Tag: Steve Sarkisian

Quinn Ewers and Isaiah Bond rated as top duo in CFB

The Texas duo were at the top of the list according to one analyst

As the Texas Longhorns prepare for their first year in the Southeastern Conference, they will have a few key advantages that will make the transition much smoother for them than their bitter rivals the Oklahoma Sooners.

When the two schools announced their decision to leave the Big 12 a few years ago, many thought that Texas would be the school in for a rude awakening, however head coach [autotag]Steve Sarkisian[/autotag] has done a phenomenal job getting the Longhorns back on top of the recruiting trail as well as establishing a culture. After guiding the Longhorns to a Big 12 title and Playoff berth a season ago, the expectations haven’t been this high on the Forty since the days of Mack Brown.

With the playoffs expanding to 12 teams, it is pretty safe to assume that Sark and his Longhorns will be competing for one of those spots come December. Especially considering the fact that QB [autotag]Quinn Ewers[/autotag] will be returning for his third season as a starter.

There will be some growing pains on the offensive side of the ball as WR Xavier Worthy, WR Adonai Mitchell, TE Ja’Tavion Sanders and RB Jonathon Brooks were all selected in the 2024 NFL draft.

Fortunately, the Longhorns were able to add one of the best wide receivers in the country via the transfer portal this season in [autotag]Isaiah Bond[/autotag. As the Alabama Crimson Tide’s No. 1 receiver a year ago, Bond had 48 catches for 668 yards and four touchdowns.

Heading into 2024, JD Pickell of On3 Sports ranks the Top 10 QB-WR duos in the NFL. The Longhorns duo of Ewers and Bond ranks No.1 on the list saying,

“Here’s your top combo going into the 2024 season, featuring a Heisman candidate and an Alabama transfer. Bond is eclectic and he only adds to the Longhorns’ offense. Bond spent two years at Alabama, compiling 65 catches, 888 yards, five touchdowns and 13.7 yards per catch. But he had 48 catches last year, vastly improving. Ewers threw 22 touchdowns and nearly 3,500 yards in 2023.”

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Paul Finebaum thinks Texas will be better than Oklahoma in 2024

ESPN’s Paul Finebaum thinks the Longhorns will have a better season than the Sooners.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the Texas Longhorns are both officially joining the [autotag]Southeastern Conference[/autotag] in on July 1. Both football programs are looking to make a great first impression in the SEC, but who will be able to put their best foot forward?

Well, according to one ESPN college football analyst, the Longhorns will have the better season.

Paul Finebaum made an appearance on “McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning” and said that Texas would be better than Oklahoma in 2024.

Here’s what Finebaum told Greg McElroy and Cole Cubelic when asked who would win more in year one in the SEC:

“Texas. They’re better prepared for it, and I think their roster is probably inherently better. I’ll defer to you guys, but I think it’s pretty obvious [with] what they have across the board. I think there’s some unknowns at Oklahoma,” Finebaum said. “The schedules could be the equalizer because Texas’ schedule is challenging. Oklahoma’s is tricky.”

Finebaum’s opinion isn’t an unpopular one. Most analysts nationally have Texas a step or two ahead of Oklahoma heading into the SEC. After all, Texas won the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag] and went to the [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] last year. OU had to settle for a trip to the [autotag]Alamo Bowl[/autotag], even after beating Texas in the [autotag]Red River Shootout[/autotag]. Losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State took the Sooners out of the College Football Playoff and the conference title game races.

[autotag]Steve Sarkisian[/autotag] has also been at Texas one year longer than [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] has been at Oklahoma. Sark has had more time to build his roster.

On the other hand, Texas’ 2023 season was the first true sign of life in a half-decade for the Longhorns. It was also the first time they were truly contenders since 2009.

Oklahoma, meanwhile, continued to run the Big 12 while UT floundered. This was before a coaching change in Norman shifted the momentum of the conference. Now, the Sooners are trying to build back better than before. However, none of Texas’ perceived advantages mattered last year in OU’s 34-30 instant classic of a win in the Cotton Bowl.

