Sark Makes a SURPRISING Statement in Interview | Texas Football

I do think Sark going out there and starting the culture Wednesdays earlier this year is going to pay dividends.

What would all of Texas football? I'm Bobby Burton, joined by CJ Vogel. We've got two things we learned from Steve Sarkisian's article today that came out from a veteran sports writer Chris Lowe, CJ, the first thing.

And I quote from Steve Sarkisian, it was so illuminating. We've always had some years where it's been one side of the ball and some years where it's been the other side of the ball.

This year is different. What do you make of that conversation and the Texas head football coach talking about the all-around talent on the 40 acres?

Yeah, well, first and foremost, it's difficult to not be excited about what talent is on the campus at the moment. But Sarkisian, especially around this part in the year, when you go back a few years earlier in his tenure, 2023 in particular, we saw the offense kind of take that lead, take the charge for the team in general, especially late towards the year.

And 2024 is defensive lead with that front seven, specifically that run stuffing ability that then took charge in 2025. Unfortunately, it was a bit of a tale of two halves where the defense led the way early on and then things flipped.

Well, right now you're sitting and looking at an offense that had five guys receive all conference or all American honors defensively, you have three guys and you have a pumper turner as well.

So you include all three phases of the ball where the top in talent is there and what he also spoke about was now there's a lot of depth that makes up for that as well, which maybe you didn't have in these previous years going back a little bit.

That's exactly what he said, not only do you have an archmaning or a Trevor Goosby or Colin Simmons, a Cam Coleman, Ryan Wingo, you've got Jolani Donald, you've got guys that from a depth perspective are really, really talented football players.

And he even went further, one of the reasons he says it feels different right now is that he feels like he's producing depth and creating depth because archmaning is not going to be available the rest of this spring from a 11 on 11 duties like he said,

Sarc was very clear in the article, he's not going to let arch, you know, mess something up by getting in there with 11 on 11 somebody come through and hit his knee or something like they're just not going to do it.

As he recovers from this foot injury at the same time that in Sarc's opinion means KJ Lacey gets a lot of time and Sarc said in the article, look, this is important because right now last year, I didn't know who would be ready as next.

Matthew call will came in during the summer and actually took that job, right, but he goes, I didn't know who that was going to be this year now we're getting KJ Lacey so many reps Trevor Goosby last year, he goes out who's going to take over it left tackle for him.

Now we know who's going to do that and that kind of building depth and maintaining the quality of CJ is where Texas is fundamentally different right now and that's why it led.

And it has led Sarc to talk so glowingly about this team you and I have mentioned this before last week when he talked to us as a group of reporters, he was, you could tell how he felt about this football team, it has to do with not just the high end talent, but also the depth of it too.

He was almost a little giddy and you don't ever see that from Sarc right you know he's he's he's very precise and he's he doesn't reveal much but when he does you know it it's typically because that's truly how he feels about the team or a specific player into this instance you know he senses that there's a lot of talent probably more so to his point evenly on each side of the ball, but what's lost in all of this is the organic time that's Sarc's quote not ours.

From times that we've spoken with him this spring to get KJ Lacey organic snaps with the first team to get Jordan Coleman first, first, first snaps with the first team so that is I think in my eyes all the more important than just about anything is that these guys are now seeing what it looks like with a call and Simmons coming off the edge or having to play against a gelani McDonald in the back in so that's fantastic on that in.

A tip of the cap right because we've talked about the first team guys and all the conference hungry guys but you go out and you had a thousand year of right wide receiver in his career sterling burger or someone that's played 730 plus snaps as a metal linebacker in the power for those are the under the radar depth additions that you know you don't really hear about until he ever she involves bangs and knee and now has to come out for a series or.

You know you're seeing right now click lock it down Ryan Wingo down in it mostly down well here again is a guy that's played 5 years of college football under the radar additions like that but you've seen a lot of Texas football in your life this feels like at least my viewing days one of if not the most complete rosters that I've seen in Austin.

I agree with that that's exactly what Sarc said and I think reinforced in that article to Chris Lowe came out on on 3rd second thing I want to talk about culture.

It's a word that we use quite a bit around here that sarkis kind of indoctrinated into the folks that cover Texas football sark says this team is close already I can feel it I don't know if I could have said that a year ago that team at least at this time was not it was very clickish almost C.J.

What do you make of those words and you know what sounds like to me a team that sark already feels is coming together more than a year ago.

Yeah I think clickish might have caught me by surprise a little bit last year but you know there were instances especially going on the road where you didn't see that same camaraderie when things.

For better for worse hit the fan you know you didn't see that team come together a year ago like we've seen in 23 and 24 when Texas was making the college football playoffs so.

You know I do think sark going out there and starting the culture Wednesdays earlier this year is going to pay dividends in the fall and we've seen that already the defensive backs have made trips to Terry blacks we've seen the running backs in the offensive line have bowling outings as well as the wide receiver so.

Look if that's what it takes and if that's kind of the steps that sark is taking to ensure that this team does provide that extra fight or does come together a little bit more in these.

Post games next year body I think that's a fantastic sign and it's something that he preaches which you know is going to be resonating throughout the halls of Montcreefe all the way throughout the summer as well.

Yeah it's interesting that that you taken in that idea of culture being important city started.

This whole thing earlier this year as a result he started the culture with Wednesdays on earlier in the year rather than waiting till June he says really paid attention to the portal transfers and integrating them into the to into this into the.

Program 43 new faces and all the other aspect that I really found interesting is that he's trying to breed into the culture a competitiveness yeah and he talked at length about that and so it's not just.

Cam Coleman or Rashine Biles that are bringing that it's all of these guys coming together and creating it and hero canoe a transfer himself from last year talked about how hey if somebody comes and wants to take my job more power to them but I'm going to try to keep it and he goes that's how we can get better as a team and I think that's the kind of culture.

Sark is talking about he wants a winning culture where they all a rising tide lifts all ships look i've already heard about two instances of exactly that from this past weekend alone in the first was involving a veteran defensive lineman I don't know the names but you know he watched a younger defensive lineman go through a rep didn't like the effort corrected them said hey we got to be better here.

Went back through tap helmets and said let's be better moving forward additionally I think it rises that intensity level for proof freshman that come on in right you sit there and I know you've heard great things about some are Matthews I know this is a guy that is competitive through and through he was one of singled out to me this weekend about coming in and wanting to compete immediately with the veterans in the room and.

That is a theme amongst this freshman class and I think that starts in winter conditioning which as we've talked about has been led by some of these veteran voices in new portal additions are we'll hear more from Sark on Tuesday he's got a press availability at 11 a.m.

For now those are the two things we learned from the exclusive interview out of Chris low on Steve Sarkeesian good stuff in there guys we haven't ready hook up hey guys Blake Monroe here from coffee and football YouTube thinks that you're going to like this video right here and if the algorithm knows.

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