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Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian deserves his reputation as an elite developer of quarterback talent. That is what happens when you work with Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty, Mark Sanchez, Jake Locker, Keith Price, Cody Kessler, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, and Bryce Young. Former Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers may not be on Sarkisian’s Mount Rushmore of guys he has developed. Nevertheless, Ewers was recently drafted, and that counts as a win for Sarkisian.
The list of receivers is impressive, too. Sarkisian has worked with Mike Williams, Dwayne Jarrett, Steve Smith (USC), Damian Williams, Marqise Lee, Robert Woods, John Ross, Jaylen Waddle, DeVonta Smith, Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, and Jordan Whittington. In addition, he will receive credit for turning former University of Houston receiver Matthew Golden into a first-round pick.
How about one more room just for fun? Here is a list of the running backs: Reggie Bush, LenDale White, Chauncey Washington, Joe McKnight, Justin Forsett, Bishop Sankey, Damien Harris, Najee Harris, Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, Jonathan Brooks - and Keilan Robinson, who was drafted after having a backup role at Texas. In addition, former Texas running back Jaydon Blue was recently drafted in the 5th round by the Dallas Cowboys.
However, there is one area where Sarkisian is killing it, but it is rarely discussed - and he deserves another nickname.
Steve Sarkisian: The Defensive Tackle Whisperer.
The interior defensive line position is less sexy than quarterbacks, running backs, or receivers. There has rarely - if ever - been a defensive tackle debate in college that comes close to the quarterback debate. Nobody debates which defensive tackle should be on the cover of Madden or EA Sports College Football. We know who the headliners are.
That being said, it is hard to ignore Sarkisian’s success at the position since arriving at Texas.
Six Longhorn defensive tackles have been drafted in the past three seasons:
2023
Keondre Coburn (6th round/Kansas City)
Moro Ojomo (7th round/Philadelphia)
2024
Byron Murphy II (1st round/Seattle)
T’Vondre Sweat (2nd round/Tennessee)
2025
Alfred Collins (2nd round/San Francisco)
Vernon Broughton (3rd round/New Orleans)
Coburn and Ojomo were not viewed as future NFL Draft picks throughout their tenure at Texas.
Sweat’s weight fluctuated at Texas.
Some Longhorn observers questioned whether Broughton was serious about football when he decided to skip a spring game to get married.
Sure, former defensive line coach Bo Davis deserves some credit, while Kenny Baker has proven to be one hell of a talent developer.
It would also be negligent to ignore defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, the common denominator during this recent run.
But give Sarkisian his flowers.
I asked Sarkisian about that unheralded success this past week. His response led me to believe he really wanted to say, “It’s about damn time you asked me about that!”
“Yeah, I think a couple of things on that,” Sarkisian said. “One, I've been banging this drum since we arrived - and I think a lot of the time the offensive line got the attention - but you win games at the line of scrimmage. You win championships at the line of scrimmage.”
I have always given credit to Sarkisian for his professionalism after he was hired at Texas.
When Charlie Strong was hired at Texas, the narrative was that Mack Brown’s guys were soft, and there was only one way to solve it:
Get players from Florida.
Remember the Florida Five?
For a moment, it looked like Texas was raiding the Sunshine State: linebacker Cecil Cherry, safety Tim Irvin, wide receiver Gilbert Johnson, tight end Devonaire Clarington, and cornerback Davante Davis - all committed, all from Florida, and all hailed as program-changers.
Then reality hit. Irvin flipped before signing day. Clarington didn’t qualify academically. Johnson never arrived. Cherry quit days into camp. Only Davis stuck around and became a productive starter.
When Tom Herman was hired, it was time to whip Strong’s soft players into shape. It was “Sit the f--- up” in the first meeting. Former Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson was wrongly labeled as the poster child of Strong’s failed strength and conditioning program. Strong was a player’s coach, but Herman was going to be the tough coach they needed (he altered that approach during his last year).
Like every new coach, Sarkisian inherited a roster that didn’t quite fit his vision. He never took shots at his predecessors, but he made it clear the roster wasn’t built the way he would have done it. Still, he committed to making it work.
Sarkisian did not praise Herman for the defensive line talent he inherited but acknowledged he had something to work with after arriving at Texas.
