(From Anwar)
Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian spoke at a second event within the past three weeks as he continues to connect with Longhorn fans.
Sarkisian was the keynote speaker at the annual Boys and Girls Club luncheon on Thursday. There were more than 300 spectators in attendance during the Great Futures Summer Luncheon at the Fairmont Hotel. In addition, former Longhorn football players Vince Young, Jamaal Charles, and Jeremy Hills attended the event. Hills was one of the emcees during the luncheon.
Last month, Sarkisian spoke to the Touchdown Club of Houston. Many of the talking points he shared in Houston were communicated in Austin at the luncheon. Sarkisian is very comfortable in front of a microphone in a room full of football fans. He is not the kind of coach who cracks a lot of jokes. However, I noticed he held the attention of audience members during each event I attended.
Here are a few nuggets from his keynote speech worth highlighting:
--- Sarkisian is optimistic the football team will move back into Moncrief on August 2. Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte told Sarkisian that was the target date to get players and coaches into the new facility.
--- Sarkisian said he has over 45 official visitors in June, between 200 and 250 unofficial visitors this month, plus 10 camps.
--- Sarkisian said eight beautiful suites are near completion, including field-level suites.
--- Sarkisian cautioned everyone in attendance not to take home opener against Louisiana lightly. He reminded everyone of Louisiana’s victory against Iowa State last season.
Here is a transcript from Sarkisian’s brief media availability before his speaking engagement.
Q. Can you talk about getting involved with something like this in the Austin community?
Sarkisian: “From day one when Loreal got into town, we wanted to be a part of the community. It's one thing to talk about it or talking about wanting to do something. It’s another thing to be about it and take action. I think this was a great event for us to kind of connect. Connect with the people, connect with the community, and connect with the Boys and Girls Club and with the youth here in the city of Austin. I’m humbled that they are having me come and speak."
Q: Being the coach at Texas is about [an event like this]?
Sarkisian: “Without a doubt. When I took this job, I was really fortunate to have been a head coach before in a couple of other pretty major cities, Seattle and Los Angeles. One of the things is you have to know what you've signed up for. And there are expectations that come with the job, and one of the expectations of this job is connecting with the community, and being more than just the football coach. That's part of the reason why I really liked this job. I wanted that. I want to be part of the community. To have these opportunities, yes, it's one that I try to take advantage of."
Q: We're two weeks away from this NIL (name, image, and likeness) going into effect and we still don't have any guidelines from the NCAA. Are guys asking you questions about what they can or cannot do?
Sarkisian said: “I think we're getting a lot of questions. One, from our own players, and two, from recruits. It's not a whole lot different than when you guys saw me last time [in Houston]. We're being proactive. We know we got some good things in place. Again, we're looking for guidelines. Until we get those guidelines, it's hard to implement. But again, with President [Jay] Hartzell’s support, and Chris Del Conte’s support, and our entire athletic department’s support, I think we've got a really good plan, and the university [has] a good plan. We're just ready to put it into action when we can."
Q: Are you hammering into guys if you’re not doing what you're supposed to do in the weight room and classroom, none of this stuff matters?
Sarkisian: “Well, I think this. Everyone's talking about building your brand. Your brand is who you are as a person, who you are as a player, who you are as a student. It's not just who you are or what you put on social media. I think that's one of the things we've been trying to impress upon our players. It's about who you are 24/7, not just who you are on one tweet or one Instagram post. That's what we have to get our players to understand. If you really want to build your brand, you have to build it from the ground up, a real foundation about who you are, and then ultimately that's how you start to get aligned with the right people. I think this NIL thing, yes, it's a great opportunity for our players in the short-term, in the next three, four years of their lives. But I really think it's something that can springboard into something that can be beneficial for them for the next 40 years of their lives if they do it the right way. That's what we're trying to get accomplished with that."
Q: “You guys had a big recruiting weekend last weekend. You have another one on deck. Can you just talk about how that last one went and the vibe on campus?
Sarkisian: “Oh, it was a great vibe, clearly. I love to recruit. Recruiting is our lifeline. I jokingly say this a lot, but the plays that we run look a lot better with really good guys running them. It's not just about the physical attributes. I think it's about digging into the character of the person or the kids and the families. So, our staff has been fully invested in the recruiting process. Our current team has. I think they’ve done a great job. And so now it’s a unique scenario where with 16 months we had no on-campus recruiting, [and now it is] getting slammed into 27 days. Whether it's the 22 class, 23 class, 24 class. So, there's a lot of work, but hopefully in the end it pays off for us.”
