Steve Sarkisian Delivers Positive Update About Texas Open Practice

The Texas Longhorns disappointed some fans with the recent announcement that the planned revival of the annual spring game had been short-lived, and that the team would be holding an open practice instead on April 18.

Chris Del Conte had said in January that the spring game would be making its return after the program elected to not hold it last offseason. This gave fans a ton to look forward to, but injury caution is playing a role for a Texas team that has championship-level expectations.

Though Saturday's event is still being considered an open practice instead of the usual Orange-White Spring Game format, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed Tuesday that the fans in attendance will still be treated to some real live-action football plays instead of having to watch the players go through drills for an hour.

Steve Sarkisian Says Texas Will Run 70-75 Plays

Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian looks on prior to a game against the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Sarkisian said that the team will run about 70-75 plays with about 45-50 being live contact.

And perhaps the best part? The available starters on both offense and defense will match up against each other for at least a portion of it.

"We'll probably go about 70, 75 plays or so," Sarkisian said. "Of those 70-75 plays, I'd venture to guess between 45 to 50 of those will be live. Part of that will be a thud tempo, because when we go to live, I take some of these guys out so that they don't get some of those nicked-up injuries. And I need to see more of our younger players play live football too. So it'll be a bit of a balancing act that way. But hopefully we get around 75 plays. We'll go ones-on-ones."

It will be interesting to see what kind of reps Texas quarterback Arch Manning will receive as he continues to work his way back to 100 percent after offseason foot surgery. Fans will be hoping to see him throw passes to new wide receiver Cam Coleman, who is likely at the top of most lists for players to watch during the open practice.

Other transfer players like linebacker Rasheem Biles, running backs Raleek Brown and Hollywood Smothers, cornerback Bo Mascoe and wide receiver Sterling Berkhalter will also be getting their first taste of what it's like to play in front of Texas fans. Add true freshmen like wide receiver Jermaine Bishop Jr. and running back Derek Cooper to that list.

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