Steve Sarkisian gives blunt response to reporter asking about Texas' penalty issues
Texas has been up and down at times this year. Much of it has to do with the team’s penchant for drawing penalties, much to the dismay of coach Steve Sarkisian.
The Longhorns rank No. 118 nationally in penalties, near the bottom of the FBS. The team is flagged 8.2 times per game for an average of 65.3 penalty yards per contest.
It’s to the point that it’s become a routine topic for Texas beat reporters to press Sarkisian on. One reporter asked this week what was going on with the penalties and why they have been a continued thing.
“We’re getting called for penalties,” Sarkisian said bluntly. He shook his head slightly as he answered.
The reporter was quick to press him further. “Well is there a reason why?”
“There’s a variety of them,” Sarkisian said. Again, not sharing much beyond that.
But he would be pressed a third time on the penalties by reporters. The question they wanted to know was what can be done to combat the issues, especially if previous methodologies have failed?
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“I think that’s when you’ve got to make some of the tough decisions, right?” Sarkisian said. “It’s one thing, again, there’s a variety of penalties. What types of penalties are we getting and then can they be rectified? And if they can be rectified and then they don’t get rectified, then you’ve got to make some of those tough decisions. I think that’s the thing.”
Sarkisian didn’t explain what he meant by tough decisions, but presumably it would be benching players with repeat infractions. That’s typically the quickest way to get a guy’s attention.
But again, Sarkisian didn’t want to hone in too much on particulars. From the sound of it, he believes there’s no simple answer.
“I think it’s easy to throw a blanket statement out, ‘What’s up with the penalties?'” Sarkisian said. “Well what are the types of penalties, when are they occurring, how are they occurring? That’s when you’ve got to drill deep. You’ve got to look deeper than just throwing a blanket over something.”