Talking about the new coaches. No limitations to assistant coaches, but can only have 10 coaches on the road.
Tried to beef up their recruiting staff as well. Several new additions there and promotions from within.
Appreciates the support CDC has given to make these moves and expand in a way that's healthy for the program.
Bunch of new faces on the team. Feels like every year you start over.
Super pumped about the 14 guys that were at the NFL Combine. Hoping all 14 can get drafted, maybe even a couple others.
27 new scholarship faces on the team that are here today. 22 high school kids, five transfers that are all getting acclimated to the program.
Will start practice March 25, will practice three days a week for five weeks to get 15 practices in.
Practice on April 26. No spring game but will have a fan appreciation day. There's a misnomer of why they're not having a spring game. The portal closes on April 25. They're not canceling the spring game due to the portal because the timing doesn't even add up. They're not having a spring game because they have 27 new faces on the roster that they have to develop. That develop starts at the beginning of spring ball. The challenge is to grow quickly. Have to build the foundation and have to grow. They have a talented team but have some youth and need some experience and leadership. Everybody has to grow. That's the task they're challenged with.
Only three starters on offense but that doesn't take into account guys like Wingo, Arch, Cole Hutson, Goosby starting games last year. Same on defense with guys like Colin Simmons and others, including the transfers. They have a ton to replace, but they have some guys who played critical roles last season that will be impactful this fall. The 22 incoming freshman are going to be asked to do more, that's the challenge of where they're headed.
He likes the team, likes the leadership but everybody has to take that next step.
On using spring practice like OTAs ... Traditionally, they've been a two spot operation. A lot of the times on one field they'll have the 1s and 3s, then the 2s and 4s on another field. Two practices going simultaneously. This spring, they'll be on one field. Lots of new faces as coaches and on the roster, need to all be together. Maybe have to minimize some of the team reps, especially for older players. Have to be able to evaluate all players and help coaches get caught up to speed on how they do things at Texas. They'll still have a couple scrimmages throughout spring, but they'll be a little more controlled. Feels its important that they're teaching every single day they take the field. The NFL model, they teach really well. Wants to make sure they're teaching really well and developing both young and old players to be dialed into the details of what they're trying to do. You have to be adaptable and not afraid of change.
On Duane Akina ... He's had a ton of respect for Akina for decades. Competing against him when he was at Texas and Sark was at USC, then Akina's time at Stanford and the connections with Akina and Nansen, it was a natural fit. Gideon coached with a foundation that was instilled in him through coach Akina. Felt they needed a veteran presence back there with experience, shifted and went to Akina. Been a great start. He demands instant respect. Great rapport between Akina and other coaches. Players have responded very well. All the ex players have helped ... Aaron Ross, Quandre Diggs, Michael Griffin, Huff. When college players hear former NFL players talk about a coach right away, they know that coach can help them become what they want to become.
On if he still feels comfortable doing all the CEO stuff along with running the offense ... The one thing for him, he's always tried to hire really good people, make sure they're engaged and have an understanding of how Sark thinks. He tries not to micromanage, tries to make critical decisions off-field before situations arrive. Feels like they've assembled a staff on and off the field of high level people, forward thinkers. Always try to look at things and say what's best for the players, what's best for the organization. Has a lot of trust in the people they hire. Offensively, he believes in what they do. They have a group of coaches on the staff that have been together for a while. Have some turnover at WR coach and now RB coach. Always evolving. Bring in Neal Brown to help as an analyst. Sark feels comfortable and confident doing those things. If there's a day he doesn't feel comfortable, he'll pass some things off.
On injuries ... They'll have four or five guys who won't participate fully in spring. Derek Williams won't participate fully, CJ Baxter, DeAndre Moore won't fully participate. Colton Vasek won't fully participate. They'll have some other guys who will be limited, especially early on. He's really encouraged by Christian Clark and where he's at with his rehab. You come out of a season where you play 16 games, you're going to have beyond bumps and bruises. Some guys will be limited early, but hopefully by week three or week four they get them fully incorporated.
On the trend of not having spring games ... Doesn't know the reason for everybody else not having a spring game. He's heard the wear and tear aspect of it, he's heard the tampering claims. College football has evolved so much in the last three years. College football has always changed, but they last three years have really changed and they're not out of it yet. Calendars have changed, the portal has changed. He's not one to sit there with his head in the stand and keep doing things the way they've always done it. Nobody would have thought five years ago that you'd have 22 high school guys enroll early. He's being mindful of what's in the best interest of Texas football for the fall.
On what he's seen from Arch Manning the past couple of months ... The thing about Arch, from the day he arrived, there's been a sense of humility. If you didn't know his last name and just looked at his work ethic and his commitment to his craft and teammates, this process has been underway for a couple of years. He continues to see a guy who has taken it and is trying to really go for it. He doesn't want to leave any stone unturned. He's setting up voluntary throwing sessions on the weekends. He's having fun at it too. He's playing great football, being a great teammate. There are going to be bumps in the road, but that's part of it. He's enjoying the process and he loves his teammates.
