Tag: Big 12 media days

Steve Sarkisian sheds light on Texas’ defensive philosophy

For Texas to improve its record, they will need to stop the run.

At Big 12 Media Days on Thursday, Steve Sarkisian revealed what the Texas Longhorns defense will prioritize in 2022. Sarkisian stated, to accomplish all that they want to do, “you’ve got to stop the run first.”

While the statement could be mere platitude and coach-speak, it hinted that the coaching staff is aware of the defense’s root issue.

Stopping the run before anything else is a fundamental goal of many great defenses. Texas saw firsthand the demoralizing effect of getting gashed in the run game last year. For Texas to improve its record, they will need to stop the run.

Adding Ryan Watts to D’Shawn Jamison and Jahdae Barron could increase the coaches’ trust in the Texas secondary and shift their emphasis to stopping the run. The cornerback room could be one of the stronger units on the team this season.

Defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski seemed to play conservatively to prevent deep passes downfield last season. With improved play in the secondary, Kwiatkowski may be more inclined to play more aggressively with his front six.

What Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said during Big 12 Media Day

Sarkisian touched on a variety of topics Thursday afternoon in Arlington.

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, wide receiver Jordan Whittington, linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, edge Ovie Oghoufo and running backs Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson are currently in Arlington for Big 12 Media Days. Continue reading “What Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian said during Big 12 Media Day”

‘I always look for a win-win scenario’: Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark open to OU-Texas early exit talks

Speaking to the media on day one Big 12 media day, new commissioner Brett Yormark shared that he’s open to talks on Oklahoma’s SEC exit.

The biggest question facing college football since the news broke that Oklahoma and Texas would be leaving the Big 12 for the SEC has been when they would make that move official.

Media rights obligations have the Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns contractually bound to the Big 12 through the 2024 season. However, the prevailing thought is it wouldn’t take that long for the Red River Rivals to make their move to the SEC.

In the last couple of months, a report from The Athletic stated that the Sooners and Longhorns were eyeing a move in 2024. That timeline would make sense, considering 2024 is the first year of the new media rights agreement between the SEC and ESPN. Coming on board before that would mean a restructuring of the dollars allocated to the SEC to include Oklahoma and Texas.

The thing that has always made the most sense is a buyout agreement that allows the outgoing Big 12 schools to make the move prior to the media rights agreement concluding.

Speaking to the media at Big 12 media days, incoming Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark indicated he would be open to a discussion with Texas and Oklahoma that would result in a win-win for both sides of the negotiation.

“They’ve been very gracious with me. They were part of the process of me getting hired,” Yormark shared on his relationship with administration at Oklahoma and Texas. “So, I appreciate the support that I received but any situation like this, I always look for a win-win scenario. That being said, it’s important that whatever happens is in the best interest of this conference. But I look forward, at the right time, to have those conversations.”

The issue will certainly be timing and money. What’s in the best interest of the Big 12, and namely the Big 12’s new commissioner is coming to an agreement with the outgoing schools that brings in the most money for the remaining member schools. Whatever buyout Yormark negotiates will have to reflect what the conference could have earned from having the two outgoing schools as part of the Big 12 until 2025 and probably a little bit more to provide extra incentive for the remaining Big 12 members to approve the early exit.

Yormark enters the fray at an interesting time in the history of college football and with the Big 12 in a pretty solid state moving forward. With a new media rights agreement on the horizon for the conference and the pending departures of Oklahoma and Texas, how Yormark handles these two negotiations will determine the strength and longevity of the conference moving forward.

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Three Longhorns land on Preseason All-Big 12 football team

Additionally, Bijan Robinson was announced as the preseason pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year.

The Big 12 media released its preseason All-Big 12 selections on Wednesday. Three Texas Longhorns made the team.

It should come as no surprise that Bijan Robinson and Xavier Worthy represent Texas on the offensive side of the ball. On the defensive side, DeMarvion Overshown cracks the list.

Kansas State (6) and Baylor (5) were well-represented on the list. Both teams return key players in the trenches and should have great offensive lines.

Iowa State claimed four all-conference slots despite losing key players to the NFL draft. High-upside quarterback Hunter Dekkers will lead the Cyclones this season.

The most surprising omission is Oklahoma wide receiver Marvin Mims who many regard as one of the top receivers in the conference. Only the Sooners’ punter Michael Turk made the all-conference team.

Additionally, Bijan Robinson was announced as the preseason pick for Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year. Robinson had a strong end to his freshman season before becoming the featured running back last season. Many anticipate a great junior campaign for the talented running back.

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Texas Football: Date, players announced for Big 12 Media Days

Bijan Robinson, DeMarvion Overshown, Ovie Oghoufo, and Roschon Johnson will represent the team.

The Texas Longhorns will join the rest of the Big 12 conference for Media Days on July 14 in Arlington, TX. The conference will convene at its usual place, AT&T Stadium. Continue reading “Texas Football: Date, players announced for Big 12 Media Days”

Texas Football: Four takeaways from Big 12 media day

A lot was said at Big 12 media day. Here are the four biggest takeaways:

Texas had three representatives head to the Big 12 media day in head coach Steve Sarkisian, running back Bijan Robinson, and defensive tackle Keondre Coburn. They each had to field questions about the upcoming season.

There were plenty of questions asked ranging from favorite ice cream flavors to thoughts on the Red River Showdown, and there were also headlines stemming from the Big 12’s decision to penalize players who flash the horns down towards a Texas player.

This marked Sarkisian’s first Big 12 media day, and his first media day as a head coach since his days at USC, which did not end well to say the least. Sarkisian has proven to be savvy when it comes to answering questions, credit to Nick Saban who is quite the question answerer himself.

I will break down a few questions that Sarkisian answered that he might have meant something else by, and of course touch on the ruling of the horns down fiasco.

