Vince Young explains what Steve Sarkisian is doing to bring Texas back to prominence

Texas fans have fond memories of Vince Young crossing the goal line in the fourth quarter of the national championship against USC. Some not-so-fond moments have come over the past decade but Steve Sarkisian has taken over as the head coach, hoping to bring back similar memories from those in 2005.

Young recently made an appearance on ESPN to talk about the progress Sarkisian is making with the program. He said the head coach is making the right moves but there is still work to be done. Moving in the right direction has been tough for the Longhorns over the past decade and Young feels as if Sarkisian is going the right way.

“Well, honestly, Coach Sark is doing everything he is supposed to do right now,” Young said. “I have the opportunity to be around him a lot and hear his speeches, building the universe of the team. I really feel like he is moving in the right direction. He just got to continue to keep working at it.

“The young guys and the players got to understand you have one of the best coaches to learn from. So all you have to do is do the work. I really put a lot of pressure on our offensive and defensive line because it always starts up front. But I really do like the direction Coach is going.”

Sarkisian has been putting a major emphasis on getting better at the line of scrimmage since taking over the job. During Big 12 Media Days, he revealed that he knew Texas needed to be better up front during his interview with athletic director Chris Del Conte.

He’s been able to back up what he is saying as well, bringing in 15 offensive or defensive linemen via Texas’ 2022 recruiting class. All but one of them were ranked at least as four-star prospect by the On3 Consensus as well, led by five-star prospects Kelvin Banks and Devon Campbell.

With those kinds of results, Sarkisian has the backing of everybody involved with the university. Young revealed Sarkisian can come off as authentic as well and has the support of not only the national championship-winning quarterback but also the alumni network.

“What he says, he means,” said Young. When you can get that as a coach, especially from a player’s perspective you want to fight hard and work hard for that person. I really feel like he’s going in the right direction. He got guys like myself and the entire alumni behind him. We’re looking forward to this season. It should be a fun season for us.”

Sarkisian and Texas have an important season ahead of them, needing to drastically improve off their 5-7 record from a year ago. Some tough games are on the schedule, including Alabama at home in Week 2. Getting some big-time wins would keep the Longhorns on the path Young envisions them cruising on for a long time.