Both teams lost talent and production from 2023. Both coaching staffs have done well to replenish their depth charts in recruiting and the transfer portal.

October 12 will be a huge day for both programs, the SEC, and for the landscape of college football. But looking even further, the entire 2024 season will do a lot to shape the national perception of OU and Texas as they embark on their respective journeys in a new conference.

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Longhorns TE Amari Niblack set for massive breakout season

PFF analyst thinks Amari Niblack could be the breakout TE in CFB in 2024

After spending the first two years of his collegiate career with the Alabama Crimson Tide, tight end Amari Niblack has found a new home on the Forty Acres with the Texas Longhorns.

Niblack announced his intentions to leave Alabama and enter the transfer portal shortly after the legendary Nick Saban’s retirement in January. It was a massive blow for the Crimson Tide as he was expected to have a huge role in Tuscaloosa in 2024, but instead, the Longhorns now have a top-10 tight end in college football.

Coming out of high school, Niblack was a five-star recruit and the No. 89 overall-ranked player in the 2022 recruiting class. Through two years with Alabama, Niblack had 21 career receptions for 342 yards and five touchdowns.

The Longhorns have tapped into the Alabama pipeline since Steve Sarkisian’s move three years ago and snagging several high-quality players such as Isaiah Bond and Jahleel Billingsley.

However, Niblack will likely be the largest contributor of any of those former Alabama players. He will be a day-one starter for the Longhorns and will have the difficult task of filling the shoes of Ja’Tavion Sanders who already departed for the NFL.

PFF analyst Dalton Wasserman believes that Niblack will be the breakout tight end in college football this year. With Sark’s style of offense combined with a first-round talent at QB like Quinn Ewers, it’s easy to see why so many people are so high on the Longhorns’ new addition.

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Texas HC Steve Sarkisian shares what he learned under legendary coaches

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian details the biggest things he learned from Nick Saban and Pete Carroll.

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian has grown to become a fantastic coach in his own right, but the path to get here was certainly anything but linear.

Sarkisian started his coaching career with the USC Trojans as a quarterback coach under Pete Carroll before taking on the same role with the Oakland Raiders under Norv Turner. His stint in the NFL was successful, but after one year he decided to rejoin Carroll at USC as the associate head coach.

Finally, in 2009 Sarkisian got his first chance to become a head coach as he took over a Washington Huskies program that finished 0-12 the year prior. Sarkisian went 34-29 with the Huskies over five years before eventually returning to USC again to take over as the head coach.

In the midst of his second year in LA, Sarkisian and the Trojans parted ways due to some off-the-field concerns. Sarkisian returned to the sport a year later with Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide as an offensive coordinator where he was an instrumental part in the Tide’s Playoff run. After another one-year NFL stint with the Falcons and two years with Saban, Sarkisian finally got his chance to be a head coach again.

Sarkisian has made the most of his new opportunity as he has guided the Longhorns to a 25-14 record over the past three years including a College Football Playoff appearance in 2023. Getting back to the top of the mountain has been nearly a decade in the making for Sark, but he will be the first to admit that the trials and tribulations he experienced are what got him back to being a successful head coach.

In an appearance on the ‘Joel Klatt Podcast’, Sarkisian named Nick Saban, Pete Carroll, and Bill Belichick as the three greatest coaches football has ever seen and what he was able to take away from them.

While Saban and Carroll have polar opposite coaching styles, they were both as successful as you can be in the sport, mainly because they were authentically themselves. Sarkisian said of the experiences, “I feel like I’ve been fortunate to work for two amazing men in our sport that have been tremendous, and the life lessons I learned from them well beyond football.”

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Report: Former Wisconsin HC Paul Chryst no longer with Texas football

An update on former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst:

Longtime Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst is no longer on the Texas coaching staff, according to a report from On3’s Inside Texas.

Chryst was an offensive analyst and a special assistant to Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian during the 2023 season.

Related: Where Paul Chryst, Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin football’s entire 2022 coaching staff is now

It appears his agreement with Texas was only for the 2023 season, though the former Wisconsin head coach was recently spotted at Green Bay Packers practice with other members of the Texas coaching staff.

