California Love: Texas' Sarkisian To Work With LA Rams McVay on 'Scoring More Touchdowns'
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian will be in for a busy summer. He'll have to prepare for his second go-around at Big 12 Media Days. He also will be getting his team ready for a pivotal season in the history of the program.
Along the way, Sark will head back to his home state of California to spend a few days with Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay. The hope? Perhaps the Longhorns head coach can find a way to "score a few more touchdowns" on the way to better results in 2022.
McVay has been revered as one of the NFL's top coaches for his innovative offense and consistency during his five seasons as the Rams' head coach. Under his direction, Los Angeles has never finished below .500 and only missed the playoffs once.
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Last season, the Rams defeated Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in a 23-20 Super Bowl LVI victory in front of the home crowd. One season with Matthew Stafford at the helm, Los Angeles finally won the big game for the first time since 1999.
Perhaps Sarkisian can take something away from a weekend with McVay. One of the biggest areas Texas must improve is in second-half adjustments, a glaring weakness for the Horns throughout the 2021 campaign.
Texas suffered a six-game losing streak midseason on the way to a 5-7 finish. The opponent, location, and timing didn't matter to the results as each week felt like one prior. The Horns would start hot, enter halftime with a lead and implode.
Wash, rinse repeat all the way until the season final victory over Kansas State.
“The path in which we’ve taken was not the chosen one,” Sarkisian said the past week at the Houston Touchdown Club. “Five-and-seven is 5-7. That sucks. I’ll call it like it is.”
Expectations aren't that Texas will improve from a season. The feel around the Forty Acres is that the Longhorns can reach new heights thanks to a top 10 recruiting class and new prospects from the transfer portal. Along with quarterback Quinn Ewers (Ohio State), Texas added cornerback Ryan Watt (Ohio State) tight end Jahleel Billingsley (Alabama) and receiver Isaiah Neyor (Wyoming).
Texas also is still in the running for reigning Biletnikoff winner Jordan Addison, who is leaving Pittsburgh after two years. Addison, expected to be the top receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft, is currently mulling over his options between USC and Texas and should announce a decision in the coming days.
Former Pitt receivers coach, Brennan Marion, was hired by Sarkisian this offseason. Addison also visited the program and met with the offensive staff earlier this month on campus.
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