ANN ARBOR, Mich. — As Texas football opened its second drive Saturday at Michigan, tight end Gunnar Helm caught a deflected ball and gained 22 yards. Five plays later, he burst open over the middle of the field and hauled in a 21-yard touchdown pass to give the Longhorns a 7-0 lead.

By themselves, Helm’s two catches and 43 yards would have represented a good day at the office. Statistically speaking, those 43 yards were the second-most he's every had in a game as a Longhorn, going back to the 2021 season.

But Helm wasn’t done. He went on to lead Texas with a career-high seven receptions and 98 receiving yards in the 31-12 win at Michigan Stadium.

"Gunnar Helm did a great job today again," Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers said. "I think he got a little bit faster in the offseason. He's always in the right spot today, it seemed like."

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After three years, Gunnar Helm was due

Saturday’s breakout performance was a long time coming for Helm, who signed alongside Ja’Tavion Sanders in Tom Herman’s final recruiting class at Texas. A Colorado native and three-star prospect, Helm picked Texas over Auburn, Iowa, UCLA and Wisconsin. He also turned down an offer from Alabama — which had Steve Sarkisian, now Texas' head coach, and Jeff Banks, now UT's tight ends coach, on its staff.

When Helm and Sanders arrived on campus, both had quiet starts during Sarkisian’s first season. They played as freshmen but mostly worked on special teams. Neither caught a pass.

Sanders, however, emerged the following year with 54 catches for 682 yards in 2023, both school records for tight ends.

Sanders, though, left Texas after last season and was selected by Carolina in the fourth round of the NFL draft. But while he was still in Austin, he warned reporters to not overlook Helm. "He can do the same things I can do," he claimed. "I wouldn't diminish him at all. I wouldn't underestimate him either."

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Helm wasn’t exactly posting Sanders-like numbers on the field, though. As a sophomore, he turned five catches into 44 yards. He had 14 receptions in 2023, scoring on two of them.

'Gunnar, he's a warrior for us'

Texas often plays multiple tight ends in Sarkisian’s system, but the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Helm emerged as the top option at the position this offseason. Last month, he was asked by a local reporter if he'll be more involved in the passing attack. He replied that he'd do whatever it takes to help lead the Longhorns to a national championship.

Helm insisted during that media availability that his job is to help Texas win. Part of the job of TE1, though, includes catching the football.

In the season opener against Colorado State, a program that gave him his first scholarship offer, Helm recorded a career-long 37-yard catch. Then came Saturday.

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"Gunnar, he's a warrior for us," Sarkisian said. "He's a guy a lot of times kind of got overshadowed the last couple years with JT, but was a really viable player for us a year ago and served a big role for us. Then coming into this season, I thought Gunnar did a great job of getting himself in tip-top shape. He's moving better than he ever has, and his ability to not just catch balls but now make people miss and create explosive plays (has improved). But bigger than that for us is his leadership that Gunnar provides.

"What I love about his story is the development," Sarkisian continued. "So much in today's world is instant gratification, and it's about the true freshmen that play and so on and so forth. Gunnar's kind of worked his way and earned his time to be the frontline starter for us in year four, and he does things the right way. He's a great leader for a lot of the guys in that locker room."

What his teammates say about Gunnar Helm

After the walloping of the Wolverines, Texas players sang Helm's praises. Ewers described his tight end as a "class example of a guy coming in and putting his work in. ... We all knew he had it in him so I'm excited to see how the season goes for him."

Said UT linebacker David Gbenda: "Gunnar Helm, he's been through the thick of it. He's a hard worker and he brings his best every day. It was just so amazing to see him out there and do what he does best."

Said center Jake Majors: "He kind of embodies what this culture is. He's going to do what's asked. He's going to do it with 100% effort. I'm glad to see that after all this time, all this hard work that he's put in, all this effort and stuff, it's finally getting to show with touchdowns and stuff like that and big plays."

Surging Texas turns to UTSA

After a career day, is Helm due for an encore? Texas will find out next when UTSA (1-1) comes to town on Saturday, coming off a 49-10 loss at rival Texas State.

For those keeping track at home, UTSA is the third opponent on Texas' schedule. The Michigan win was nice, but Sarkisian was quick to point out in the postgame press conference that the Longhorns still have plenty of work to do. Beating the Wolverines was not UT's top goal when this season began. SEC games await and the Longhorns hope a College Football Playoff run does as well.

"Like I said earlier in the week, this one game isn't going to define our season, but I think it would serve as a pretty good barometer of the type of team that we could be," Sarkisian said. "All in all, it's a good start to the season. We're 2-0, but we've got a long way to go."

On Sunday, Texas (2-0) remained No. 3 in the US LBM Coaches poll but moved up to No. 2 in the Associated Press rankings, behind No. 1 Georgia.

Saturday's game

UTSA (1-1) at No. 3 Texas (2-0), 6 p.m., ESPN, 1300, 98.1, 105.3 (Spanish)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas TE Gunnar Helm has breakout game against Michigan