It was Chryst’s first public football-related appearance in the state of Wisconsin since he was fired as Badgers head coach in October 2022 — a firing that came after the program’s 2-3 start to the season and demoralizing home loss to Bret Bielema and Illinois.

Related: Five potential next steps for former Wisconsin head coach Paul Chryst

Chryst’s departure from the program concluded a stellar Wisconsin career that included three years as a player, eight years as an assistant coach and seven-plus years as the program’s head coach. He finished with an overall record of 67-26 as head coach, three Big Ten West titles and a bowl record of 6-1 — the one loss coming to Oregon in the 2020 Rose Bowl.

The veteran coach’s only year on the Texas staff included a 12-2 record, Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance.

Chryst’s coaching destination for the 2024 football season is unknown. He was connected to Iowa’s vacant offensive coordinator position earlier this offseason — a position that was eventually filled by former Western Michigan head coach (2017-2022) and Packers senior analyst (2023) Tim Lester.

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CFB expert Joel Klatt predicts 10 Games that will shape the 2024 college football season

Texas’s games against Michigan and Georgia ranked as two of the most important games of the 2024 season

From conference realignment to the beginning of the 12-team College Football Playoffs, the 2024 season starts a new era. The sport has already been rapidly changing between the introductions of NIL and the transfer portal, but now it will be on full display.

For the Texas Longhorns, joining the SEC and the playoff expansion could not have come at a better time. Going from the Big 12 to the SEC will be a major step up in competition, but the Longhorns have one of the two or three best rosters in college football next to Georgia and Ohio State and are much more equipped for the change than in years past.

Additionally, the expansion from four to 12 teams allows for Texas to drop a game against Georgia or Michigan without worrying about their postseason chances being ruined by one loss.

As a fan, the conference realignment makes for plenty of intriguing matchups on a week-to-week basis that wouldn’t have occurred in years past. For the Longhorns, the 2024 schedule is highlighted by a visit from the No. 1 ranked Georgia Bulldogs and a return to the Lone Star Series with a trip to College Station to take on bitter in-state rivals the Texas A&M Aggies.

Both games combined with a trip to Michigan make for one of the toughest schedules in the entire country for [autotag]Steve Sarkisian[/autotag] and his staff.

Fox Sports CFB expert Joel Klatt is as excited as anyone about the changes coming to the sport. On his podcast ‘The Joel Klatt Show’, the former Colorado Buffaloes quarterback broke down the 10 games that will shape the 2024 season.

Klatt projects that Texas’ games against Michigan and Georgia are among the most important. With the Longhorns playing so many games on Fox, Klatt has covered as many Texas games over the past couple of years as anyone. The play-by-play announcer typically has a pretty good feel.

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Texas Longhorns kicker Bert Auburn awarded with scholarship

Check out this video that was released on Sunday.

Texas Longhorns senior kicker Bert Auburn was rewarded by head coach Steve Sarkisian in a team meeting with a scholarship in a video posted to social media on Sunday.

As the team was discussing walk-ons during a team meeting, Sarkisian said, “They go through the same grind all scholarship guys go on all summer long. When we can reward those guys, man, there’s nothing better. Bert Auburn, you’re on scholarship.”

Auburn was greeting with cheers from his teammates and told his teammates, “I love all you guys. You guys are all like a family to me. Couldn’t be more excited to get to work this summer with you all. Hook ‘em.”

After making 3-of-3 extra points his freshman year, Auburn went 21-for-26 in 2022 before going 29-for-35 in 2023 as he earned All Big 12 First Team honors. He also set the Big 12 record for consecutive field goals made with 19 during the 2023 season. Auburn is a business major.

Auburn is tied for second in Texas history with 50 field goals made in his career, trailing only Cameron Dicker. He also ranks third in total points behind Dicker and Dusty Mangum.

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Texas AD tells Paul Finebaum ‘There’s nothing like’ the Red River Rivalry game

Oklahoma’s rivalry matchup with Texas every October won’t take a backseat to any other game in the SEC.