On what he's learned from the playoffs ... He thought he knew it a year ago, but now more than ever he's a firm believer you have to play almost every guy the first four games. You just don't know late in the season which guys you'll need to have ready to play. Look at Trevor Goosby and the situations he was thrust into. Did they give him enough experience early in the year to get ready for that? The second part, what happens in the playoffs is there's never really a normal week like you have in the NFL. In the NFL, you're really playing every seven days. In their case, sometimes you have a really extended break because of the bye, or you have about 10-day windows between games. You really have time to dissect opponents, look at gameplans. Opponents have that time too. He thought that showed up in the playoffs, every team basically coming off a bye, you had to be prepared for new looks, had to study yourself to know where people could attack you. It's a little different than the NFL playoff schedule, theirs was some weird blocks of off time between games.
On the red zone ... They just have to execute. That's a frustrating deal for them, that's on the coaches to get that done.
On what lessons he learned last year that he's incorporating into this season ... That's kind of what they do on a weekly basis, they play a game and then answer questions in all three phases of position group and individual players. You have to then make adjustments and shifts in practice, how to substitute players early in the season, etc. Have to be ever-evolving. You can't rinse and repeat or you'll stub your toes. Have to be willing to change and make adjustments and that's what they are doing. They have a great staff and a hardworking football team that's hungry. You have to give players the "why" too because kids want to know why, and you have to have the answers.
On if he turned down NFL interest ... He came to the University of Texas .. didn't come here to just put on a hat and be a head coach. He came here to win championships, and they have a lot of unfinished business. He wasn't entertaining anything beyond making sure he could do the best job he could at Texas. He's proud of the work they've done from year one to now a team that's gone to back-to-back CFPs and has sent 25 players to the combine, to watch the team GPA go up nearly a full point. He has a ton of pride in what they've done, but the mission isn't complete. He didn't want to be a program that's a one-hit wonder. He's been consistent with who he is but they're not done yet.
On CJ Baxter timeline ... Got injured in August and surgery shortly after. With ACL, you have to be mindful of reinjury, like they saw with Jonathon Brooks at Carolina. They have to be mindful and watch guys as they go. Doesn't know an exact date, but he's on a good progression, has had no setbacks.
On Chad Scott and adding younger coaches ... When they made some of the hires in previous years, they went with youth with coach Choice, with Kenny Baker. But Nansen was a veteran coach. He always assesses the staff, tries to have balance on the staff. You're always trying to find that balance with experience, recruiting, etc. Orphey being from Houston was huge for them, was strategic to get him. Coach Scott was a strategic move, wanted to find a coach that had recruited Florida/Georgia at a high level. Moving to the SEC has allowed them to expand their footprint. Losing coach Joseph was a big loss in Louisiana. Coach Clark is from Baton Rouge so that was big for them. He's always looking at those things, whether a coach is a good fit.
On replacing Jake Majors ... Losing Jake is like losing a veteran QB, you start over. There's change and newness, but not all change is bad. They're forced right now because of some of the youth they have to go back to ground zero. They're evaluating changes on the offensive side of the ball. The natural thing would be for Cole Hutson to step in, but plenty of other guys will get looks in spring practice to find the best combination of five guys up front. They'll see what that looks like, but that's the challenge every year at at least one position.
On Jelani McDonald ... He's a tremendous safety. They utilized him at nickel some last year. He's somewhat of a hybrid for them. All those things remain to be seen on where they go as a defense, but he's a versatile guy that can play safety, star, even be a dime linebacker. They try to recruit versatile players with high football IQs. Jelani, with his versatility will be huge. Where the dust settles, that remains to be seen.
On what his December/January looked like with so much activity on so many fronts ... It was super fun and it was a nightmare. He's glad they're changing some of the rules. He thought when they moved mid-December singing day up, that was a good move to do. But when you have a game that Saturday in the SEC Champ game, he would have liked to have been preparing on Tuesday night, but he was busy calling recruits to make sure they're signing on Wednesday. Then the Monday following that game, they opened up the portal. Texas had to get ready for a first-round CFP game, while he's re-recruiting his entire roster while also looking at transfers that could come in. They had 9 guys decide to leave the team. Then mid-year guys show up in December and start practice, then play all the way into January and trying to recruit the 2026 class. Challenging, but it's like crying from a yacht. He'd much rather be in the position they're in than some other programs. The thing that was most challenging was the five-day window following their last game. You get to the semifinals, you give 130 other teams a chance to watch and evaluate your players and then try to get them to leave. He had to recruit his entire team through that window following their last game.
