ANALYSIS: Texas staff hires could help Oklahoma, Big 12 close gap on SEC

A pair of additions to the Longhorns staff could prove beneficial for not just Texas, but the Sooners and the Big 12 as a whole

Hope springs eternal on The 40 Acres as newly minted Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian starts to build his staff.

Reportedly, Alabama offensive line coach Kyle Flood will make the move to Austin with Sarkisian (getting a promotion to offensive coordinator and a pay raise to boot). Also jumping from the Crimson Tide to the Longhorns will be tight ends and special teams coach Jeff Banks.

Another Nick Saban assistant could follow, as current Alabama defensive coordinator Pete Golding is rumored to be a candidate for same position which currently sits vacant at Texas. 

The additions were celebrated by ‘Horns fans as both Flood and Banks have a sterling record of both player development on the field and recruiting off it.

Steve Sarkisian

Mark J. Rebilas/USA TODAY Sports

Does this mean Texas is back and the Big 12 (and more specifically, Oklahoma) have been put on notice? 

Of course not.

The troubles in Austin reach far beyond what happens in between the white lines on Saturdays.

COMMENTARY: Texas' problem was not Tom Herman — it's Texas (and Oklahoma)

Should the Sooners fear the pair of ace recruiters? Also a no, as Texas has never struggled to recruit.

Flood and Banks could actually do the Sooners and the rest of the Big 12 a huge service — they can help the conference close the gap on the SEC.

While Alabama and their southeastern brethren had taken home 12 of the last 18 national titles, they’ve also siphoned off the life blood of Big 12 football. The SEC recruiting footprint grows larger and larger in the state of Texas.

Remember DeLoss Dodds' infamous 2012 suggestion that Texas A&M's move to the SEC gives that conference "a sliver down the east side"? Well that was obviously shortsighted — or arrogant. Or both.

But in true SEC fashion, Texas A&M’s change of allegiance in 2011 benefitted their conference brethren more than it helped themselves.

Looking back on the past two recruiting cycles, the Crimson Tide have moved into Texas and picked off five of the top 10 prospects in the state, more than any other program over that time (Texas and Texas A&M both have reeled in four recruits, with running back L.J. Johnson still to commit in the 2021 class).

The Crimson Tide’s recent success recruiting Texas is indicative of the conference’s success as a whole.

Before 2012, the SEC hadn’t taken home more top 10 Lone Star State recruits at any point since 2000 (and that’s including Texas A&M pickups as SEC recruits, even though they were still flying the Big 12 flag). Since 2012, the Big 12 as a unit has only out-recruited the SEC for Texas’ best three times.

In the midst of the Big 12’s slipping grip in Texas, Lincoln Riley and his Oklahoma Sooners have looked elsewhere around the country for talent. The addition of Shane Beamer to the staff opened the door for Oklahoma to land East Coast propsects, plucking Jadon Haselwood, Caleb Williams, Kelvin Gilliam, Jalil Farooq, Damond Harmon, Anton Harrison and Aaron Parks alone over the last two seasons.

Beamer has taken his recruiting ties to South Carolina, and it remains to be seen whether Riley and Co. can keep those pipelines flowing. 

Enter Sarkisian, Flood and Banks.

Before he came onto the staff at Alabama, Banks built Texas high school recruiting relationships as an assistant on the Texas A&M staff. Banks helped facilitate Alabama’s newfound pipeline in the state. He played a hand in turning the tide in Camar Wheaton’s recent recruitment, a decision Sooner fans hope won’t haunt them in a few years.

Again, an uptick in recruiting for the ‘Horns hasn’t mattered in the past. Tom Herman signed seven of the state’s top 10 recruits in 2018 and proceeded to do nothing with them.

But if the Longhorns can help Oklahoma keep Texas’ best talent in the Big 12, it could spur the conference to further close the gap on the SEC. The foundations have been laid on the field, with Oklahoma, Iowa State and Baylor showing teams can win at a high clip in Big 12 Country playing good defense over the past couple of years.

The Big 12 is taking strides to close the gap between the SEC on the field, but at some point they’re going to have to turn the corner in recruiting to have sustained success against the best in college football.

The Longhorns can play a big hand in ensuring the best talent in the region stays in the region to play their college ball.  

Maybe Sarkisian’s legacy could wind up being that he brought the Big 12 back — not just Texas.