Steve Sarkisian was just on the Up & Adams Show with Kay Adams. Some notes from their conversation …
- Excited to have his contract extension done, but more excited to get his assistants extended.
- Asked about interest from NFL teams … “I really feel like I have the best job in America.” He said he told his dad years ago, when he was first going into coaching that Texas was the best coaching job in football.
- Work is not done, but loves their progress and he loves that he gets to live in Austin, Texas.
- Lots of talk about culture. Feels their culture, the trust, has won them some games. The Xs and Os are easy. The weightlifting and running is easy. Cracking the code with young players and developing culture is the hard part.
- On Arch Manning … in the recruiting process, it was the most normal recruiting process. QB recruiting can be difficult. With Arch, it was so normal. Great home life, great family. Nobody works harder. Has a connection to his teammates. Gets along with everybody. Super competitive. Has the athleticism of his grandfather. One of the things a QB has to do is instill belief in teammates, coaches and a fan base. Arch does all those things.
- On managing expectations on Arch … He’s grounded, not really big on social media. He’s just worried about being a good teammate and getting better. Sark can lean into his experience to help him. Arch chose to be a QB at a program like Texas. Let’s embrace it and have a great experience.
- On not formally naming Arch the starter … “He’s got to earn it, but I feel pretty good about it.”
- On Quinn Ewers … has shown a level of perseverance. He’s been through a lot, been through some injuries, played his best when his best was needed.
- On recruiting Xavier Worthy … Started recruiting him in 10th grade at Alabama. Went through Covid, couldn’t take visits. He went to Michigan, when things fell through, Sark was settling in at Texas so it fit.
- On his recruiting style … relationship-based. They have an NFL model when it comes to evaluating talent. At the end of the day, it’s different than the NFL because you’re not picking the players, they’re picking you. You have to build relationships and show development. They’re able to do that now.
- Later in the show, Sark did declare Arch as the starter.
- Sark confirmed no spring game. Said over the last two years, they’ve played 30 games. Lots of young players, including 21 midyear enrollees. Getting guys ready for the fall is different than it used to be. Their approach will be more NFL driven. It’s going to be a different approach but college football is changing and they have to adapt, and that’s what they’re doing.
- Excited to have his contract extension done, but more excited to get his assistants extended.
- Asked about interest from NFL teams … “I really feel like I have the best job in America.” He said he told his dad years ago, when he was first going into coaching that Texas was the best coaching job in football.
- Work is not done, but loves their progress and he loves that he gets to live in Austin, Texas.
- Lots of talk about culture. Feels their culture, the trust, has won them some games. The Xs and Os are easy. The weightlifting and running is easy. Cracking the code with young players and developing culture is the hard part.
- On Arch Manning … in the recruiting process, it was the most normal recruiting process. QB recruiting can be difficult. With Arch, it was so normal. Great home life, great family. Nobody works harder. Has a connection to his teammates. Gets along with everybody. Super competitive. Has the athleticism of his grandfather. One of the things a QB has to do is instill belief in teammates, coaches and a fan base. Arch does all those things.
- On managing expectations on Arch … He’s grounded, not really big on social media. He’s just worried about being a good teammate and getting better. Sark can lean into his experience to help him. Arch chose to be a QB at a program like Texas. Let’s embrace it and have a great experience.
- On not formally naming Arch the starter … “He’s got to earn it, but I feel pretty good about it.”
- On Quinn Ewers … has shown a level of perseverance. He’s been through a lot, been through some injuries, played his best when his best was needed.
- On recruiting Xavier Worthy … Started recruiting him in 10th grade at Alabama. Went through Covid, couldn’t take visits. He went to Michigan, when things fell through, Sark was settling in at Texas so it fit.
- On his recruiting style … relationship-based. They have an NFL model when it comes to evaluating talent. At the end of the day, it’s different than the NFL because you’re not picking the players, they’re picking you. You have to build relationships and show development. They’re able to do that now.
- Later in the show, Sark did declare Arch as the starter.
- Sark confirmed no spring game. Said over the last two years, they’ve played 30 games. Lots of young players, including 21 midyear enrollees. Getting guys ready for the fall is different than it used to be. Their approach will be more NFL driven. It’s going to be a different approach but college football is changing and they have to adapt, and that’s what they’re doing.