That's it for today.
Tried to beef up their recruiting staff as well. Several new additions there and promotions from within.
Appreciates the support CDC has given to make these moves and expand in a way that's healthy for the program.
Bunch of new faces on the team. Feels like every year you start over.
Super pumped about the 14 guys that were at the NFL Combine. Hoping all 14 can get drafted, maybe even a couple others.
27 new scholarship faces on the team that are here today. 22 high school kids, five transfers that are all getting acclimated to the program.
Will start practice March 25, will practice three days a week for five weeks to get 15 practices in.
Practice on April 26. No spring game but will have a fan appreciation day. There's a misnomer of why they're not having a spring game. The portal closes on April 25. They're not canceling the spring game due to the portal because the timing doesn't even add up. They're not having a spring game because they have 27 new faces on the roster that they have to develop. That develop starts at the beginning of spring ball. The challenge is to grow quickly. Have to build the foundation and have to grow. They have a talented team but have some youth and need some experience and leadership. Everybody has to grow. That's the task they're challenged with.
Only three starters on offense but that doesn't take into account guys like Wingo, Arch, Cole Hutson, Goosby starting games last year. Same on defense with guys like Colin Simmons and others, including the transfers. They have a ton to replace, but they have some guys who played critical roles last season that will be impactful this fall. The 22 incoming freshman are going to be asked to do more, that's the challenge of where they're headed.
He likes the team, likes the leadership but everybody has to take that next step.
On using spring practice like OTAs ... Traditionally, they've been a two spot operation. A lot of the times on one field they'll have the 1s and 3s, then the 2s and 4s on another field. Two practices going simultaneously. This spring, they'll be on one field. Lots of new faces as coaches and on the roster, need to all be together. Maybe have to minimize some of the team reps, especially for older players. Have to be able to evaluate all players and help coaches get caught up to speed on how they do things at Texas. They'll still have a couple scrimmages throughout spring, but they'll be a little more controlled. Feels its important that they're teaching every single day they take the field. The NFL model, they teach really well. Wants to make sure they're teaching really well and developing both young and old players to be dialed into the details of what they're trying to do. You have to be adaptable and not afraid of change.
On Duane Akina ... He's had a ton of respect for Akina for decades. Competing against him when he was at Texas and Sark was at USC, then Akina's time at Stanford and the connections with Akina and Nansen, it was a natural fit. Gideon coached with a foundation that was instilled in him through coach Akina. Felt they needed a veteran presence back there with experience, shifted and went to Akina. Been a great start. He demands instant respect. Great rapport between Akina and other coaches. Players have responded very well. All the ex players have helped ... Aaron Ross, Quandre Diggs, Michael Griffin, Huff. When college players hear former NFL players talk about a coach right away, they know that coach can help them become what they want to become.
On if he still feels comfortable doing all the CEO stuff along with running the offense ... The one thing for him, he's always tried to hire really good people, make sure they're engaged and have an understanding of how Sark thinks. He tries not to micromanage, tries to make critical decisions off-field before situations arrive. Feels like they've assembled a staff on and off the field of high level people, forward thinkers. Always try to look at things and say what's best for the players, what's best for the organization. Has a lot of trust in the people they hire. Offensively, he believes in what they do. They have a group of coaches on the staff that have been together for a while. Have some turnover at WR coach and now RB coach. Always evolving. Bring in Neal Brown to help as an analyst. Sark feels comfortable and confident doing those things. If there's a day he doesn't feel comfortable, he'll pass some things off.
On injuries ... They'll have four or five guys who won't participate fully in spring. Derek Williams won't participate fully, CJ Baxter, DeAndre Moore won't fully participate. Colton Vasek won't fully participate. They'll have some other guys who will be limited, especially early on. He's really encouraged by Christian Clark and where he's at with his rehab. You come out of a season where you play 16 games, you're going to have beyond bumps and bruises. Some guys will be limited early, but hopefully by week three or week four they get them fully incorporated.
On the trend of not having spring games ... Doesn't know the reason for everybody else not having a spring game. He's heard the wear and tear aspect of it, he's heard the tampering claims. College football has evolved so much in the last three years. College football has always changed, but they last three years have really changed and they're not out of it yet. Calendars have changed, the portal has changed. He's not one to sit there with his head in the stand and keep doing things the way they've always done it. Nobody would have thought five years ago that you'd have 22 high school guys enroll early. He's being mindful of what's in the best interest of Texas football for the fall.
On what he's seen from Arch Manning the past couple of months ... The thing about Arch, from the day he arrived, there's been a sense of humility. If you didn't know his last name and just looked at his work ethic and his commitment to his craft and teammates, this process has been underway for a couple of years. He continues to see a guy who has taken it and is trying to really go for it. He doesn't want to leave any stone unturned. He's setting up voluntary throwing sessions on the weekends. He's having fun at it too. He's playing great football, being a great teammate. There are going to be bumps in the road, but that's part of it. He's enjoying the process and he loves his teammates.
