Steve Sarkisian sets bold goal on playing time for beginning of season
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian knows he’s going to rely on young players this season, considering more than two-thirds of his 2022 roster is made up of freshmen and sophomores. This week, the second-year Longhorns head coach told ESPN’s Chris Low that he intends to play those young athletes early, not only to develop depth but to also deal with blistering conditions.
“For the first month and a half of the season, it’s going to be 100 degrees, so we have to have the ability to play more players,” Sarkisian said.
Fans may take issue with Sarkisian’s approach, however. The month of September is as critical as any for the Longhorns who are hoping to turn around a 5-7 finish from 2021.
Longhorns facing tough September schedule
Although Texas starts the season with a game versus ULM, the three weeks after that provide some significant challenges.
Beginning with Sept. 10, Sarkisian and his squad take on his former boss and the Alabama Crimson Tide. The Tide are the unanimous preseason No. 1 team and they feature the returning Heisman winner, along with Will Anderson and 20 other preseason All-SEC honorees.
In Week 3, the Longhorns must face the up-and-coming UTSA Roadrunners, coached by third-year head coach Jeff Traylor. Last season, the Roadrunners upset Illinois to start the season on the way to a one-loss regular season finish.
To close out September, Texas travels to Lubbock to take on Texas Tech.
Steve Sarkisian has emphasized that August is the time to move players around the depth chart to make sure he’s finding the players with the most consistency.
“Nothing is written in stone, there’s a lot of moving parts that can happen on our team over the next 32 days,” Sarkisian said to start fall camp. “So, constant evaluation, not rushing to judgment, I think is going to be critical as we work our way through training camp and allowing some things to play out for themselves will be big for us.”