Merry Christmas Orangebloods!
If you’re reading this on Christmas Day, that means you either don’t celebrate (which is fine) or you’ve survived the excitement of the morning and you’ve now hit that boring part where you try to figure out what to do the rest of the day.
I’ve often found that the buildup for the holiday usually far exceeds whatever happens on the day itself.
Oh sure, the kids faces light up as they tear open their Christmas gifts, but you know all too well that many of those gifts will either not hold their fascination for long. Invariably, the newness will wear off and the toy will either make the rotation of toys they play with, or it won’t. Either way, it likely won’t be as special to them in the next few hours, days, months or years as it is the moment they see it for the first time.
Even the truly special toys, the ones they’ll look back on fondly as adults (like the 10-speed bicycle I got when I was ten years old), will be just a thing that they enjoy and use. The specialness of the gift as is reserved for the moment they see the gift for the first time and in the recollection of it years down the road. Everything in between is just … there.
Of course, that’s not a phenomena that is inherent only to children. Even as adults, we don’t often appreciate what is happening in the moment.
This Longhorn football team, led by head coach Steve Sarkisian, is in the midst of a special run of form that we will all look back on some day with fondness and appreciation.
Back-to-back seasons in the college football playoffs. Back-to-back seasons of at least 12 wins (something Texas has only achieved five times in its history).
Texas fans, pour yourself and egg nog and let’s not wait for the future. Let us all appreciate right here and right now what we are seeing from this team.
IT STARTS WITH SARK
Texas’ win over Clemson was expected. The Horns even exceeded the 13.5 point spread Vegas put on the game winning by 14 points. Nothing in that game probably stands out as being “special.”
But sometimes we miss the big picture specialness because we are too close to what is happening in the moment. Hence the saying, you can’t see the forest for the trees.
The big picture takeaway from that game, for me, is that Texas would have either not been in the game or it would have lost the game if not for one very big and underrated element of head coach Steve Sarkisian’s decision making … roster construction.
From the moment Sark stepped on campus, he has been reshaping the makeup of the team to build the depth needed to compete for championships.
This is what he had to say during the SEC Media Days last summer.
“In this conference you've got to have depth,” said Sarkisian. “If you don't have depth, then everybody wants to talk about the O and D-line. Yes, that's vitally important, and I think we've got great depth there. You've got to have depth at quarterback, you've got to have depth at running back, you have to have depth at safety, you have to have depth across the board.
“For us to sit here and say this is the deepest team we've had, probably the most talented team we've had in my four years here, I can unequivocally say that, and we lost some really good players a year ago, but we've got a very deep football team, one that we're excited about, and looking forward to watching them compete this fall.”
Fast forward to December 21st and we saw that depth play out in a massive way during the opening round playoff game against Clemson.
In the middle of the game, the Longhorns lost starting running back Quintrevion Wisner, starting center Jake Majors and starting right tackle Cam Williams. Texas was already missing its leading receiver, Isaiah Bond.
Most teams would not have been able to overcome such a big loss of talent on one side of the ball. But Sarkisian was prepared.
Trevor Goosby, who normally is the backup at left tackle, was able to slide over and replace Williams at right tackle thanks to the fact that he had been cross trained to play both sides. Goosby didn’t just fill in, he once again proved he is a future star offensive lineman.
Hayden Conner, who spent time playing center during the spring game two years ago, moved over to replace Jake Majors and more than held his own.
Cole Hutson, who plays in a regular rotation at right guard, was able to slide into the left guard position and opened up a lot of holes in the run game.
Speaking of the run game, Wisner already had 110 yards rushing when he went down, but his replacement, Jaydon Blue, showed that he too is a star with the ball in his hands. Blue’s 77-yard touchdown run sealed the game.
All Blue has done, by the way, is work behind multiple future NFL running backs, patiently waiting for his time and making the most of his opportunities. Even this season, when he was benched for a while because of fumbles, he continued to work.
Just take a look at this 77-yard run again. Notice anything as he approaches the line of scrimmage? How about the fact that he put both hands on the ball to make sure it was secure as he went through the hole.
None of this was an accident.
Sarkisian came to Texas and the first thing he did was stockpile offensive and defensive linemen.
Texas very well may have lost that game to Clemson had the Horns not had strong depth along the offensive line. Clemson had just cut the Texas lead to seven points when Blue broke off his run. Goosby, Hutson, Conner – all playing in different positions – helped open up that hole and Blue did the rest.
PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Much of what I have already touched on speaks to the second big change we’ve seen since Sarkisian arrived in town – player development.
