Steve Sarkisian reveals how he challenged Texas team after latest scrimmage

The Texas Longhorns will be making the jump from the SEC to the Big 12 this year. They will enter their new conference home as one of the four teams to make it to last year’s College Football Playoff. And although the field is expanding to 12 teams this season, if Texas wants to commandeer one of those 12 seeds, they will likely have to build off of their success from 2023. That is why, during spring practice, head coach Steve Sarkisian has been challenging his players and coaching staff in unique ways.

Following Tuesday’s scrimmage, the Longhorns head coach discussed the ways in which he is challenging his team during this year’s spring ball practices.

“Well, I challenged everybody today: We needed to be really intentional in finding one thing. And I challenged the coaches first of all yesterday and then the players today: Where is one thing today I’m gonna improve on? What is that and how am I going to be intentional to get better at that? I challenged the coaches to make sure that each player knew what we were working on with them to get better,” said Sarkisian.

“Now, some guys may have gotten better at four, five, or six things. But if every guy got better at one thing, then we got better as a team today. And I really felt that. I felt the intent at practice, you know.

Sarkisian is looking at the totality of the picture. It’s not about whether one player can truly elevate their game to the next level, but rather, the team, as a whole, takes a step in the right direction. The Longhorns head coach is likely looking at it from the perspective of the old adage, ‘You’re only as strong as your weakest link.’

One area in which Sarkisian knows his Longhorns could be better is the late game. That is why he is prioritizing the Texas players’ finishing strong at practice and during scrimmages during the later part of their training days.

“Ultimately, when playing football, for us, our practices are always harder at the end because games are always the hardest at the end,” said Sarkisian. “The fourth quarter of the game, overtime; you’ve gotta be at your best in that moment. And I would say the defense probably got the better of the offense Saturday. But in the final drill, the final period, where we competed in the red area, the offense kind of dominated that drill.”

“So, did they have better resolve, did they have better execution, did the defense get mentally, or physically fatigued? We have to finish. And I think that’s one thing for us, as a team our ability to sustain and play our best football at the most critical moments it is always something that I’m striving for.”

Of the four teams that were in last year’s College Football Playoff, Texas is the program that experienced the least amount of change from both a coaching and roster standpoint. Now Texas will have to replace the likes of their two star receivers, Xavier Worthy and AD Mitchell, along with their two defensive lines studs, Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat. But if they follow Sarkisian’s plan, the Longhorns may very well find themselves in a position to capture not only the SEC title in their first year in the conference but also next year’s national championship.

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