[autotag]SEC[/autotag] spring meetings took place this week in Destin, Florida, with the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns taking their place at the table.

Oklahoma enters its first year in the SEC after leaving the [autotag]Big 12[/autotag]. Along with Texas, they will be the newcomers to a conference that’s been very successful, especially in football.

But the [autotag]Red River Shootout[/autotag], the annual rivalry matchup between the Sooners and the Longhorns, won’t be taking a backseat to any other game the SEC has to offer.

Oklahoma athletic director [autotag]Joe Castiglione[/autotag] and Texas athletic director [autotag]Chris Del Conte[/autotag] joined “The Paul Finebaum Show” this week to discuss joining the SEC and the topic turned to Red River.

Del Conte spoke up with high praise of the game, saying, “It’s ridiculous, it’s the greatest thing ever.” He went on to say, “There’s nothing like this game.”

Del Conte added, “…you may talk about the Cocktail Party, the Iron Bowl, there’s nothing like this game at the State Fair.”

The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party is the rivalry between Georgia and Florida, played at a neutral site in Jacksonville. [autotag]The Iron Bowl[/autotag] is the matchup between Alabama and Auburn played at campus sites each year. Both are two of the most storied rivalries in the SEC and in all of college football, but the Red River Shootout is on a different level, at least according to the man running the athletic program south of the Red River.

Del Conte’s words are the latest example of the idea of many in the states of Oklahoma and Texas that think the Sooners and the Longhorns won’t be tiptoeing around in the SEC in year one. Both teams plan to make a statement with their play and with their programs. And in this instance, Del Conte is right on the money.

One of the truly special things about college football is the rivalries that are baked into the game. Hundreds of years of animosity between players, coaches and fanbases stir the pot in a sport that is all about passion and pageantry. OU-Texas is not only one of college football’s best rivalries, it’s one of the best in all of sports.

Sure, both teams have other rivals. The Sooners have intense matchups with Oklahoma State and Nebraska that have carried over from the Big Eight days. The Longhorns have plenty of foes from the old Southwest Conference, like Texas A&M and Arkansas. But these two blue bloods and their fans consider each other their undisputed rival.

Then, there’s the setting. The Cotton Bowl in Dallas is probably the most unique in sports. Located right in the middle of the State Fair of Texas, it has a built in atmosphere that’s unique.

Neutral-site games aren’t usually what we think of when we think college football, but Red River is a wonderful exception. The history of the two programs and the 50/50 split of the fans in the stadium creates an environment unlike any other. Anytime someone brings up home-home matchups in the Red River Rivalry, both fan bases shut that talk down really quickly.

There are great rivalry matchups in the SEC and in college football, but Red River has its own sacred place in the lore of the sport. Del Conte certainly isn’t alone is his thinking, at least not according to Josh Pate of 247Sports. Pate said, “Seeing folks who’ve never been to the Red River Shootout commenting on it. I’ve been sideline for all the big ones multiple times… it takes a backseat to NO rivalry game in CFB.”

The Red River Shootout is sixty minutes of pure, unadulterated hate between two of the ten best programs in the history of college football. It takes place in a venue unlike anything else sports has to offer, and both athletic directors are committed to keeping it that way.

It’s the essence of college football.

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Texas HC Steve Sarkisian shares what he looks forward to in SEC

Sarkisian looks forward to annual matchups with two old rivals.

The Texas Longhorns are heading to the SEC. Perhaps the most exciting part of the move isn’t the conference prestige or donning the SEC logo patch, but reuniting with two of its three biggest rivals.

The Longhorns will face the Texas A&M Aggies and Arkansas Razorbacks in 2024. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian highlighted that fact as reason why he’s so excited for his team’s move to the new conference.

“There was so much talk about realignment,” Sarkisian said. “For us, we gained two rivals back. We’re playing Arkansas & Texas A&M again. We’re looking forward to it. I’m sure they are too.”

The Lone Star Showdown, the rivalry that meant so much to football in the state, is back. If there’s anything that both fanbases might share besides animus for the other program, it’s excitement to bring back the rivalry. The biggest in-state matchup in Texas returns on Nov. 30.