Q: At Alabama, you guys wanted [players] to visit after an offer. Is that going to be your approach here as well?
Sarkisian: “It's helpful. I can only do so much on FaceTime and Zoom. I think there's something about personal connection that goes a long way in the recruiting process, developing those relationships, and getting to know people. So, the reality is, yeah, the more we can get them on campus, get them around us, get them around our university, and the city of Austin, I think it's helpful."
Q: What do you like about Keilan Robinson [former Alabama running back who recently transferred to Texas]?
Sarkisian: “Keilan is a really versatile player. He's a guy that is a very good runner. I think he averaged over six and a half yards and carry as a true freshman for us. He gives us a lot of versatility. We call him the gadget play guy. In essence, he's really jet sweeps, bubble screens, perimeter screens. It gives us some versatility in the position where, you know, maybe [we] didn't have quite the depth that we wanted to offset obviously what Bijan [Robinson] and Roschon [Johnson] bring. Obviously, we got the addition of Jonathon Brooks. Now I feel a lot more comfortable with that position."
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(From Jason)
It’s another big official visit weekend for the Longhorns, with a mix of committed and uncommitted players expected to be in Austin. A rundown of the guys who have confirmed they’ll be in …
QB Maalik Murphy – A case can be made that Murphy is UT’s most solid commitment. He’s been looking forward to this weekend to do a little recruiting, so let’s see if he’s able to move the needle with some of the uncommitted guys who will be on campus.
RB Jaydon Blue – Blue has always been solid with his commitment when I’ve talked to him but he’s gone silent ever since announcing he’d be skipping his senior season of football. I’m sure he’ll have some conversations with the UT staff and other recruits about his future, but he’s given no indication that he’s planning to look around and I’ve been told that the people at Texas are still thrilled to have him on the commitment list.
WR Evan Stewart – Big visit here from the former Texas commitment. His visit schedule can be tough to keep up with because it changes quite a bit, but he’s the type of dynamic playmaker that Steve Sarkisian covets in his offense. I would expect Texas to make a pretty strong move with this one.
WR Armani Winfield – Winfield has been committed forever but he did take an official visit to Michigan State recently so this one could be worth watching. He stays pretty quiet of late but did confirm on Thursday that he’s still locked in for this weekend.
WR CJ Williams – He’s been looking forward to getting to Austin for a long time and will get his chance this weekend. Having him in the same weekend that Maalik Murphy is in town can only help UT’s chances.
WR Shazz Preston – This one feels like it’ll go LSU’s way if the Tigers push but one person I talked to recently thought the Longhorns had a very real chance to win this race.
OL Kelvin Banks – One of the biggest visits of the month for Texas. This will be Banks’ fourth OV of June (LSU, Oregon, Oklahoma State, Texas) and he’ll finish up with Texas A&M. He plans to decide in July. This is one Texas needs to knock out of the park.
OL Connor Robertson – The local product was on the Texas campus fairly recently for an unofficial visit, now UT will roll out the red carpet. He has some other intriguing options, including Stanford.
LB Trevell Johnson – He’s had some other visits this month so that’s always something worth monitoring but he’s always been very solid with Texas when we’ve talked. I’d expect more of the same following this weekend.
DB Denver Harris – Another huge visit from a 5-star guy who Texas needs to land. Harris’ list is somewhat fluid, but this one has the feel of a Texas and Alabama battle. He’ll visit the Crimson Tide next weekend so Texas needs to set the bar high.
DB Terrance Brooks – He’s similar to Denver Harris in that he’ll be in Austin this weekend and Alabama next weekend. Oregon and Florida are other players in this one. Tough one to predict right now but I’ve always felt Texas’ chances were as high as anyone else’s.
DB Bryan Allen Jr. – He did recently take an unofficial visit to Alabama but I’d expect this weekend will tighten things up for Texas. In talking to his father recently, it sounded like the Longhorns were in a good spot to hang onto his commitment but we’ll see how things look after this weekend.