Let’s address the ‘Horns Down’ comments at Big 12 Media Days

The internet was in shambles again on Thursday when ‘Horns Down’ was once again talked about. It’s time for Texas fans to address it.

‘Horns down.’ Without a doubt, a topic brought up every single time at Big 12 Media Days. A tradition becoming so prevalent, Aggies would be proud.

The internet was in shambles again on Thursday afternoon when the gesture was once again talked about.  Big 12 officiating coordinator Greg Burks was asked a question about how teams would be penalized if they flash the gesture.

“If you do a Horns Down to a Texas player as an opponent, that’s going to be a foul.”

Well… yeah. That kind of makes sense. This would be Taunting 101 and is not mutually exclusive to Texas and their hand gesture. Rarely has a player ever been able to get in the face of another player, taunt them, and get away without a 15-yarder.

Burks even went on to say later that flashing ‘Horns Down’ in front of the crowd would “probably” not be a penalty.

Soft is how most people would describe this, thinking it would offend Longhorn fans throughout the country. The idea of doing a simple gesture being a 15-yard penalty makes the University of Texas look like cry babies.

Soft or not, not calling a penalty is inconsistent from examples we have seen in college football throughout the past.

In 2017, Tennessee running back John Kelly got flagged 15 yards for a hardcore ‘Gator Chomp’ in the Swamp against Florida after scoring a touchdown. It was not to any of the players, just the crowd.

Texas A&M was a victim of a gruesome ‘Thumbs Down’ in 2011 against Baylor after a Robert Griffin III touchdown pass to Tevin Reese.

Ole Miss famously lost the 2019 Egg Bowl because Elijah Moore decided to act like a dog using the restroom after scoring a touchdown. One missed extra point later and the Rebels had a new head coach in Lane Kiffin.

There could be plenty more examples throughout college football.

I can speak on behalf of every Texas fan not named Tom Herman and Sam Ehlinger: We don’t care if a team does ‘Horns Down’ or not. Let UT fans throw it up, let everybody else in the country throw it down.

Big 12 officials having to comment on this topic every year is getting ridiculous. Talking about this for a few years now is getting repetitive and everyone is over it.

Let’s just play some football while still having some fun.

Steve Sarkisian addresses the quarterback situation at Big 12 Media Days

Steve Sarkisian provided some insight on the very anticipated quarterback battle between Casey Thompson and Hudson Card.

Since Steve Sarkisian took over as head coach, the biggest question that everyone wants to know the answer to is who will be the starting quarterback for the 2021 season.

After a decade of subpar quarterback play, the Longhorns stumbled on a gem in four-year starter Sam Ehlinger. The former Texas star was almost able to revive the program and return it to its former glory.

Ehlinger has since transitioned to the NFL, and Sarkisian is now tasked with choosing between Alamo Bowl star Casey Thompson or proclaimed golden arm Hudson Card.

At the Big 12 Media Days on Thursday, Sarkisian provided some insight on this hot topic surrounding the Texas football program.

The first-year head coach expressed that he has two fantastic players at the quarterback position, and he hopes that throughout training camp the two will eventually force him to make a very difficult decision in terms of selecting a starter.

Take a look at his comments below.

Sarkisian did not really favor one quarterback over the other in answering the question, which we should all expect. However, it was interesting is that the question asked to elicit these responses was solely about Casey Thompson.

That was likely Sarkisian attempting to show that both quarterbacks are at an equal level, but he did feel the need to address the quarterback competition in a question about Thompson’s development. Sarkisian continues to make subtle hints about Card’s very realistic opportunity to win the job.

He did mention that he will make a decision during training camp, which is the most we have gotten on the situation. Regardless, Sarkisian reiterated that neither quarterback was ahead of the other and they’re in good hands at that position.

“It is a little bit of a luxury for me to have two quality quarterbacks like this,” Sarkisian said.

Everything commissioner Bob Bowlsby said at Big 12 media days

Before getting to the individual teams, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby addressed the media. Check out everything he had to say here.

For the first time since 2019, Big 12 media days are back in person at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX. Each head coach and two players will represent their team and they face hundreds of reporters over the next two days.

For Texas, which will feature on Thursday, Steve Sarkisian will be going through the wringer for the first time. Running back Bijan Robinson and defensive linemen Keondre Coburn will represent the burnt orange.

Before getting to the individual teams, Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby addressed the media. A wide range of topics was discussed. From COVID-19 protocols to vaccination, to the playoff, and even the new NIL rules.

Check out everything Bowlsby said during his press conference on Wednesday.

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Big 12 Media Days: Tom Herman and Texas players set for Sept. 10

The Big 12 has announced media days for the upcoming season. All 10 teams will speak with on ESPN+ with Matt Schick and Dusty Dvoracek.

The Big 12 has announced media days for the upcoming season. All 10 teams will speak with ESPN’s Matt Schick and Dusty Dvoracek over the course of five days. The network will be hosting the “Media Day” season preview show on ESPN+.

According to the press release, the show will “include comments from head coaches in addition to player interviews.”

Head coach Tom Herman will be speaking on Thursday, Sept. 10, two days before the season opener against UTEP. Texas has not announced which players will be available.

Here is the full schedule:

  • Monday, Sept. 7 – Baylor and Iowa State
  • Tuesday, Sept. 8 – Kansas and Kansas State
  • Wednesday, Sept. 9 – Oklahoma and Oklahoma State
  • Thursday, Sept. 10 – TCU and Texas
  • Friday, Sept. 11 – Texas Tech and West Virginia

Originally scheduled to be held in AT&T Stadium on July 20-21, media days were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Big 12 then announced the event would be held virtually without releasing a date.

51 days later and Herman will finally be speaking to the media.

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