Steve Sarkisian shares who opposing teams should fear on Texas defense

Much of the attention this year is on the Texas offense, and understandably so. But the Longhorns defense has some playmakers, and Steve Sarkisian noted the defender opposing teams should fear this season.

Sarkisian singled out D’Shawn Jamison as a player to watch on that side of the ball. He said so during Texas’ Orange-White spring game on Saturday, and noted he had a good showing in spring practice.

“In the back end, I’d keep an eye on [D’Shawn] Jamison,” Sarkisian said. “He’s been a ballhawk all spring.”

Jamison is coming off a solid 2021 season, totaling 49 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery for the Longhorns. He opted to come back for one more year — his fifth in college football. Out of high school, Jamison was a four-star recruit and the No. 13 prospect in the state of Texas from the Class of 2018, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Sarkisian noted Jamison had a solid showing in the spring game, and it sounds like he could play a major role for Texas in 2022.

Steve Sarkisian gives blunt assessment of Quinn Ewers play in spring game

One of the biggest storylines of the Texas Orange and White spring game Saturday night is the quarterback competition. Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card are competing for the starting job, and both are in action Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.

During the spring game, Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian spoke with the Longhorn Network about both quarterbacks’ performances, particularly Ewers’ first few sequences. He threw a beautiful 60-yard touchdown pass, but then proceeded to throw an interception.

Sarkisian offered a blunt assessment of the performance so far.

“I thought so far, up until the last throw, they were making good decisions, throwing the ball where it needed to go,” Sarkisian said. “I thought Quinn might have forced one there, but that’s part of the growing pains. He made a great throw on the touchdown, then comes back and throws a pick. So we’ve just got to keep working through it.”

Texas isn’t keeping score for the game, but Sarkisian said he liked what he saw from the offense early on. He also pointed out the defense needs to shore up a bit, but getting Ewers to throw an interception was a good sign.

“I think the first offense is moving the ball really well,” Sarkisian said. “[It has] been effective, created some explosive plays. … I thought the first drive of the first defense, we were a little shaky. Then they settled in the last two drives and obviously created a turnover, that was big.”