Of note: UT commitment Kristopher Ross will be back on campus for the second weekend in a row for an unofficial visit (he’s going to save his official visit for the fall). Recent Oklahoma decommitment Jordan Hudson is planning to take unofficial visits to SMU (Friday) and Texas (Sunday).
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We mentioned a couple weeks ago that Texas commitment Jaylon Guilbeau was planning to visit TCU last weekend, but with everything that’s been going on in Austin with official visits, junior day, etc., that trip has kind of flown under the radar. I did catch up with Guilbeau earlier this week to check in and while he said he had fun, I don’t get the feeling that Texas has any reason to be concerned here.
“It was a good,” Guilbeau said on Monday. “I have family up there so everything went well. I got to see my uncle.”
Guilbeau will be in Austin next weekend for his UT official visit (he has a track meet this weekend so can’t join the majority of the other Texas commitments). He says he remains solidly committed to Texas and the UT staff was fully aware of last weekend’s trip.
“They didn’t put any pressure on me. I was just vust visiting the campus, viewing everything, seeing how things are,” Guilbeau said. “Everybody doesn’t get the opportunity to go on official visits. God blessed me with that opportunity. I’ve been locked in (due to COVID) and couldn’t go anywhere, so I just wanted to get out of my city.
“Nothing’s been changed (on his commitment). Everything is still 100-percent with Texas. I came to Texas like a man, told coach Sark I was going to TCU. He said ‘All right, cool.’ He said ‘They’re going to try to flip you’ and just said to be smart and play my cards right.”
It won’t be a complete shock to see Guilbeau pop up on another campus at some point (although I don’t think he has anything planned) but as of right now, I feel pretty good about him sticking with Texas, especially with his UT official visit still to come.
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I feel like I’m doing new UT commitment Anthony Jones a disservice by burying his update in the War Room (especially since he was nice enough to call me as soon as he got through airport security on Sunday … I’m a fan), but it’s been one of those kinds of weeks.
The Henderson (NV) Liberty standout committed to Texas on Saturday night of last weekend, midway through his official visit. He’d developed a strong connection with UT defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatokowski from when Jones was committed to Washington. As soon as he got to Austin and connected with the entire UT staff, it was an easy decision for Jones to announce his commitment.
“I’ve always had that connection with coach PK. He offered me when he was at Washington. I just started to learn a lot more about the staff, heard great things about coach Sark,” Jones said. “A lot of coaches he brought on have a lot of experience. The culture and history of Texas football was amazing. That hooked me on it. Love the city, love the campus. It was beautiful. I have been talking to the whole coaching staff for a while now. The whole staff, I felt I had that connection before I got here (for the visit).”
Jones was going to wait until late August to announce his decision, but the Texas coaches told him that’s was a full two months away and jokingly told him let’s go ahead and get it over with. Jones said he was game, told the staff he was serious, he had an edit made, and announced his commitment after the recruit dinner on Saturday night.
“It feels good. It’s a lot of weight off my shoulders,” Jones said. “Now just going into my last season, I can just focus on doing what I need to do for my high school and get up here (to Texas) in January.”
Jones was scheduled to take an Oregon visit this weekend, but he canceled that trip. He’s locked in and said he has no interest in looking at any other programs. In fact, he said he’ll now turn into a recruiter on the Longhorns’ behalf.
At 6-4 and 220 pounds, Jones feels he’ll be a great fit in Kwiatkowski’s scheme.
“I just like playing that kind of hybrid outside linebacker, rush end. I like all the guys he’s developed and sent to the league. They’ll run a 3-4, do a couple different things. I can move to Sam, drop into coverage, or come off the edge. Kind of a hybrid position. I think coming here and learning under PK will develop me the best,” Jones said.
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A couple notes of interest while I’m in Atlanta for the Rivals 5-Star Challenge and Underclassmen Challenge.
2023 OL TJ Shanahan is a national top-50 out of Florida, and he backed up that ranking at Thursday’s camp. Dude was stonewalling some top competition, he plays with a bit of a nasty streak and was one of the top performers I saw all day, picking up OL MVP. He’ll visit UT next week (June 22) and tells me he’s excited to see Austin and the Texas campus. Shanahan has been talking to Kyle Flood, Sarkisian and Brandon Harris.
