“Poise and Composure: Takeaways from Sarkisian’s 10/17 Presser

Sarkisian started off Monday’s press conference, as he does all the others, with a quick recap of his thoughts from Saturday’s 21-24 win over Iowa State. He said that the Saturday win was a “culture win” for the team and mentioned how winning the turnover battle (Iowa State with 2 and Texas with none) was important to their success. Possibly the most important thing said by Sarkisian, though, is that he feels like “A year ago, I don’t know if we win that game”, mentioning how this year’s team has an improved culture and composure compared to last season. He went on to mention how Mike Gundy’s 11th-ranked Oklahoma State team will “attack you” and that the game is “another great challenge” for the now 20th-ranked Longhorns. 

Throughout the conference, Sarkisian was asked about players such as CB Ryan Watts, RB’s Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson and WR Jordan Whittington. With Watts, Sarkisian gave us an injury update and said he was back on the field for practice today while mentioning how he is a “big time player” for them. For Robinson, Sarkisian stated that “what makes him unique is the person that he is” and that he “doesn’t leave that person in the locker room, he brings him onto the field with him”. For Whittington, Sark states that Jordan “really enjoys playing football” and how he “plays for the love of the game” along with how he plays every snap like it could be his last. This theme carries over to Johnson as Sarkisian believes that whatever he said about Whittington can also be said for Roschon. 

Sarkisian was then asked about Oklahoma State QB Spencer Sanders and touched on how “he’s a winner” and how you can see the guys rallying behind him. Sark overall stated that he “loves what he (Sanders) does” and is excited to compete against him. He also mentioned that his team “needs to play better than they did Saturday… to go get this win” 

Towards the end, Sarkisian touched on his team’s defense and how the biggest thing he is pleased with on that side of the ball is “our effort”. He mentioned how hard his guys are playing and that he loves the “buy-in that they (the players) have given to the coaches”. This effort and toughness will need to be shown come Saturday in Stillwater if Texas wants to slow down the explosive Cowboys offense and get their 4th win in a row. 

-Twitter: @RSwantkowski