Similarly, Arkansas adds another former Southwest Conference rivalry to Texas’ schedule. Some might not be old enough to realize the two teams battled each other for national championships in the 1960s. The Razorbacks won it all in 1964 handing the Longhorns (10-1) their only loss. Texas went on to defeat the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and head coach Bear Bryant in the Cotton Bowl that season. Five years later Texas beat Arkansas for a title in 1969.

The games still matter. They might bear more significance with all the teams in the same conference for the first time since the 1990s. Texas will look to win the first games of the renewed rivalries in the new look SEC.

What the 2018 Texas safeties class says about current WR class

Texas once signed the top 3 safeties in a recruiting class. Can they sign three of the top 4 receivers?

Surely the Texas Longhorns can’t sign three of the top four wide receivers in the 2025 recruiting class, right? I wouldn’t rule it out.

As a disclaimer, I don’t believe Texas will sign all three five-star wide receivers from in the 2025 recruiting class. That doesn’t mean they cannot sign all three. One past recruiting class indicates it can.

The Texas Longhorns signed 247Sports’ three best safeties in the 2018 recruiting class: DeMarvion Overshown, Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster. To the credit of then head coach Tom Herman, Texas recruiting thrived until the last season of the Herman era.

How did Texas make it happen? Well, Herman and company placed great emphasis on the safety position aiming to bring back the Defensive Back University moniker to Austin. And it paid off with Overshown, Sterns and Foster.

Texas sold defensive back on being the focal point of the football program. It turned out defensive back wasn’t all that impactful on games in the Herman era, as talented players weren’t developed by the previous coaching staff. Sterns figured things out in the NFL but only after head coach Steve Sarksian took over did Overshown fully develop.

In regard to the position Texas is targeting, Sarkisian and company are not only prioritizing wide receiver but have the development and on-field product to prove the position’s importance.

Sarkisian’s first recruit at Texas just saw his name called in the first round of the NFL draft in wide receiver Xavier Worthy. 10 other Longhorns were selected in this year’s draft, the best showing in Texas’ NFL draft history.

The broad development is clear, but the wide receiver position in particular is strong. All three of Texas’ starting wide receivers in Worthy, Adonai Mitchell and Jordan Whittington were drafted. Receiving tight end Ja’Tavion Sanders also saw his name called in the fourth round.

Sarkisian can pitch the narrative, if you’re the third wide receiver option at Texas, there’s a solid chance you get drafted. It may be even more so the case with the talent Texas has added. That’s a compelling narrative.

More than the actual wide receiver coach, Sarkisian’s offense has facilitated the development for Texas. Whittington and Worthy produced on the field with Andre Coleman and Brennan Marion coaching wide receivers prior to Chris Jackson’s arrival. Jackson had arguably the best season with the receiving corps, but the offensive scheme brought stability amid receiver coach changes.

The development is there, but so is the prioritization of the position. Texas receivers are winning matchups consistently. They’re getting off the line of scrimmage with ease and getting open, which Herman’s receivers couldn’t consistently do. They’re given a scheme that allows them to succeed.

The product is resonating with recruits. Though the nation’s No. 1 wide receiver Dakorien Moore has long projected to be a fit at Texas, fellow five-stars Jaime Ffrench and Kaliq Lockett increasingly trend to the Longhorns.

The likelihood is that Texas isn’t going to monopolize the wide receiver position. The prevalence of NIL allows teams with strong funding to select a player and invest all their wide receiver NIL budget to one of the three receivers. But could all three players see the value of teaming up at Texas? It’s possible.

Some programs may ask players if they’d rather make money in college or over a long NFL career after being developed. At Texas, you can do both and make a College Football Playoff. And you can see your name drafted in the first round. You can catch passes from a five-star quarterback kept upright by one of the top offensive lines.

It would take a complete recruiting pitch to win over three five-star wide receivers in one cycle. Texas has a complete recruiting pitch. We’ll see if it adds up into more than one five-star addition at receiver.