Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the media on Wednesday during his weekly SEC media conference call.
Here are the most important topics Sarkisian addressed.
1. Sarkisian was asked how close this team is to connecting and operating as he would like and said, “I think we’re pretty close.” That was a nice way of saying “next question.” No, I did not ask the question.
Sarkisian was asked for a health update on Isaiah Bond and Andrew Makuba and said, “They both have had a good week so far.” Sarkisian did not add any details.
However, Sarkisian said running back Velton Gardner will miss the rest of the season due to an eye injury.
2. Sarkisian asked about needing Jermayne Lole since Vernon Broughton is expected to miss the first half against Florida due to a targeting penalty he sustained in the second half against Vanderbilt.
“We're going to need the complete player in Jermayne,” Sarkisian said. “Florida's got a really physical offensive line, they’re a physical running football team. So, first and foremost, our ability to stop the run is going to be critical on Saturday, and he's got to play a big part in that.”
3. A reporter asked Sarkisian what he has asked Arch Manning to improve on and if his backup quarterback has met those expectations.
“I think Arch is doing a really nice job," Sarkisian said. "Gosh, we were fortunate to have him step in the way that he did for those two-and-a-half games and got some starts under his belt. I think he continues to work at his overall understanding of what we're doing schematically, and then working on some of the fundamentals and details that we're asking.”
When the reporter followed up by asking if fundamentals meant footwork and asked for specifics, Sarkisian said, “Yeah, it’s all that stuff. You’re spot on.”
4. Florida also has eight interceptions in the last four games after registering just one pick in the first four contests. The Gators have recorded multiple takeaways in three straight games for the first time since 2019.
I asked Sarkisian to describe what Florida does so well to create turnovers.
“I think one thing is, A, they've got a good scheme that you can see their players have gained confidence in as the year has gone on,” Sarkisian said. “They're really physical at the line of scrimmage. Because of that, I think they can deploy people in the secondary from a coverage perspective, and mix coverages and disguise coverages. But on the flip side, they'll be aggressive at times, and they'll pressure you, and they'll force the quarterback into some poor decisions. I think they just do a good job of all that. They've got quality players. They've got a good scheme that the players have gained confidence in. But then it's them mixing all that they do to force some poor decisions from the quarterback’s perspective.”
5. In addition, the Gators have allowed just 12 sacks on the season, which ranks fourth-least in the SEC (42nd nationally).
I asked Sarkisian to describe what Florida does so well up-front.
“I think Billy [Napier] and I are kind of cut from a similar cloth in that he believes in running the ball. When you run it, and then you can utilize the play-action pass and give your offensive line, put them in a little better positioning, that helps. They really haven't been in games where they've just been behind, where they've had to drop back, drop back, drop back. They've been able to maintain some balance. And again, that forces defenses to not just pin the ears back and rush the passer, but have to defend the run. They can run play-action pass, they can run bootlegs, keepers, and sprint outs, and so the launch point can change.
“One, they've got some pretty good players and big guys up front. But, two, I think because of their ability to run the football, it allows them to take some of the pressure off that offensive line with the style of play.”
Here are the most important topics Sarkisian addressed.
1. Sarkisian was asked how close this team is to connecting and operating as he would like and said, “I think we’re pretty close.” That was a nice way of saying “next question.” No, I did not ask the question.
Sarkisian was asked for a health update on Isaiah Bond and Andrew Makuba and said, “They both have had a good week so far.” Sarkisian did not add any details.
However, Sarkisian said running back Velton Gardner will miss the rest of the season due to an eye injury.
2. Sarkisian asked about needing Jermayne Lole since Vernon Broughton is expected to miss the first half against Florida due to a targeting penalty he sustained in the second half against Vanderbilt.
“We're going to need the complete player in Jermayne,” Sarkisian said. “Florida's got a really physical offensive line, they’re a physical running football team. So, first and foremost, our ability to stop the run is going to be critical on Saturday, and he's got to play a big part in that.”
3. A reporter asked Sarkisian what he has asked Arch Manning to improve on and if his backup quarterback has met those expectations.
“I think Arch is doing a really nice job," Sarkisian said. "Gosh, we were fortunate to have him step in the way that he did for those two-and-a-half games and got some starts under his belt. I think he continues to work at his overall understanding of what we're doing schematically, and then working on some of the fundamentals and details that we're asking.”
When the reporter followed up by asking if fundamentals meant footwork and asked for specifics, Sarkisian said, “Yeah, it’s all that stuff. You’re spot on.”
4. Florida also has eight interceptions in the last four games after registering just one pick in the first four contests. The Gators have recorded multiple takeaways in three straight games for the first time since 2019.
I asked Sarkisian to describe what Florida does so well to create turnovers.
“I think one thing is, A, they've got a good scheme that you can see their players have gained confidence in as the year has gone on,” Sarkisian said. “They're really physical at the line of scrimmage. Because of that, I think they can deploy people in the secondary from a coverage perspective, and mix coverages and disguise coverages. But on the flip side, they'll be aggressive at times, and they'll pressure you, and they'll force the quarterback into some poor decisions. I think they just do a good job of all that. They've got quality players. They've got a good scheme that the players have gained confidence in. But then it's them mixing all that they do to force some poor decisions from the quarterback’s perspective.”
5. In addition, the Gators have allowed just 12 sacks on the season, which ranks fourth-least in the SEC (42nd nationally).
I asked Sarkisian to describe what Florida does so well up-front.
“I think Billy [Napier] and I are kind of cut from a similar cloth in that he believes in running the ball. When you run it, and then you can utilize the play-action pass and give your offensive line, put them in a little better positioning, that helps. They really haven't been in games where they've just been behind, where they've had to drop back, drop back, drop back. They've been able to maintain some balance. And again, that forces defenses to not just pin the ears back and rush the passer, but have to defend the run. They can run play-action pass, they can run bootlegs, keepers, and sprint outs, and so the launch point can change.
“One, they've got some pretty good players and big guys up front. But, two, I think because of their ability to run the football, it allows them to take some of the pressure off that offensive line with the style of play.”