Wide receiver Isaiah Bond was a guy who was really high on Texas when the Longhorns offered, only to have him commit to Florida last month, shortly after the Gators offered. Bond will be at Texas on June 25 for an official visit and said he’s keeping a pretty open mind. Alabama will get a visit this weekend. We’ll see if Texas can make enough of a move to get him to reconsider his Florida commitment, but this dude has legit speed, winning the Fastest Man competition at the 5-Star Challenge with ease.
Temple athlete Mikal Harrison-Pilot recently picked up a Texas offer. He’ll be on campus June 27 for a visit. The Longhorns are recruiting Harrison-Pilot as a safety, with Blake Gideon leading the charge (some are targeting him as a receiver). Harrison-Pilot said he wants to study business, so that should give Texas something to sell. He did say Alabama was a bit of a dream school and he’ll camp there on Monday. He’d also like to hear from Ohio State. Harrison-Pilot is close with Texas tight end Jared Wiley.
Five-star safety Jacoby Mathews remains solidly committed to LSU and doesn’t have any other visits planned for June. He is still in contact with Texas coach Terry Joseph and the hunch here is that the Longhorns still have a very good chance of getting Mathews on campus for a visit in the fall if the staff stays in touch and keeps pushing.
The nation’s No. 1-ranked prospect in the 2023 class, defensive end LT Overton, will leave Atlanta and go visit Oklahoma and Texas A&M. No plans just yet to get to Austin, but he does have a UT offer and said he’s been building a good relationship with Bo Davis. Overton said a Texas visit at some point is a strong possibility.
If you’re still wondering about Cade Klubnik, you can unsurprisingly put that one to bed. He’s locked in with Clemson and told me he hasn’t talked to anyone at Texas since he committed.
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(From Dustin)
A few 2022 hoops recruiting thoughts on my mind ahead of the first evaluation period after striking out on phone calls today:
--- I put in a Texas FutureCast for five-star Keyonte George today. Frankly, I should have done it a while ago because Texs didn’t suddenly emerge as the biggest threat. The Longhorns were positioned as well or better than anyone heading into his official visit the first weekend he could take one. They strengthened their position.
As for recent official visitor Arterio Morris, I think Texas is emerging as the team to beat for him as well. Interestingly, Morris told Rivals.com’s Rob Cassidy recently he’s focused on college and recently turned down an offer from Overtime Elite. A lot of rumors have linked Morris to turning professional out of high school, but it seems college is becoming more of a possibility. Morris and George will be high school teammates next season.
Anthony Black, another recent official visitor who is friends with Morris and George, recently took an official visit to Oklahoma State and it sounds like Duke is about to make a push for his services. Black is sticking by the idea of playing point guard in college, at least right now. Obviously, five-star Cason Wallace, another combo guard, is really, really good, but he jumped at an early Tennessee offer by immediately taking an official visit and Kentucky is in that recruitment very deep as well.
--- Will be interesting to follow who Texas prioritizes at the wing position. Rylan Griffen, Terrance Arceneaux and Jordan Walsh are among the players Texas has offered. Granted, I haven’t seen these guys a ton, but I expect Walsh’s stock to soar during the evaluation periods. He recently took a visit to TCU, has one scheduled to Oklahoma, and talked about taking some out-of-state trips as well. Speaking of that, he’ll transfer to Southern California Academy. Ulric Maligi was the first to offer Walsh years ago when Maligi was at Texas A&M.
--- Texas is in excellent shape with bigs for 2022. I’m a huge fan of the guys Texas was recruiting years ago, and it has recently identified in-state risers like Yohan Traore and Zuby Ejiofor; the former took an unofficial visit to Texas June 13th and the latter will take one June 28th. Kel’el Ware, who is probably going to end up a five-star prospect, is scheduled to take an official visit June 20th. Kijani Wright, who currently is a five-star prospect, recently completed an official visit and the Longhorns are a factor in what should be a very tough, national recruitment.
Will Texas prioritize Traore and/or Ejiofor? I suppose that depends on how it feels with guys like Ware, Chris Beard’s first offer at Texas, and Wright. Personally, I think Ejiofor is a top 40 player in the nation; TCU is prioritizing him most. Texas is recruiting Vincent Iwuchukwu but I think Baylor built an early lead that’ll be tough for anyone to catch.
