To Win a Title, Longhorns Have to 'Be Like 'Bama' in the NFL Draft
To be great, the Texas Longhorns have to be like the Alabama Crimson Tide. Of course, the Longhorns brass knows this. That’s why they hired Steve Sarkisian to take over as head coach.
But this weekend’s NFL Draft — especially the first round — put that fact in stark relief for everyone in Austin.
The Crimson Tide players flew off the board in the first round. Jaylen Waddle to Miami. Pat Surtain II to Denver. DeVonta Smith to Philadelphia. Mac Jones to New England. Alex Leatherwood to Las Vegas. Najee Harris to Pittsburgh.
Yep, six Alabama players in the first round. And none for Texas … for the sixth straight year.
Alabama tied the record for most first-round picks in a single day (six) and set the record for most picks in the first and second rounds of an NFL Draft (eight).
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Yes, Texas’ first-round selection drought is annoying to Longhorns fan and administrators alike. Why? Because while first-round NFL talent doesn’t GUARANTEE you success in college football, how else are you going to get your foot in the door?
Texas had fewer — yes, fewer — draft picks in the ENTIRE 2021 NFL Draft than the Crimson Tide had in the first round. On Day 2, tackle Samuel Cosmi found his way to Washington, while defensive end Joseph Ossai ended up in Cincinnati. Day 3 of the Draft brought defensive tackle Ta’Quon Graham to Atlanta, safety Caden Sterns to Denver and quarterback Sam Ehlinger to Indianapolis.
Long-term, that won’t do. That’s why Sark is in Austin. He saw all of this on the ground in Tuscaloosa during his time working for Alabama head coach Nick Saban. So, what happened on Thursday night was certainly no surprise to him.
When Sark needed career rehab, Alabama is where he went in 2016 as an offensive assistant and, later, the emergency offensive coordinator in the 2016 national title game when Lane Kiffin, who had just taken the FAU job, couldn’t stay, let’s say, focused? Yeah, let’s say that. After two years with the Atlanta Falcons in 2017 and 2018, Sark went back to Alabama for two more seasons as the offensive coordinator.
In three seasons at Alabama, Sark coached in two national title games as the offensive coordinator, including last year’s victory over Ohio State.
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I’m not SOLD that Sark is the right guy for this job yet. A decade of mediocrity in Austin has put me in a mindset of ‘Show me,’ you know?
But what I am sure of is that Sark got the ultimate ‘process’ tutorial in Tuscaloosa, and he watched as Saban’s famed ‘process’ cranked out first-round pick after first-round pick.
Remember that Texas first-round pick drought? The last Longhorns first-rounder was Malcom Brown, the defensive lineman, who went to New England at No. 32 in 2015.
In the six drafts, the Longhorns have gone without a first-round pick, the Crimson Tide has seen 22 players selected in the first round.
In those six seasons, the Crimson Tide have won two national championships and played in two other national championship games.
If Texas wants to get back to the national championship game, getting back into the business of producing first-round picks would be a good place to start.
CONTINUE READING: Longhorns Miss On First-Round NFL Draft Selection Once Again
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist who covers Longhorns in the Pros for Longhorn Country on FanNation.com and SINow. He also writes for CowboyMaven and DallasBasketball.com, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook. Have a story idea about a former Longhorn now in the professional ranks? Contact Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard.