Steve Sarkisian discusses impact of Texas' move to SEC on roster building
This is an interesting recruiting class for Texas. Remember, the Longhorns are getting ready to move to the SEC, meaning the recruiting philosophy is going to have to change.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian realizes that, and some of his signees reflect the future of the program.
“How we think roster-wise is maybe a little bit SEC-oriented,” Sarkisian told reporters on National Signing Day. “Clearly, we want to be big up front, and I think that was a clear point of emphasis to what we were doing and how we were doing it, whether it was on the offensive or defensive line.
“That’s a physical conference. We like to play a physical brand of football, regardless of who we’re playing, so I think that that kind of went hand-in-hand with our approach, naturally, to potentially what could be down the road.”
Texas has the No. 5 recruiting class, according to the On3 Consensus Team Rankings, including the top offensive tackle recruit in the country in Kelvin Banks. The Longhorns have five other offensive linemen signed, as well.
Sarkisian also got a huge victory in the transfer portal, landing Ohio State transfer and former Five Star Plus+ quarterback Quinn Ewers.
Quinn Ewers commits to Texas
Texas has landed a commitment from one of the most anticipated players in college football history, Quinn Ewers. The former Ohio State quarterback officially announced his decision on Sunday night via Twitter.
Ewers was originally a member of the 2022 class, before reclassifying and graduating early from Southlake Carroll to enroll at Ohio State a year early. He was the No. 1 player on the On3 Consensus for both classes as a Five Star Plus+, meaning he’s one of the only players in the nation to be ranked as a five star by all four major recruiting companies.
When Ewers entered the transfer portal, Texas, Texas Tech, and Texas A&M were reportedly the three schools in the running. TCU eventually got in the mix, getting a visit from the quarterback. In the end, the Longhorns and Red Raiders battled it out with Steve Sarkisian coming out on top.
Before ending up with the Buckeyes, Ewers committed to Texas in August of 2020 under then-head coach Tom Herman. After results on the field started to go south for the Longhorns, he reopened his recruitment. Ryan Day was able to haul in one of the highest-rated quarterbacks ever.
Ewers got snaps in an Ohio State uniform in just one game, handing the ball off in the blowout win against Michigan State. He never attempted a pass and sometimes didn’t even travel with the Buckeyes to away games.
That will change quite quickly in Austin, where he is already seen as the likely starter for next season. Sarkisian struggled with the quarterback position consistently last season, flipping back and forth between Hudson Card and Casey Thompson. Thompson entered the transfer portal earlier this week.