College football coaches rave about Steve Sarkisian's ability to prepare players for NFL Draft

SEC coaches heaped praise of Steve Sarkisian for how quickly he has been able to Texas back into an elite producer of NFL talent. The Longhorns saw 12 players taken in the 2025 NFL Draft, a school record for the seven-round era.

That number also marked the third-most of any program in the country and the second-most in the SEC behind Georgia, who had 13 players drafted. That would be impressive in any year, but it is even more so considered where Texas was in terms of NFL talent when Sarkisian took over in 2021.

Coming off of a 5-7 finish in the coach’s first season, the Longhorns saw no players drafted for only the second time in school history. To now have taken the program to the opposite end of history is no small feat, and one that earned Sarkisian a pat on the back from other coaches in a recent article from ESPN.

“Texas had a huge number, set the record,” an SEC coach said. “Three years ago, they didn’t have anyone. Now he sets the record. That’s pretty impressive by Sark.”

When combining the previous two years, no team has more players drafted than Texas (23). This year’s class included three Longhorns players drafted in the first round and five defensive players taken.

“Especially on defense, they’re ridiculous,” one SEC offensive coordinator added according to ESPN.

Texas’ level of talent has been evident on the field the past two seasons as it made the College Football Playoff in both years. The Longhorns advanced to the CFP semifinals this past year before falling against eventualy champion Ohio State, which had 14 players drafted, the most of any team.

Texas saw players such as Xavier Worthy and T’Vondre Sweat blossom in their rookie NFL seasons in 2024. Worthy even helped the Kansas City Chiefs make another appearance in the Super Bowl, finishing second on the team with 59 catches for 639 yards and six touchdowns.

Offensive lineman Kelvin Banks was the first Longhorn off the board this year, going ninth overall to the New Orleans Saints. Cornerback Jahdae Barron and receiver Matthew Golden joined him as the other Texas players to be taken in Round 1.

They’ll look to go on to become the next Longhorns alumni to make an impact in the pros. As for Steve Sarkisian, he has another roster loaded with NFL talent and it’s safe to safe there will be another big number of Texas players taken in 2026.