How Steve Sarkisian Has Built Texas Like Kirby Smart Built Georgia

Since coming to the SEC, head coach Steve Sarkisian has guided the Texas Longhorns to wins over every conference opponent at least once except for one. That lone program is the very one that Sarkisian has seemingly built his program in a similar vein.

That program is obviously the Georgia Bulldogs. The back-to-back SEC Champions have paid the Longhorns back for the 2019 Sugar Bowl win, after which quarterback Sam Ehlinger declared Texas was “back,” with three straight wins. That includes the game in Austin in 2024 and then the SEC Championship a few weeks later.

It is no secret the admiration and respect that Sarkisian and Smart both share for eachother, and for the Longhorns’ coach, he is the one SEC foe he’s yet to conquer. Although if the Longhorns are to do it under Sarkisian, it will be in part because Sarkisian has modeled the Longhorns similarly to Smart’s Georgia.

An Offense Predicated On its Run Game

Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Texas Longhorns running back Quintrevion Wisner (5) attempts to elude a tackle during the first half against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There isn’t much that Sarkisian and Smart have in common when it comes to offensive philosophy. Smart opts for the traditional pro-style offense, but one that is run-first. Meanwhile, Sarkisian isn’t exactly a run-first play-caller, though similar to Smart’s Georgia, his passing game sets up the run.

Both know it takes a dominant offensive line to win in the SEC, which is why Sarkisian and Co. made it a mission to improve the line of scrimmage this offseason. As 2025 showed, Sarkisian’s offense without a competent run game is not set up for success.

It was just two years ago that Georgia suffered a similar fate, finishing the 2024 season ranked 102nd nationally in rushing offense. Sound familiar?

Recruit and Retain

Jul 23, 2026; Tampa, FL, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian speaks to the press during SEC Football Kickoff Media Day at the Tampa Marriott. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Texas has proven more successful in the transfer portal, taking bigger classes via the portal compared to Georgia. Both programs, at their very core, strive to recruit and retain.

Even as Sarkisian continues to find impact players from the portal, he has not abandoned his roots in high school recruiting. He continues to build the foundation of his roster from the high school ranks, like Georgia, then supplements it via the portal.

Defensive Success Built Around Trench Domination

The hiring of Will Muschamp as Texas’s defensive coordinator, a position he once held at Georgia, will only add to this growing list of similarities. However, even before Muschamp returned to Austin, Sarkisian had already established an identity of building his defenses around a dominant defensive front.

It only took a couple of years before he featured a defensive line with NFL talent on the interior, with Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat terrorizing opposing offensive lines; now he has a future NFL first-round draft pick off the edge in Colin Simmons.

Even under defensive coordinator Pete Kwaitkoski, the Longhorns defense excelled at stopping the run, which then opened up even more opportunities for a lethal pass-rush.

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