Here are the highlights from Steve Sarkisian’s press conference after his team’s practice on Thursday.
--- Texas was in its second day of full pads and Sarkisian said they had a good physical practice. In addition, Sarkisian said they went live in a few periods, and players were allowed to tackle. Sarkisian said, “Tackling is one of the things you really have to work on early on once we start going live. So, we got work to do there.”
--- Sarkisian said Anthony Cook’s transition to safety has been natural because the defensive back has played a lot of football. Cook appears comfortable in his new position, according to Sarkisian. Jerrin Thompson was described as a good communicator who excels at getting players lined up. Meanwhile, Sarkisian said you can feel Kitan Crawford’s coverage ability, burst, speed, and described the safety as a good tackler. In addition, Sarkisian said Mo Blackwell is one of the better tacklers on the team, has great instincts, is violent, and improved in coverage.
--- Sarkisian’s response when asked how he simulates quarterback pressure and speeds up their mental clock without tackling the passer during practice: “It's probably one of the more difficult things to do at that position. One, we do a lot of drill work with them. They feel bags, they feel things. Two, hopefully, I put a fair amount of fear in him from the back about getting the ball out. I'm not very shy when it comes to that because I think if he (a quarterback) gets sacked 10 times, I would say eight to nine of them the quarterback has the ability to throw the ball away. Whether it's because somebody misses a block or whatever that is, or you're holding the ball and now you got to get rid of it, you should be able to get the ball away. There's times, I get it, there's a free rusher, you don't see him and things happen. But we pride ourselves on limiting sacks. Part of that is knowing what to do with the ball, where to go, being precise with our reads. Two, understanding our protections, so we work a lot on that. Three, having the ability to throw the ball away. You earn the right to do that by knowing what to do and where to go and where defenders are, but taking sacks is unacceptable in our program. There's consequences to that and we try to enhance those consequences as we go.”
--- Sarkisian on what he hopes to achieve during Saturday’s scrimmage: “I think a couple of things. One is special teams. We've put a lot of work into it on teams, and we're rotating four-deep on special teams right now. Generally, when the season comes, you're two-deep. So, we've got to do a really good job of evaluating and putting these guys in position, from a special teams perspective, Saturday, so we can pare that down from a four-deep to three-deep next week. And then after the next scrimmage, go from three-deep to two-deep. That is definitely paramount to me. Two, tackling. It's going to be the first time they tackle for a lot of plays in a row. Who's a consistent tackler, who's not? Three, execution. It's not always about the big plays one way or the other. It's about who can do it right over an extended period of time, one play at a time, regardless of how long a drive is. And so assessing those things. Then the ball. Can we create turnovers? Can we hold on to the ball? Can we do those things? There's a lot to look at when you scrimmage, because, again, our practices are very structured and very drill-oriented until we get to our team periods. When you scrimmage, we're playing football and so there's a lot to evaluate. But those are just some main things that we'll look at.”
--- Sarkisian said he is looking for execution, decision-making, accuracy, leadership, and body language from his quarterbacks on Saturday. In addition, Sarkisian intends to evaluate their understanding of special situations, such as third-downs, red zone, and two-minute drills.
--- Sarkisian said DJ Campbell is going to be a “heck of a player.” Sarkisian said Campbell may move to tackle before he leaves Texas but the freshman’s best opportunity to play right away is at guard. Sarkisian said his goal is to play the five best offensive linemen, regardless of position.
--- Texas was in its second day of full pads and Sarkisian said they had a good physical practice. In addition, Sarkisian said they went live in a few periods, and players were allowed to tackle. Sarkisian said, “Tackling is one of the things you really have to work on early on once we start going live. So, we got work to do there.”
--- Sarkisian said Anthony Cook’s transition to safety has been natural because the defensive back has played a lot of football. Cook appears comfortable in his new position, according to Sarkisian. Jerrin Thompson was described as a good communicator who excels at getting players lined up. Meanwhile, Sarkisian said you can feel Kitan Crawford’s coverage ability, burst, speed, and described the safety as a good tackler. In addition, Sarkisian said Mo Blackwell is one of the better tacklers on the team, has great instincts, is violent, and improved in coverage.
--- Sarkisian’s response when asked how he simulates quarterback pressure and speeds up their mental clock without tackling the passer during practice: “It's probably one of the more difficult things to do at that position. One, we do a lot of drill work with them. They feel bags, they feel things. Two, hopefully, I put a fair amount of fear in him from the back about getting the ball out. I'm not very shy when it comes to that because I think if he (a quarterback) gets sacked 10 times, I would say eight to nine of them the quarterback has the ability to throw the ball away. Whether it's because somebody misses a block or whatever that is, or you're holding the ball and now you got to get rid of it, you should be able to get the ball away. There's times, I get it, there's a free rusher, you don't see him and things happen. But we pride ourselves on limiting sacks. Part of that is knowing what to do with the ball, where to go, being precise with our reads. Two, understanding our protections, so we work a lot on that. Three, having the ability to throw the ball away. You earn the right to do that by knowing what to do and where to go and where defenders are, but taking sacks is unacceptable in our program. There's consequences to that and we try to enhance those consequences as we go.”
--- Sarkisian on what he hopes to achieve during Saturday’s scrimmage: “I think a couple of things. One is special teams. We've put a lot of work into it on teams, and we're rotating four-deep on special teams right now. Generally, when the season comes, you're two-deep. So, we've got to do a really good job of evaluating and putting these guys in position, from a special teams perspective, Saturday, so we can pare that down from a four-deep to three-deep next week. And then after the next scrimmage, go from three-deep to two-deep. That is definitely paramount to me. Two, tackling. It's going to be the first time they tackle for a lot of plays in a row. Who's a consistent tackler, who's not? Three, execution. It's not always about the big plays one way or the other. It's about who can do it right over an extended period of time, one play at a time, regardless of how long a drive is. And so assessing those things. Then the ball. Can we create turnovers? Can we hold on to the ball? Can we do those things? There's a lot to look at when you scrimmage, because, again, our practices are very structured and very drill-oriented until we get to our team periods. When you scrimmage, we're playing football and so there's a lot to evaluate. But those are just some main things that we'll look at.”
--- Sarkisian said he is looking for execution, decision-making, accuracy, leadership, and body language from his quarterbacks on Saturday. In addition, Sarkisian intends to evaluate their understanding of special situations, such as third-downs, red zone, and two-minute drills.
--- Sarkisian said DJ Campbell is going to be a “heck of a player.” Sarkisian said Campbell may move to tackle before he leaves Texas but the freshman’s best opportunity to play right away is at guard. Sarkisian said his goal is to play the five best offensive linemen, regardless of position.