Blue working to fix his fumbling issues is all about player development.
Offensive linemen cross-training to be able to step in at a moments notice and still play at a high level is player development.
Defensive line is the same story. Texas loses Keondre Coburn and Moro Ojomo to the NFL draft in 2023 and in steps Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat. Murphy and Sweat shuffle off to the NFL in the first and second rounds and in steps Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton. That defensive line development happened under two different coaches, but it still happened.
Even the players who don’t develop enough to make it to the starting lineup, develop enough to find new teams where they make an impact. Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham, who has snatched up several former Longhorns, says it is the coaching those players receive in Austin that makes a big difference.
FORMER HORNS ON ARIZONA STATE’S ROSTER
Xavion Alford
Prince Dorbah
Troy Omeire
Jake Smith
Zac Swanson
J’Mond Tapp (in portal but still practicing with team)
“The guys we've gotten from Texas and Coach Sark's program have been unbelievable,” Dillingham said Monday while speaking with the press ahead of the Peach Bowl matchup against Texas. “That may be why we're going back -- we've gone back to the well when some of their guys have hit the portal is we know what we're getting when we're getting a guy from that program, and that's a guy who has worked really hard, competed and been pushed. Those are the things that we like to bring in.”
NFL evaluators have also taken notice of the development happening in Austin.
Making it back to the College Football Playoff, one year after seeing a school-record 11 players selected in the NFL draft speaks to that development. Most teams don’t just reload after losing so many valuable players to the draft like that. Just take a look at what happened to Michigan after winning the national championship and then seeing 13 players get drafted.
By the way, our own @CodyCarpentier is projecting a whopping 16 Longhorns to get drafted in the 2025 NFL Draft. Wanna bet that Texas won’t be one of the favorites to go back to the CFP next season, even after losing 27 players to the draft over the previous two years?
One of the big reasons to be so optimistic about the 2025 season is the development of quarterback Arch Manning. The scion of football’s first family of quarterbacks has been working for two years now to learn Sarkisian’s system and get used to the speed of the college game before he takes over for Quinn Ewers.
We’ve already seen flashes of what Manning is capable of while filling in for an injured Ewers earlier this season. During his one start against Mississippi State, Manning completed 26 of 31 passes (83.9 completion percentage) for 325 yards and two touchdowns. That nearly 84 percent completion percentage wasn’t just the accumulation of a lot of dinks and dunks either, he averaged 10.5 yards per attempt. Manning also ran for a touchdown in that game, a component of his game that Sark has begun to utilize on its own late in the season.
Now, obviously Manning brought plenty of natural talent to the table when he signed with Texas. But Sark and QB coach AJ Milwee have also poured a lot of time and effort into maximizing that talent. Next year the Horns should benefit from that player development in a big way.
Manning will be playing behind what is basically projected to be an all new offensive line next season. Kelvin Banks, Hayden Conner, Jake Majors and probably Cam Williams are likely all gone.
It’s next man up time for Trevor Goosby, Cole Hutson, Neto Umeozulu, Connor Robertson and Brandon Baker. All of those players have been putting in the work behind the scenes to be ready to step in and play. Now it’s time to go show what they are capable of.
Obviously there are plenty of question marks about the readiness of some of those players and if they’ll be able to gel as a unit. There are also question marks about the depth of the defensive line for next season. But the player development we’ve seen from Sark and his staff during the first four years means they have earned the benefit of the doubt.
I’m not going to sit here and blow holiday smoke up your … and say that Texas is for sure on a golden run. All I’m saying is that we’ve already seen enough to know that this is a good time to be a Longhorn fan. Don’t wait for the “good old days” to enjoy it. Sip your egg nog, look at the joy in your children’s faces today and realize – THESE are the good old days. Enjoy it in the here and now.
TWEETS OF INTEREST:
The true meaning of Christmas is not lost on this team.
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I love that one of the main focuses of this defensive unit is to go out there and have fun. It shows in their play.
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It’s important to remember that in spite of the professionalization of college football, it is still a sport for STUDENT athletes. No amount of NIL dollars can change that.
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Texas and Arizona State have played in a bowl game one time before. Who will step up this time and make a name for themselves?
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Speaking of bowl game SNAFU’s … ESPN had this mistake up several times during the bowl game in Boise, Idaho this week. Ho Lee Fuk!
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I know this has been posted on the board already but it’s too funny not to put in here in case anyone missed it.
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Just a reminder, no matter what you’re doing this holiday season, stay safe.
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Finally, what are you doing to celebrate Christmas? Because our dear sweet baby Jesus grew up and found a special way to celebrate his birthday.
