I find it highly highly highly unlikely that UT would drive away auto-admit students who’ve scored a 1600. Some I can understand for the sake of balance, but a whole 3/4 of the auto admits at a school for a major? While I do believe that engineering is competitive, there are many other factors that come into play, such as essays and EC’s. Perhaps those students brushed off the UT app since it was a safety as an auto admit and focused on other schools that are more selective for OOS.
OP, apply and do your best on the application. Take everything said here with a grain of salt, since we are not AO’s or anything close to it. Try your best and see for yourself