There is no secret in college football that the premier conference is the SEC.
The conference is home to five of the last six champions, six of the last 10 champions, and will likely continue that trend for the foreseeable future. While programs from across the country try to recruit the best they can in SEC country in order to mimic the programs that are succeeding, it’s a tall ask.
However, recruiting like a top SEC program and performing like one are two very different things. If you want to win you have to recruit high level players, and then compete with the best programs in the country whether it be Alabama, Georgia, or LSU. Something Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian recognized the moment he took the head coaching job at Texas.
Sarkisian has since built his team to compete with those in the SEC. It will become even more vital in 2024 as the Longhorns will be making the jump to the SEC.
“Really no,” said Sarkisian, when asked if there was any changes in recruiting that he’s made with Texas the SEC. “You know when I got here, A, I assessed our roster. ‘Okay, what do we need to do to be the best team we can be, and then what do we need to do to be the best team we can be in the future,’ and ultimately I assess the College Football Playoff, and I assess who were the best teams in the CFP over the last decade. Well ultimately a majority of those teams are coming from the SEC.”
He explained what building an SEC team takes, which is of course being predicated on physicality and size.
“So alright, how do we beat those teams? How do we build a roster to beat those teams? Well you’ve got to get big up front. You’ve got to get physical up front. You’ve got to get speed on the perimeter. So we’ve been recruiting this way since I’ve got here. Nothing has changed in that aspect.”
Sarkisian’s first two classes at Texas both ranked within the top-5 nationally, and will be crucial for the Longhorns in what will be their first year in the SEC. Texas is however more focused on their final season in the Big 12, which could be the perfect way to go out if all things go right.
The Longhorns are viewed as the Big 12 favorites, and have a chance to make the College Football Playoff. It is just a matter of not making costly mistakes, which have plagued them throughout the past decade.