Steve Sarkisian Press Conference Reactions! | Texas Longhorns Football | Game Week

[Music] all right I'm Bobby Burton this is CJ vogle joining us from the depths of DKR underneath the actual parking lot area inside DKR where the coaches uh and uh administrators Park CJ you were on campus today uh because Steve sarkeesian uh had his first official press conference of the 2024 season previewing and breaking down Colorado State uh good stuff there CJ I thought it was a very meaty uh me a t y press conference Sark uh went into in depth on a lot of different topics uh CJ but he really started off talking about his approach uh to Colorado State and what he thinks he's going to do this weekend uh given that uh it's goingon to be pretty darn hot in Austin Texas absolutely I don't know if there's anybody by me that likes Saturdays in the fall as much as Steve sarkeesian of course he's amped up he talked about the pageantry and the passion those are the two words that we hear him use all the time to describe college football specifically down here and I think he I don't know if he had a checklist or not but he mentioned bivo Boulevard Smokey the cannon obviously bivo everything that goes on Longhorn City Limits the whole you know nine yards of a game day down here in Austin is what gets him excited for playing down here in Austin and of course Saturday will be a great opportunity for him to uh display this 2024 football team down for the Texas long horns uh it's going to be hot we know that it's hot right now that's why I'm in the shade we in this parking garage Bobby but uh uh the plan for Texas is if you're in the two deep you will be playing at some point this uh upcoming Saturday for the Texas Longhorns there was actually a comparison that Steve sarkeesian had in terms of the rice game a year ago around this time right it was very hot it was 230 kick he said they use 32 to 33 defensive players alone in the first half he says they'll probably use a number very similar to that uh one thing that he and his staff will be looking for with probably under a fine a fine home right now Bobby is take away the mental mistakes right line up correctly don't have any illegal men downfield don't have any offsides don't have any false starts don't have any Block in the backs right it's all about the mental approach make sure that you're mentally prepared for this game and the season to begin and that will set the tone going into the Michigan game week two but of course that's what this staff will be looking for right now of course again if you're in the two deep you will be on the field at some point and sarkeesian was asked if we'll see Arch Manning he said we will see so he he left that up to chance and of course should Texas take care of what they're capable of doing on the field against Colorado State we'll see Arch Manning this weekend I let's H go to Steve sarkeesian now our producer Matt Hutson has some uh video for us from this morning's press availability and then we will get back to some other things Sark said but Matt please roll that tape uh what an exciting time uh anytime you're kicking off the football season um you can kind of feel the excitement in the air you know we had the gond to Texas event last night with President Harel right there at the tower and over 9,000 incoming freshman there and I think the you know the largest incoming freshman class or something so uh it's it's really cool you know the fact that season tickets are sold out again uh the like I said the buzz on campus um I I I always I love game days um even when we even first start at the hotel but I love the fact of like walking down Beville Boulevard and seeing everybody there and and seeing the appearance of our players the excitement they have in their eyes all the way through pregame that that that stuff is is is super cool um you know I know there's a lot of really cool things that are happening this season obviously the 100th year uh anniversary of DKR uh which is a tremendous uh honor to be the had coach to play in the 100th season here uh when you think about all the great teams and the great players and the great coaches and the moments that have occurred in the stadium uh we have an opportunity Saturday to honor um our entire athletic department for the director's cup we have an opportunity to honor all the National Championship uh Champions this season uh and then we also have an opportunity to honor all the Olympians uh from Paris this past summer so a lot of cool things happening Saturday um but the coolest thing is we get to play football again and um we're excited for it we've got a a very tough opponent um coach norell has done a really good job of building that program back up at Colorado State um they were they were you know I know they five and seven last year but there was a lot of close games that could have went either way um they've got a very explosive offense that likes to throw the ball around a dynamic receiver uh in and Tory Horton as well as him being a kick returner a a veteran offensive line with a couple Brad transfers a very veteran uh defense uh with two really good safeties you know all conference safeties that have played a lot of football um and a very intricate special teams unit um very well coached team uh they tax you uh mentally as well as tax you physically uh and this is going to take a great week of uh preparation from our players not only physically but mentally uh because they're going to get challenged uh in all three phases all right that was Steve sarkeesian just moments ago CJ vogle there live he's actually in the uh dungeon that beneath the stadium right now where administrators and coaches Park uh at times in game days and other times uh hey one of the things that Sark talked about when he was talking about how much he liked uh the the uh game day atmosphere he actually said he's converting some of his other coaches the anecdote he gave about Chris Jackson the wide receiver coach sarc a year ago had said hey this is something special when you get to experience game days on Saturdays in college football and Chris Jackson who went to Washington State and what have you he said he finally came up to to Sark this year and told Sark you know what I agree with you a little bit as well right and so there's that kind thing all right let's talk about some more things that Sark went on and discussed uh today CJ before we do that I need to say thank you to our sponsor our sponsor is Allegient digital marketing uh if you're a business owner who struggles with any of the following finding new customers consistent