Moran’s coaching journey began in 2013 at Albright College in Pennsylvania, where he worked as the running backs coach and assistant special teams coordinator. His first FBS opportunity came at Rutgers as a defensive quality control coach before he moved on to Stanford. While at Stanford, he played a role in Joshua Karty becoming the program’s all-time leader in field goal percentage. He also contributed to Christian McCaffrey earning the title of college football’s top returner and helped develop multiple punters and kickers who eventually made it to the NFL.
After spending eight years in the Pac-12, Moran joined Boston College in 2023 as a special teams analyst and specialist coach, then took on the same role at JMU in 2024.
Now at Texas, Moran is expected to focus on improving the efficiency of the Longhorns’ punters and kickers. Given the team’s struggles particularly in field goal kicking his expertise could be crucial. Fans will remember how Bert Auburn’s missed kicks nearly derailed Texas’ SEC Championship hopes and almost cost them a spot in the College Football Playoff against Arizona State. With Moran on board, the Longhorns are aiming for a much-needed turnaround in special teams performance.