“When I always used to talk about big humans, the offensive line got a lot of that attention because we felt like that was the immediate need - to ramp up that recruiting,” Sarkisian said. “But really, on the defensive side of the ball, we were fortunate when we got here that that room had some really good players in it. All six of those guys who have gotten drafted the last three years - we inherited. Murph was the only guy that was in that one class, and then Barryn Sorrell, obviously, in this year’s class. They were in that class right when I got here in January. They signed in December. The rest of those guys were already on the roster.
“So, we inherited those guys. And I think we did a pretty good job of continuing their development to get them to that stage. Like I said, we've been fortunate to have a very good defensive front. That allowed us to grow in the secondary, and to recruit some really high-level athletic players on the edge and at the linebacker position to help with that.”
Sarkisian has attacked that position through the transfer portal and high school recruiting, too.
In 2024, Sarkisian signed three defensive tackles from the transfer portal: Tiaoalii Savea, Bill Norton, and Jermayne Lole.
Texas has pulled off the almost unthinkable in 2025, landing five defensive tackles from the transfer portal: Cole Brevard (Purdue), Travis Shaw (North Carolina), Hero Kanu (Ohio State), Lavon Johnson (Maryland), and Maraad Watson (Syracuse).
In addition, I had this note in Thursday’s War Room: “It is also worth noting that there is equal excitement about what the defensive interior bodies this team will have in 2026: Alex January is a sophomore, Myron Charles is a freshman, Justus Terry is a freshman, Josiah Sharma is a freshman, and Melvin Hills III is a redshirt freshman. There is a lot of excitement about the present and future.”
“But like anything, when it comes to the portal, we’re trying to fill needs,” Sarkisian said. “And for a variety of reasons, we’ve had some real attrition at the defensive line spot. For a variety of reasons, certain players aren’t here anymore. And you have to get your numbers right.
“When you think about where my mind is at, I’m thinking about 16, 17 games again. Having the right amount of depth on the defensive front is critical for us to play the style of football we want to play. I think we’ve done a really nice job addressing needs on the defensive front, not only in the winter portal but obviously here in the spring, too.
“And that, combined with some of our young players continuing to develop - I think it’s going to be a nice combination of players that allows the rest of that defense to play the style of defense we want to play.”
Sarkisian is known as the QB Whisperer.
Add DT Whisperer to his business card.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Some great laughter to get your morning started
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This is for the married guys
I sure hope they tipped these servers for this prank
This is not funny, but a good riddle for the math wizards
Sports On A Dime
1. ESPN followed Quinn Ewers and wrote an extensive article about his pre-draft and draft experiences. Two things stood out from the article.
Here is the first portion of that piece:
“When the draft began, Ewers figured he would not be among the first 32 selections, but Round 2 was a possibility. His agent, Ron Slavin, felt almost assured Ewers would be picked before the last round.
“Whether it was because of concerns about arm strength, mobility or previous injuries, 12 quarterbacks were selected before Ewers, who led the SEC with 31 touchdown passes in 2024 (despite missing two games) and led the Longhorns to the College Football Playoff semifinals two straight years.
“Shedeur Sanders’ slide from possible first-rounder to the 144th pick in the fifth overshadowed Ewers' disappointing fall.
"I just didn't know what was going on," Ewers, 22, told ESPN two days after the draft, during a break from his workouts at MARR STRENGTH in Southlake, Texas. "But, I mean, it was nice [to get drafted], because at one point I'm like, 'I'm not even going to get drafted. I'm going to go undrafted.'
"It was very unexpected, and I think that the toughest part about it is just the amount of unexpected occurrences there were. But I'm glad that I ended up where I ended up. To go as late as I did, I'm glad it's a good spot."
This section addresses why Ewers did not transfer:
“As the picks went by, one thought never entered Ewers' mind: regretting not going back to college where he could have made more money with NIL by transferring to another school. He said at the combine he wanted his legacy to be as a Texas quarterback.
"I wanted to continue on my career path, and I know I'm ready for the NFL," Ewers said. "I think my game fits the NFL better than it does in college, honestly. I'm ready for the next step."
“[Ron] Slavin [his agent] said, logistically, entering the portal to find another school was ‘nearly impossible’ because of the timing.
"You can ask those questions, but the reality of it is the way the portal schedule is set, it was not possible for Quinn because he didn't want to be talked to about the portal," Slavin said. "When they beat Arizona State on Jan. 1, the next game was Jan. 10.
"If he was going to commit to Miami or Notre Dame, he's going to do that while his team's got a playoff game in a week? And his teammates are going to look at him like, 'You're going to another school if we lose?' You can't do that."