leads finding marketing services and to promote your business that actually work give CEO and founder Chad Markham with allegiate digital marketing a call he has helped thousands of business owners just like you for more than 25 years conquer these very same challenges so if you're ready to start making money in your business and grow with confidence visit Allegent digital.com Onex footb CJ the first thing that comes to my mind when uh Sark talked about this he talked about the depth chart and what he sees as the actual depth chart going into this game it's not just a first string it's a second string and then he's going to figure it out from there that's what it sounded like to me yeah absolutely I mentioned previously you know upwards of 30 players a year ago on the defensive side of the ball playing against rice at this time in the season opener of course it's going to be hot we've talked about that Texas has been preparing for the the Heat and kind of that humidity that they'll face Saturday at 2:30 but more so than that Bobby I mean it's the offensive side of the ball and kind of the depth that Texas has at its disposal there it's nine offensive linemen who are all chomping at the bit they got five guys right now that they feel good about but they got three or four guys beyond that that they feel could be starting caliber players for the Longhorns this year the interesting note is that wide receiver and he said we're going to rotate a lot of players we're going to be up to six or seven guys depending on how we see fit currently and we're going to see how they match up with one another on the field it's not just right finding the right pieces of course that rapport with Quinn that connection with Quinn is very important but how do they work and kind of complement one another on the field when they're there together that's going to be a big key in which they go about monitoring the game film when they dissect it in the film room afterward and of course seeing it play out on the field Saturday against Colorado State a team that's obviously not their own defensive backs and know the tendency of what they like to run in practice that's going to be one of the big takeaways that this staff takes from the season opener and obviously you know kind of employs that against Michigan week two it sure sounds to me from listening to Steve sarkeesian in this press conference today that they are planning to platoon wide receivers uh and what I mean by that I'm talking about full units like these three guys go in with these three guys in the first half and then let's play it by ear a little bit that's what it sounded like to me from listening to him and that's what we've been reporting was likely to happen this year as well CJ uh so I look at it right now and it sounds like they're ready to platoon there they're ready to platoon at possibly defensive end as well maybe safety in uh in corner along with the star position um they're going to play a lot of players one guy that uh you know what I wrote an article for on Texas football this morning saying I was hearing that I didn't know yet who the punter would be I think Sark gave us a real clear indication of who the punter is actually going to be with a response he had today what do what do you agree do do you agree with that and tell folks who it is yeah definitely it kind of felt like he tipped his hand a little bit there with Michael Curran potentially being the starting punter for the Longhorns this upcoming uh Saturday of course he said he's going to be on the field and then kind of retracted and said well I hope not very much right you know he doesn't want to be using that punter all too much but he did say he has the utmost confidence he and Jeff Banks feel very good about where Michael Curran is in his development of course Ian Ratliff has made this a very tight race Texas didn't go out this summer and add a punter from the portal or the grad transfer ranks who we'll talk about Velton Gardner here in a minute because I did ask him about that but he did say he has a lot of confidence he's put a a great boot to ball this fall and uh certainly someone that he expects to go out there and once he gets the hang of it be a really strong weapon for this Texas special teams unit yeah he said he had confidence in the young punter uh from St Thomas coinus down in South Florida uh apparently going to be the starter it sounded like just from that thing another focus of Sark you mentioned it at the outset was minimizing mistakes uh early season uh that really matters to him they did not play a clean game per se against rice a year ago in the uh uh in the first game so they had a lot of uh things to change and make up ground for the Alabama game if you remember that and actually did so very well but Sark wants to come out a little cleaner this year in 2024 than he did in 2023 yeah absolutely and we've talked it the the the theme of the Alabama games over the last two years has been penalties just Texas was on the other side of the penalties right you look back at when Alabama came to Texas week two I think they set a record for penalty set under a Nick saving coach team there and as a result they squeaked out a win and by a point in which they were 22 or 23 Point favorites coming in that cannot be the case that Texas uh has going in Ann Arbor right you cannot go to the defending Champions home and and play floppy game and to have that momentum and that mindset week one to carry over week two it's very important sarkeesian wants to make sure that his team is mentally prepared to go out there play clean football game not just to the game plan and the scheme but penalty wise as well uh I've got breaking news uh that just came in uh to me uh this a tweet from Brian Davis who works for the University used to be a reporter for the Austin American statesman word comes that Edith Royal uh the Widow of Texas coach Daryl Royal passed away this morning she was 98 years old Mrs Royal was kind to me and everyone else uh Brian Davis says love the Longhorns rest in peace that is Daryl Royal's Widow Edith Royal passing away earlier today uh hate to hear about that uh from Brian Davis all right guys uh want to keep on the topic here and we will talk about either Royal later because I actually have a great story about her from back when I was just uh I was your age at that time CJ when I first met her um hey I've gotta say this one other thing that uh Sark mentioned he says with Arch we'll see whether or not he plays in the first half we'll see how did you take that being in the room there with with Sark