On what he's learned from the playoffs ... He thought he knew it a year ago, but now more than ever he's a firm believer you have to play almost every guy the first four games. You just don't know late in the season which guys you'll need to have ready to play. Look at Trevor Goosby and the situations he was thrust into. Did they give him enough experience early in the year to get ready for that? The second part, what happens in the playoffs is there's never really a normal week like you have in the NFL. In the NFL, you're really playing every seven days. In their case, sometimes you have a really extended break because of the bye, or you have about 10-day windows between games. You really have time to dissect opponents, look at gameplans. Opponents have that time too. He thought that showed up in the playoffs, every team basically coming off a bye, you had to be prepared for new looks, had to study yourself to know where people could attack you. It's a little different than the NFL playoff schedule, theirs was some weird blocks of off time between games.
On the red zone ... They just have to execute. That's a frustrating deal for them, that's on the coaches to get that done.
On what lessons he learned last year that he's incorporating into this season ... That's kind of what they do on a weekly basis, they play a game and then answer questions in all three phases of position group and individual players. You have to then make adjustments and shifts in practice, how to substitute players early in the season, etc. Have to be ever-evolving. You can't rinse and repeat or you'll stub your toes. Have to be willing to change and make adjustments and that's what they are doing. They have a great staff and a hardworking football team that's hungry. You have to give players the "why" too because kids want to know why, and you have to have the answers.
On if he turned down NFL interest ... He came to the University of Texas .. didn't come here to just put on a hat and be a head coach. He came here to win championships, and they have a lot of unfinished business. He wasn't entertaining anything beyond making sure he could do the best job he could at Texas. He's proud of the work they've done from year one to now a team that's gone to back-to-back CFPs and has sent 25 players to the combine, to watch the team GPA go up nearly a full point. He has a ton of pride in what they've done, but the mission isn't complete. He didn't want to be a program that's a one-hit wonder. He's been consistent with who he is but they're not done yet.
On CJ Baxter timeline ... Got injured in August and surgery shortly after. With ACL, you have to be mindful of reinjury, like they saw with Jonathon Brooks at Carolina. They have to be mindful and watch guys as they go. Doesn't know an exact date, but he's on a good progression, has had no setbacks.
On Chad Scott and adding younger coaches ... When they made some of the hires in previous years, they went with youth with coach Choice, with Kenny Baker. But Nansen was a veteran coach. He always assesses the staff, tries to have balance on the staff. You're always trying to find that balance with experience, recruiting, etc. Orphey being from Houston was huge for them, was strategic to get him. Coach Scott was a strategic move, wanted to find a coach that had recruited Florida/Georgia at a high level. Moving to the SEC has allowed them to expand their footprint. Losing coach Joseph was a big loss in Louisiana. Coach Clark is from Baton Rouge so that was big for them. He's always looking at those things, whether a coach is a good fit.
On replacing Jake Majors ... Losing Jake is like losing a veteran QB, you start over. There's change and newness, but not all change is bad. They're forced right now because of some of the youth they have to go back to ground zero. They're evaluating changes on the offensive side of the ball. The natural thing would be for Cole Hutson to step in, but plenty of other guys will get looks in spring practice to find the best combination of five guys up front. They'll see what that looks like, but that's the challenge every year at at least one position.
On Jelani McDonald ... He's a tremendous safety. They utilized him at nickel some last year. He's somewhat of a hybrid for them. All those things remain to be seen on where they go as a defense, but he's a versatile guy that can play safety, star, even be a dime linebacker. They try to recruit versatile players with high football IQs. Jelani, with his versatility will be huge. Where the dust settles, that remains to be seen.
On what his December/January looked like with so much activity on so many fronts ... It was super fun and it was a nightmare. He's glad they're changing some of the rules. He thought when they moved mid-December singing day up, that was a good move to do. But when you have a game that Saturday in the SEC Champ game, he would have liked to have been preparing on Tuesday night, but he was busy calling recruits to make sure they're signing on Wednesday. Then the Monday following that game, they opened up the portal. Texas had to get ready for a first-round CFP game, while he's re-recruiting his entire roster while also looking at transfers that could come in. They had 9 guys decide to leave the team. Then mid-year guys show up in December and start practice, then play all the way into January and trying to recruit the 2026 class. Challenging, but it's like crying from a yacht. He'd much rather be in the position they're in than some other programs. The thing that was most challenging was the five-day window following their last game. You get to the semifinals, you give 130 other teams a chance to watch and evaluate your players and then try to get them to leave. He had to recruit his entire team through that window following their last game.
That's it for today.
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