There will be several new faces among college football’s powerhouse programs this season.
Ohio State, Clemson and Alabama will be fielding new quarterbacks after the departures of Justin Fields, Trevor Lawrence and Mac Jones. How will they reload?
For Texas, they nearly had a clean sweep.
Steve Sarkisian replaced Tom Herman in January and has since compiled an impressive new coaching staff in Austin. On top of that, four-year starter Sam Ehlinger departed to the 2021 NFL draft. According to ESPN senior writer Mark Schlabach, Sarkisian’s debut at Texas is one of the most compelling storylines to watch for this spring.
Sarkisian, the former Alabama offensive coordinator and USC and Washington coach, takes over at Texas, where Tom Herman couldn’t get it done. Sarkisian has said the Longhorns will play with “all gas, no brakes.” Hopefully, they’ll do a better job of slowing down opponents after finishing 61st in the FBS in scoring defense (28.5 points per game) in 2020. And surely Sarkisian will do what his predecessor didn’t and get the ball in Bijan Robinson’s hands as much as possible.
In terms of intriguing position battles to watch for across the college football landscape this spring, the Longhorns quarterback controversy came in at No. 2 overall behind Ohio State’s question marks at the same position.
Casey Thompson, who is entering his fourth season in the program, took a big step in possibly replacing former starter Sam Ehlinger by throwing four touchdowns in the Longhorns’ 55-23 win over Colorado in the Valero Alamo Bowl. Hudson Card, the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 ESPN 300 and an Austin, Texas, native, will get a strong look from Sarkisian as well.
Thompson and Card are incredibly talented in their own right and could each be successful in Sarkisian’s quarterback-friendly offense. Regardless, this will be one of the most important decisions of Sarkisian’s tenure at Texas and will shape his future with the program.