earlier today yeah I mean I think we all expect to see Arch at some capacity in this uh this game against Colorado State how early I think is the big question right he mentioned everybody in that two deep on both sides of the ball likely will'll get some time in that first half he didn't include Arch Manning there but he did say we will see how early he does get into the football game I I think it'll be of course two things how quickly does Quinn and the offense get out to a a lead and two how does Quinn look early on in the game is it something in which all right I've seen enough he's looking great they're firing in all cylinders let's get the young kid some reps or two uh does he need to stay in the game a little bit longer to find that Rhythm to find that rapport with the wide receivers of course going in Michigan and the other non-conference games is going to be important that Quinn is on the same page with the Isaiah bonds the Ryan Wingo the silus Baldin the Matthew goldens Etc in that room but I do expect to see uh Arch Manning at some point of course Texas choose Malik Murphy uh probably not as much as they would have liked earlier in the year of course Wyoming Bry they they weren't out to these big leads early Bobby as a result you didn't get Malik Murphy some of those big snaps uh snap counts opportunities to throw the ball early in the year luckily and fortunately it paid off regardless but you'd like to get your backup quarterback get his feet a little bit wet early in the year just in case you need him at some point later on one more one more topic I gotta ask you because you actually asked this question I heard you talk about it the running back position with the addition of Velton Gardner over the weekend young man out or actually late last week excuse me uh out of SMU by way of Kansas by way of Dallas Skyline High School he's actually rushed for more than a thousand yards in his college career but he's never been the go-to back uh what did Steve sarkeesian say not only about Garder in his addition but also the running backs as a whole yeah he's a he's going to have a seamless transition into this running back room that was the word that he used that transition will be smooth he's a veteran guy he has a lot of experience running the football obviously five years of football already played Bobby he knows what the grind is like uh there are two things right the number one thing is the way in which he runs the football fits what Texas wants to do kind of that slasher type he has great hands out of the back field sarkeesian actually mentioned that a few times that I made note of uh made note of during the interview and then of course the way that he plays and the style in which he plays fits exactly with that room right now kind of that Trey Weisner jadden Blue Mold right now he's gonna fit that room of course very well adding depth in the game uh and certainly during the season the other thing is sarkeesian was asked about the injuries to CJ Baxter and Christian Clark and whether or not Bobby that would change up the way in which he uses his running backs and we've seen the 51 49 split or 52 48 uh play calling split over the past few years in favor of the Run game would that change up the way that he calls his games or two the way that it kind of is called for the running backs sarkeesian said no he said it very bluntly he said they're going to run between the tackles they're going to run between the tackles because that's the way that they've been trained so for Jaden blue for Trey Weisner for for jarck Gibson those guys will be using or or be used in the same manner that we've seen from a Jonathan Brooks and bejan Robinson and Roshan Johnson uh I've got someone here posting on the site Rob mfield says 121 hours until game until kickoff I think everybody is ready CJ I know you got to get back because some players are actually have availabilities now anything else you want to add that you heard from Texas football coach Steve sarkeesian today yeah absolutely again it's all about the confidence and we've heard it from sarkeesian with this team uh you know four years in now only five players remain on this roster Bobby who he did not recruit I think that's worth noting to make it feel like it is more of his team and he kind of laughed at the idea that it is his team but he does say you know it does take on the personality of him he's the one kind of row the boat he's the one that kind of steers them uh to Daylight if you will of course he feels great about the leadership committee one quote that I loved from him this afternoon was our culture will win us football games and of course he pointed out that a year ago out of the 12 football games that Texas played in eight of them had one score deficit or lead in the fourth quarter at some point during that ball game that culture and that leadership who he says is now up to 20 to 30 guys that have been in the program for for you know three or four years that he feels great about being asked to uh uh be a leader for this team that's going to be a big part of this Texas personality in 2024 very confident in their ability to get get things done on the field even when facing some adversity all right we've got the uh the uh winning Drive coming up at 3 o'clock 3:15 Jarry uh you uh CJ as well as rod babers and Bob Shipley will be on there you'll be having a conversation about what you heard uh further in depth and also be taking questions uh from folks on the chat line uh as well as what you hear from the players that are available uh to the media later today again that's at 3:15 uh our condolences go out once again uh to the royal family Edith Royal passing away uh at age 98 uh I am being told that that uh Steve sarkeesian did talk about that I did not hear that part uh but uh look uh hope that the Royal Family is okay lived a long uh fruitful life in my opinion and one of the uh real uh Treasures of the University of Texas uh today all right CJ uh like we said 121 one hours left five days remaining we're almost ready Steve sarkeesian can't wait the the the guys were practicing this morning get back out there and talk to some of those uh players and see what else you can drag up for us looks like Michael Kern will be the starting punter uh and uh s focused on minimizing mistakes in game one and playing a lot of players that that really are the those are the major takeaways H from today's press conference for Steve sarkeesian all right for CJ vogle and our producer Matt Hutson I'm Bobby Burton this has been an on Texas football breaking news report have a good one