'Good Starting Point': Steve Sarkisian Pleased With Early Results From Longhorns Offense
Steve Sarkisian isn't looking for star power to ball out Day 1 of spring practice, but he was pleased with how the Texas Longhorns looked as the final whistle blew.
"This was a pretty good starting point for us," Sarkisian said Tuesday following practice. "You can tell the guys have been in their playbooks and studying. You can tell the intent of our coaches."
There's a myriad of new players learning the ins and outs of an offense less than three months removed from making the College Football Playoff. Two new receivers Matthew Golden (Houston) and Isaiah Bond (Alabama) join the fold after promising campaigns in the Big 12 and SEC, respectively.
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Tight end Amari Niblack (Alabama) will replace the do-it-all target Ja'Tavion Sanders. And Johntay Cook isn't a newbie, but he is new to life as a starter after playing in 14 games as a second-team option.
Texas opened its first spring practice with 25 newcomers looking to carve out a prominent role in a new era of Longhorn football. Seven hail from the transfer portal. Eighteen are early enrollees from the 2024 recruiting class. Everything now is about being built for the SEC, which Texas will officially join on July 1.
It's early — far too early to determine if the Longhorns are destined to be fixtures in the new conference by early December — so Sarkisian is letting things unravel before determining what needs to change.
"For us, this was a pretty good first day," Sarkisian said. "I'm always hesitant to lay too much praise after one practice. I'm always a little hesitant to be too critical after one practice."
The offense will do most of the heavy lifting in 2024 behind veteran quarterback Quinn Ewers, but it needs time to blossom. The Longhorns welcomed in nine new faces this offseason following their New Year's Day loss to Washington in the Sugar Bowl. A few more, including Oregon State transfer Silas Bolden, will arrive in Austin this summer.
Sarkisian, who enters his fourth year on the Forty Acres, said there's 'variety' around the offensive personnel. That's a good thing, too. A player's injury could be a problem for most rosters looking to make a run toward the postseason.
For the Longhorns, it feels as if there are multiple solutions just waiting for the right time to pounce.
"We've got some really versatile players," said Sarkisian. From a receiver standpoint, we were moving guys from outside to inside, playing them in the slot, playing them outside. We moved our (RBs) around probably more today than we have a first practice of spring ball and tried to play to their strengths as well."
Sarkisian knows the newcomers will need time to break into the offense before he can truly nitpick issues. That's where having a veteran quarterback like Ewers comes in handy to show them the rope.
"I think that helps when you've got a really experienced QB who understands the offense and can manage some of that stuff at the line of scrimmage," said Sarkisian.
For Sarkisian, the first week is about getting players comfortable, hence why everyone's in shirts and shorts to begin the week. Things will ramp up next week and throughout the next 14 practices before the Orange-White spring scrimmage on April 20.
"I refer to today's practice as underwear, and we don't play football in underwear, right? We play it in armor," Sarkisian said. "You find out more as we go."
