With its season opener against Colorado State just a month away, the Texas football team got to work on Wednesday afternoon.

This may be the most-anticipated football season at Texas in some time. Coming off a season in which it went 12-2, won the Big 12 championship and made its first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff, UT has been picked to finish second in the Southeastern Conference's preseason poll.

On Wednesday, the media was allowed to watch over an hour of UT's first practice of the season. Here are three things that the American-Statesman observed at Denius Fields:

Texas fans, meet Silas Bolden

Since he did not arrive at Texas in time for spring drills, Silas Bolden was practicing in a different shade of orange for the first time on Wednesday.

A transfer from Oregon State, Bolden appeared to quickly fit in with the Texas receivers. During the portion of practice that was open to the media, Bolden ran behind Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond at one of the outside receiver spots.

While catching passes from both Quinn Ewers and Arch Manning during a drill without defenders, Bolden looked sure-handed as he ran a variety of routes. Later during 1-on-1 drills, he beat cornerback Gavin Holmes and safety Michael Taaffe for contested catches.

The 5-foot-8, 160-pound Bolden spent the past four years at Oregon State. He was the Beavers’ leading receiver in 2023 when he averaged 13.8 yards over his 54 catches and scored seven offensive touchdowns.

Bolden figures to be an immediate contributor in the passing game at Texas this fall. Texas special teams coordinator Jeff Banks also noted on Tuesday that Bolden, who was an all-conference return specialist at Oregon State, could also be used in the return game.

- Danny Davis

New faces fit right in

When it comes to first impressions, the new faces on the Texas football team fit right in during the first day of practice.

Defensive tackle Bill Norton, a transfer arrival from Arizona, looked every bit of his listed 6 feet, 6 inches and looked several breakfast tacos above his listed weight of 335 pounds. He moved well during drills, too, which bodes well for the defensive tackle rotation.

What about several other newcomers? Tight end Amari Niblack, an Alabama transfer, moved like a receiver during passing drills and freshman wideout Ryan Wingo gives the receiving corps some muscle at 6-2, 210 pounds. Cornerback Jay’Vion Cole, who came in after spring football from San Jose State, doesn’t have textbook length but he held his own in one-on-one drills with the Texas receivers.

- Thomas Jones

Depth at defensive back

Defensive backs Gavin Holmes and Jaylon Guilbeau proved on Wednesday that defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski’s praise for them on Tuesday wasn’t just lip service.

Guilbeau in particular impressed with his hands and his ability to be a pest in coverage. He completely locked up DeAndre Moore Jr. on one standout play, forcing an errant throw due to the lack of separation. The third-year DB only played in eight games last year and has no interceptions. Regardless, he’s someone who could have a breakout season if his offseason translates to real game play.

“He had some struggles last year and in the spring and the summer he's been outstanding,” Kwiatkowski said on Tuesday. “Guilbeau has had an unbelievable, outstanding offseason.”

Holmes only had 16 tackles and two passes defended in 14 games played last year but has had “a really good offseason” according to Kwiatkowski. He had a few nice plays on the ball in one-on-ones, breaking up a pass to Bolden that the receiver was able to catch on the juggle. That’s not to say either guy has overtaken Malik Muhammad or Jahdae Barron. However, there’s still about a month before the first game of the season. Having the depth to make changes could make things interesting once the season starts.

“They're all going to play. It's just a matter of who's been the most consistent and making plays,” Kwiatkowski said.

- Caleb Yum

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 3 observations as Texas Longhorns return to football practice