Texas Football Head Coach Steve Sarkisian stated how he “loved the way we played complimentary football” and how he “thought the fans were unbelievable” in his opening comments on Monday, referencing Saturday’s blowout victory over Oklahoma 49-0 in Dallas. Sticking with the talk of the fans and the environment, Sarkisian mentioned how DKR Stadium “should be one of the most intimidating places to come play in the country. I think we are getting better at creating that environment”.
Sarkisian was asked about the culture and consistency of his program on the inside and said he watches “the intent of our players” and “listens at practice” but overall states how “it’s about our actions at the end of the day”. Continuing on this theme, Sarkisian emphasized how “Trust equals time plus consistency” for his team and believes that the effort his team is showing is “the highest it’s ever been”.
Towards the middle of the presser, Sark was asked about the growth and leadership of key players like Bijan Robinson, Quinn Ewers and others, along with those who played well on Saturday against OU but maybe didn’t get the recognition they deserved. Wide receiver Jordan Whittington and RB Keilan Robinson were two names that stood out to him from Saturday’s win: Whittington with 97 yards on 5 catches and Keilan with 60 total yards a TD as well. With Bijan, Sarkisian was asked if the star RB was getting enough national credit for his play and stated “probably not… but he would never tell you that… he is an unbelievable player”. For Quinn, he mentioned unique attributes like how natural of a passer he is, his calmness, how the moment never really feels too big for him and how coachable Ewers is mid-game. Stated how overall he is very “clear-minded”.
He was then asked about the blocking in Saturday’s win by both the WR group and offensive line as well: “we take pride in it” about how well the wide receivers were able to pick up their assignments and preached on how the OL is getting “trialed by fire” with the adversity of playing against many different looks, especially against Oklahoma and having to “prepare for almost two different defenses”. Sarkisian loves the overall maturity of the group and says they can “count on these guys to move people when we need to move them”. He mentioned how OL Kelvin Banks got a little “feisty” against OU but that he “kind of appreciated” it because it showed his growth of confidence.
The Longhorns will square off against the Iowa State Cyclones in Austin on Saturday at 11am. The Cyclones are coming off a tough 10-9 loss to Kansas State last Saturday.
Sarkisian mentioned at the end of the presser that it’s time to “rinse and repeat.” Only Saturday will tell if this truly comes to fruition.
