If Texas Is Going To Be SEC Ready, They Need To Recruit Like It
Saturday's pseudo "SEC debut" did not go the way Steve Sarkisian, or any Texas Longhorns fan for that matter, expected.
Arkansas hit Texas in the mouth in typical SEC fashion, in the trenches. And they did it on both sides of the ball.
Offensively, the Razorbacks exploded for more than 300 yards on the ground.
Defensively, the Hogs didn't allow the Longhorns room to breathe until garbage time.
In the end, the Razorbacks accomplished what they set out to do, welcome Texas to the SEC.
READ MORE: Failure in Fayetteville: Longhorns Offense Falls Flat in Loss vs Arkansas
The good news for the Longhorns is that they won't head to the SEC and face a full conference schedule until 2025.
The bad news is that either way, Texas is scheduled to face Nick Saban's Alabama Crimson tide in both 2022 and 2023.
So how can they close the gap? The answer to that is simple.
Recruit.
Tom Herman did a fine job recruiting in Austin. The Horns finished with acceptable and landed difference-makers for this roster such as Bijan Robinson.
Unfortunately, there were also far too many misses.
To catch up to the Alabamas and Georgias of the world, Sarkisian simply cannot miss.
More than that, he will need to focus on improving from the inside out and build their trenches to an SEC level.
There is a reason, the SEC is so dominant.
There is a reason they have won 11 out of the last 15 national titles, and why Clemson, who has won two of those, has made their program into an SEC replica.
It was also a major reason that Texas, the last Big 12 team to win a national title, was able to dethrone one of the greatest dynasties in sports history.
They won at the line of scrimmage.
READ MORE: Key Takeaways: Texas Defense Dominated in 40-21 Arkansas Loss
The good news for the Longhorns is that Steve Sarkisian and his staff have already begun to build that model.
In the 2022 class, Sarkisian already has 10 commitments from players who will occupy the trenches, including eight defensive linemen -- five of which have committed to the program since July 31.
And they are not done there either, with major targets like Duncanville (TX) edge Omari Abor, Martin (Arlington, TX) interior offensive lineman Devon Campbell, Atascocita (Humble, TX) offensive tackle Kam Dewberry still undecided in their commitments.
Texas is also still going to put the press on various committed prospects if and where they can, as there is still a long way to go in all of those recruitments. That, however, will be an uphill battle.
The bottom line?
Until Texas is able to land difference-makers in the trenches on both sides of the ball in consecutive recruiting cycles, they will not be able to compete in the SEC.
At least not yet.
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