SARK, UT PLAYERS AT SEC MEDIA DAYS | Longhorns driving head-on into first SEC season

DALLAS – A College Football Playoff appearance, a Big 12 Conference championship in his team’s last season in that league, and a multi-talented team coming back, not much could dampen the spirits of University of Texas head football coach Steve Sarkisian these days.

And that was evident when Sarkisian took his turn at the podium on Wednesday afternoon at Southeastern Conference Media Days at The Omni here, the day after one of his biggest rivals – Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables, whose program also enters the league this season – fielded all sorts of questions about diving into the conference head first in the 2024 season.

Sarkisian first wished well those who were ill-affected by Hurricane Beryl, and then thanked his mentor, former Alabama head coach Nick Saban, who retired after guiding the Crimson Tide to yet another appearance in the CFP in 2023. Saban, the seven-time national championship winner, once had Sark as his offensive coordinator – in fact, that’s the position Sark was in when he accepted the job as the UT head coach.

“I know everybody has been coming up talking about it, and you know you’ve impacted a lot of people who have been up on this stage,” Sarkisian said, talking directly to Saban, who sat on the SEC Network stage often this week. “No one have you impacted more than me. I would not be standing here today without you and what you’ve meant to my career, to my life, and I can’t thank you enough, and the impact that you’ve had on our game has been second to none, and I just can’t thank you enough. I want to be able to publicly do that to you, Coach. Thank you very, very much.”

Sarkisian also addressed, as did almost every coach this week, the passing of Monte Kiffin, the defensive guru and father of Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin.

Monte Kiffin had many stops – Arkansas under Lou Holtz and the Tampa Bay Bucs among them – and created the renowned Tampa 2 defense.

“I learned more about Tampa 2 than anybody, so anybody who’s playing me, please play Tampa 2 because I can tell you exactly who’s supposed to go where, how and why because that’s how Monte Kiffin was,” Sark said. “He was so detailed. He was a genuine man. He cared for all of those that nobody cared about.

“It’s a dear loss, not only for the sport of football, but it’s a dear loss for me and I know for Lane, and my condolences to the Kiffin family on that.”

And now, to the field, where the ‘Horns had few problems a year ago. They managed to win the showdown with Saban and Alabama in Tuscaloosa, a very rare non-conference loss for the Tide there; they won the Big 12 Conference, as mentioned, demolishing Oklahoma State, UT did, on its way out the proverbial door at AT&T Stadium; and reached the College Football Playoff, losing in New Orleans to Washington in the semifinal round.

The field this year, though, won’t be the Big 12. It’ll be the SEC, and although Texas doesn’t have to face Alabama or LSU, they do host Georgia, visit old Southwest Conference rival Arkansas, keep Oklahoma on the schedule, and to boot, they visit defending national champion Michigan the second weekend of the season (Sept. 7).

He’ll have quarterback Quinn Ewers back to run the offense. Ewers, already mentioned among Heisman Trophy favorites, completed 69 percent of his throws last year for 3,479 yards, 22 touchdowns and threw six interceptions, and ran for five touchdowns, as well.

Ewers drew attention for his beltbuckle on Wednesday, but he noted it won’t be his first time to go to Ann Arbor. Ewers transferred from Ohio State to Texas a few years ago.

“To be the best, you’ve got to play the best,” Ewers said. “We’re all fired up to go, like you said, up to Ann Arbor. It’s actually my second time going up there. I was up there when Ohio State played ’em back in 2021. It’s going to be cool to go back up there and see, and now I understand the hatred that Ohio State has for them. I understand the rivalry. So it’s going to be cool to carry that. Overall excited for the season and all the great games that we’re going to have on schedule.”

Will Ewers wind up having to manage so-called Heisman Hype if he’s having a big year? If so, he’ll be able to handle it, Sarkisian said.

“You know, I think Quinn is probably like the coolest guy in the room,” Sark said. “He doesn’t get caught up in what a Heisman – if you asked him, would he even know? He’s just not caught up in that stuff. When Quinn gets free time, he’s going to go hunt or he’s going to go fish. When he’s here, he’s going to work, and he’s just working on his craft. He’s being with his teammates.

“Even in game, when you think about Quinn, when he shows those moments of emotion on a great throw, it’s almost like shocking to people because even when the bad moments occur, he stays so calm and so cool in the moment that with the hype, I just don’t think we have to worry too much about that. He’s more focused on trying to win a championship, playing the best football he can play, being the best leader, the best teammate he can be. “That’s probably more important to him than what award might be down the road because some people are saying he might win it. There’s so much football to go play, I don’t think he’s worried about it at all.”

Sark might have had the quote of the week when he noted what it was like to be the coach of Texas when you’re losing.

“I’ll tell you this much,” he said. “5-7 in Austin, Texas sucks. That was hard. That was hard on me. That was hard on players. That was hard on a lot of people. 8-5 was a little more palatable for people.

“But as you continue to stay committed to who you are and you stay committed to your course of action, you stay committed to what you believe in, over time you start to reap the benefits of that.”

The Longhorns open the season on Aug. 31 at home against Colorado State.