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*****
Here are a few immediate thoughts and reactions to Steve Sarkisian's Big 12 Championship-week press conference:
- Man it felt good to write that opening sentence. We're not going to have Alex Loeb telling us what Texas' chances are to make it to Arlington this week ....
- Alex Loeb does, however, let us know Texas is a 14 point favorite vs OSU and has a 48% chance to make the CFP.
- Sark wished luck to the high school coaches in teh state of Texas who are in the playoffs. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: A page out of Mack Brown's book.
- The defense and special teams were terrific Friday. Controlled field position, created three turnovers, turnover on downs, block a punt, return one for a long TD and pin them down twice - that's controlling a game. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Absolutely right, it was just a dusting.
- Third rusher (Jaydon Blue) got in a 100-yard game this season. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: If I would have told you preseason that three players would have at least one 100-yard game, would you have ever thought that Sark would have kept his 1000-yard rusher streak alive?
- Sark liked getting to see a lot of the younger backups play. Mentioned the second offense making a really good drive. Good 3rd down conversions. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: It must have been cool to be in the stadium to hear the cheers when Arch entered the game.
- Sark reminds us Texas has only had 3 Big 12 titles in the 27 years in this conference. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: I guess that sounds right, but when you put it like that, it's really a pathetic stat. Well past time for something new. This Mickey Mouse conference is for the birds. Gotta leave on top.
- INJURIES: Watts and Austin Jordan will be questionable, Worthy will be good to go and Maalik Murphy practiced today. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Saying a guy practiced doesn't always mean that much with Sark.
- Joe Cook asked if he wanted OU again and about Ollie Gordon - IT didn't matter. Sark said it's fitting to play OSU since they didn't get a chance to play in the regular season given the great history of that game. On /Gordon - a great player - he really signifies who their team is - gets stronger as the game goes on. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: He's incredibly awesome, but if you stop him, you stop the Pokes, period. Texas just so happens to be uniquely set up to do that, which is encouraging.
- Danny Davis asked about what Quinn learned last year in Stillwater - games like that are part of the growing pains of learning the position. In that game, we had opportunities for big plays and didn't pass-protect or catch the ball very well for him. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: This 2023 team is just so, so, so, different from the 2022 team -- not just with Quinn's growth, but with everybody's.
- Thomas Jones asked about Manny Muhammad - Really high football IQ - recognition; he's highly competitive, provides a lot of competitive spirit - he plays with a lot of emotion. When he can play at the LOS, a physical brand of ball, that's where he plays best. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: They like him best at the boundary corner, he's the obvious next man up once Watts leaves.
- Jeff Jones asked about DJ Campbell - I. love DJ Campbell. Naturally, you have connections with different players but I have a really cool relationship with DJ, for as big and nasty as he plays, he has a kid-like humor off the field, he dresses like a WR at practice, tights and wristbands, always dancing ... but has a great connection with his teammates. He's improved a ton. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: My initial eval that he was a better prospect than Kelvin Banks is still probably pretty bad, but it isn't looking AS egregious based on how DJ's played this season. He's an awesome player.
- Dennis De La Pena asked about a lot of close upsets on Saturday and whether Texas is a true CFP contender: "Why wouldn't I?" Sark said he enjoyed being a college football fan on Saturday. Said he got exhuasted after watching so much ball. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Haha, one. of. us!
- Bob Ballou asked about the RB room becoming so good this year - any time you lose 2 NFL players, there's going to be question marks. It's been a unique year at that position w/ CJ starting out, then Brooks doing what he did, then he gets injured, CJ comes back finally healthy and then Jaydon Blue emerges, then the depth guys have great games in the Tech game. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: It's been a rollercoaster, and as I mentioned earlier, I would -- no sane person would -- have ever predicted this exact runout for that room.
- Chip asked about Sweat and Murphy ... is Sweat Big 12 DPOY? I believe they are the best tandem in the country, work so well with one another but different styles of players. Sweat such athleticism for a big man, does it all. Murphy is such a penetrator and a bulldog. I'm hopeful one of them in Big 12 DPOY and the other is Big 12 DLOY. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: They should actually be locks for those two awards. Will be impossible to replace.
- Eric Henry asked about how Sark has grown as a coach: I haven't taken a lot of time to reflect on that ... does a self-audit at the end of the season. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Exactly, Don't start thinking about it now, Sark... there will be a time. The focus now is Ollie Gordon and OSU, not cockamamie introspection.
- Ced Golden asked about the CFP stuff - It's awesome (to be in this position) we didn't come this far just to come this far is what I told the team. There's more out there for us to accomplish. Friday night was not the end. To think about the rare air, in the last 27 years, there's only been 3 conference championships, that means a lot, it's a big deal. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Man, again, I hate that stat.
- Leah Vann asked about Culture Wednesdays: Started those the summer before last. Talked about how it was about building trust, getting to know each other, etc. Also started this year being more consistent with the culture activities on Fridays before games based on feedback from the 2022 team saying they really like that stuff. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Works for me.
- Sark said the team didn't put on pads one single time during the week of the Tech game. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Sort of a random thing he threw in, but man that's interesting. They played their most physical and awesome game of the season.
- Bohls asked about the strength of OSU outside of Gordon and their up and down nature - they beat Kansas, Kansas State and OU, we didn't win all three of those games. I know what they're capable of, being a very dangerous team and match the quality of the opponent. Mentions that the LB corps is the best they've faced all year. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Oh man, don't tell the OU fans! lol.
- Anwar asked about the portal and balancing that with prep - Our focus is on Saturday, this needs all of our undivided attention. We have a personnel department that will be monitoring the portal and an idea of where we'll have depth concerns. If a player goes in, that's when the evaluation process begins. Whoever is in the portal is in the portal for a reason. They are not all good fits for the University of Texas. ALEX'S THOUGHTS: Amen, but Sark knows that the evals on a lot of these potential portal guys by the personnel department started looooong ago ...