“Had the Longhorns lost to Arizona State, maybe entering the portal would have been an option, according to Slavin, but they won on Ewers’ signature moment - a fourth-and-13 touchdown pass to Golden in the first overtime and a touchdown pass in double overtime.
“After the loss to Ohio State in the semifinal, the last thing Ewers wanted to discuss was a transfer.
"He wanted to win a national championship," Slavin said. "He wanted to leave a legacy at Texas. Now it's supposed to be, 'Do you want to talk about going to another school?' To be able to flip your mind like that ... plus the schools needed an answer on Jan. 1. They needed to know who their guy was going to be."
2. On the flip side, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, the guy Ewers was compared to in high school, is projected to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 draft by ESPN’s Jordan Reid:
1. Cleveland Browns (via projected trade with TEN)
Cade Klubnik, QB, Clemson
The Browns drafted two quarterbacks last week: Dillon Gabriel in Round 3 and Shedeur Sanders in Round 5. But Cleveland didn't address the position with any of its four picks in the top 70, and it might take a bigger swing next April. Klubnik made huge strides in his second season as a starter, finishing 2024 with 3,639 passing yards, 36 touchdown passes, and only 6 interceptions. He could be the long-term answer.
Klubnik maintains a strong platform while going through his reads and is consistent no matter the defensive structure. He also has the mobility to escape pressure, but he has B-level arm strength, so it will be important for him to show that he can throw into tight windows this season. His game reminds me a lot of Bo Nix.
In addition, Texas linebacker Anthony Hill is high on the list:
11. Carolina Panthers (via projected trade with LAR/ATL)
Anthony Hill Jr., LB, Texas
After the projected trade down, the Panthers would acquire extra draft capital and still have the chance to select Hill, the type of rangy middle linebacker that Carolina currently lacks. He's explosive with great range. His play speed and ability to sift through traffic make Hill a true sideline-to-sideline off-ball linebacker. But he can also get into the backfield, as his 15.5 tackles for loss were the 17th most among all FBS defenders in 2024. Carolina could use Hill as a blitzer.
3. Damn, Arch was athletic at 6 years old …
4. Hello, On3
5. Did Texas have a “signature win” in 2025? Oh, how the narrative has changed. I’m old enough to remember when college football observers questioned if Texas could handle SEC competition. Now, Texas did not have a “signature win,” as if 11–1 in the regular season is not good enough? People are hilarious.
6. Texas left tackle Trevor Goosby on losing four offensive linemen to the NFL:
“Coach Flood prepares us like we’re all starters. I feel like we’re all prepared, and we’re gelling together. We’ve got a good amount of chemistry, and we’re still building on it. We’re a gritty offensive line. I feel like we’ve got a chip on our shoulders. A lot of people might be doubting us, but that just motivates us to go out and show everybody we could be one of the top lines in the country.”
7. Goosby’s response when asked if Brandon Baker is ready for the SEC:
“I think he is. He’s still working, but I think he could be ready … His best qualities? Staying square. He’s got a pretty smooth pass set. He’s a technician - a technique master. He’s going to be really good for us.
8. Texas defensive back Jelani McDonald on being coached by Duane Akina:
“He’s something special. I’ve never had a coach like him,” McDonald said. “He brings energy and enthusiasm every day. You can tell from the way he coaches that he’s done great things and he’s put some great players where they want to go.”
Q: Are you surprised at all by his arm strength?
McDonald: “Definitely! I didn’t know he could still throw like that, he can still run, he can still break … He can really do it all.”
9. Bomani Jones gave the best explanation of Shedeur Sanders getting selected in the 5th round, better than anyone I heard after the draft:
In addition, NFL Hall of Fame receiver Cris Carter gave a reasonable explanation:
10. Watching soccer as a parent of a goalkeeper is an agonizing experience that most people do not endure. If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, everybody notices because it usually results in a score by the opposing team. However, field players can kick the ball 10 feet over the goal, pass poorly in dangerous areas, lose track of a player, or get outhustled, and it often goes unnoticed. My son and I had a lot of compassion for Austin FC goalkeeper Brad Stuver on Saturday night. As Stuver seemed dejected after the 3-0 loss, Maximus was a few feet behind his favorite goalkeeper in the Supporter’s Section trying to get his attention and repeatedly screaming, “Keep your head up, Stuver” (poor kid has been trying to get Stuver’s attention for years, but I give him credit for never giving up). As a member of the goalkeeper family - Stuver, I understand.
