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Matthew Golden is Texas' WR1

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•01/02/25•

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Matthew Golden
Matthew Golden (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

During his first year as a Longhorn, Matthew Golden has become Texas’ go-to wide receiver. This season, Golden has 56 catches for 936 yards and nine scores, a touchdown total that leads the team.

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But there’s no surer sign of Golden morphing into Quinn Ewers‘ favorite target than his performances over the past five games, and specifically, in the critical moments of Texas’ 39-31 win over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl.

In the past five games, Golden has 27 catches for 519 yards and a score, the touchdown being the most important of Texas’ 2024 season.

Not just that, but it continued Texas’ season.

The Longhorns faced a 4th and 13 in the first overtime period and needed to find the line to gain or else the 2024 season would end on the first day of 2025. Against an aggressive defensive look, Ewers dropped back and found Golden on a double-move that sprung him wide open. Ewers delivered the most important throw of his career on the money, and Texas extended the game.

“We knew it was going to come down to this play,” Golden said. “We just had to find whatever we had to do to come down with that ball. (Steve Sarkisian) called up a great play, and the O-line gave Quinn enough time to deliver that ball. I just came down with it.”

It wasn’t just in that moment, as when Texas went for the two-point conversion after scoring on the ensuing possession, Sarkisian looked for Golden again to bump the Texas lead up to eight points. The work Golden has done as a receiver in the red zone has been a significant, needed boost for a Longhorns team that has not always had the easiest time in that portion of the field.

In have-to-have-it situations, Texas looks to Golden.

For Golden to have earned that level of trust in his first year as a Longhorn is no small feat, and Sarkisian acknowledged the effort Golden has put in to be a reliable target for Ewers and the Longhorns.

“You earn trust with consistency and time,” Sarkisian said. “And I think there’s a level of consistency in Matthew’s game that he’s earned a lot of trust in myself and earned a lot of trust in Quinn that in a lot of the critical moments, it’s easy to try to find him, because you know he’s going to be in the right spot and you know he’s going to be competitively tough and make those plays.

“And I think over time, I’ve learned at least that the moment doesn’t ever get too big for him either. He remains very poised and composed in some of the bigger moments that we’ve had.”

As Isaiah Bond has battled injury in the second half of the season and with the Longhorns often utilizing two tight end sets that keep a receiver off the field, Golden has been the main downfield threat for Texas. His average yards per reception over the course of the year is 16.7, a strong posting. But in the past four games? Every contest has ended with Golden averaging at least 20 yards per catch.

But being WR1 isn’t just about accumulating stats. It’s about being trusted to make the big plays. Golden started the Peach Bowl with a huge catch and run. He had a big-time reception versus Clemson. He notched eight catches for 162 yards against Georgia in the SEC Championship. He was crucial in Texas’ win at Texas A&M.

Golden has done all that over the course of the 2024 season, and he believes that his faith has assisted him to this point.

“I just wait for my turn and wait for my time,” Golden said. “Like I said, it’s all on God’s time so just knowing that whenever I get the opportunity, I go out there and do my job.”

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Golden has done his job on a regular basis. By doing so, it’s become undeniable: Golden is Texas’ WR1.

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