Three things to know from Steve Sarkisian: Saturday scrimmage recap, veteran development, roster honesty
Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was available to the media on Tuesday morning following another day on the practice fields for the Longhorns. Here are three things to know from Sarkisian, including a brief scrimmage recap, the heaping of more praise on veteran players, and what discussions with players consist of at the end of spring.
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Saturday scrimmage recap
Texas held a second day of practice filled with scrimmage action on Saturday as the program moves closer and closer to the Orange-White game on April 15. Sarkisian noted the experienced players were able to lead from the front during the intrasquad action, with younger players eventually following their examples.
“I thought our veterans really were dialed into what we’re doing, what we’re trying to do, the way we practice,” Sarkisian said. “The way we scrimmaged, I thought it was good Saturday for a lot of our younger players. You could feel a little bit of excitement. Kind of some unforced errors early on in the scrimmage, and then they started to kind of settle in and start to play the way they had been practicing, which is why you need to scrimmage. You’ve got to put guys in some uncomfortable settings and then they’ve got to learn how to get comfortable in those settings.”
As Texas enters the final third of its allotted spring practices, Sarkisian said he wants players to dive into the details of where they need improvement, whether that be on or off the field.
“Spring ball is obviously a unique time of year where there’s no game,” Sarkisian said. “We have our spring game, but there’s no real opponent at the end of it. Everybody’s got to be really intentional in their approach to what they need to do for themselves to continue to raise their level of play in whatever that looks like.”
Of course, examples of being intentional go a long way toward helping those younger members of the roster navigate their way through those uncomfortable situations. Sarkisian offered Jordan Whittington, Quinn Ewers, Ja’Tavion Sanders, Jerrin Thompson, Byron Murphy, and Barryn Sorrell as Longhorns that came to mind when asked about vocal leadership.
Texas will be back on the practice field on Thursday.
Gbenda, Crawford, Blackwell earn praise for strong springs
Linebackers David Gbenda and Morice Blackwell and safety Kitan Crawford are three players who have made the most of 2023 winter conditioning and spring practice.
Regarding Gbenda, Sarkisian said he hasn’t just had a good spring. Rather, Gbenda has had a good year going back to his work in the weight room and improved understanding of the defensive scheme with position coach Jeff Choate.
With Crawford, Sarkisian said the Tyler native not only is making special teams plays, but also plays during conventional down action.
“(Gbenda) is playing good football for us,” Sarkisian said. “Probably the best version of David Gbenda that we’ve seen to go along with Kitan Crawford. I think this is the best version of Kitan Crawford. He’s still doing what he’s always done on special teams. He blocked a field goal Saturday, which is what we always expect of him with the special teams stuff. What he’s doing in the secondary now, it is very comforting to know that a guy can grow into that position. The beauty of it is with those guys, they earned their opportunities and now they’re getting their opportunities, and they can be a model for a younger player.”
Sarkisian delivered similar praise for Blackwell, who was mentioned as having a better understanding of the defense than at any point in his Longhorn career.
“Same thing,” Sarkisian said. “Year three. The majority of the work he had done was on special teams throughout his career. I think we saw glimpses of him last year on defense where he made some really big plays for us.”
Standing on the roster won’t be any secret
Sarkisian was asked if he uses the 15 available spring practices to create an internal depth chart ahead of fall camp or if he prefers to wait until a handful of preseason practices have elapsed before making those kind of decisions.
“I think you’d like to have an idea of remotely where you’re at,” Sarkisian said. “I meet with every player at the end of spring and I like to tell them where they’re at. ‘If we were playing next Saturday, this is where you would be on the depth chart.’
“That doesn’t mean it’s the end-all-be-all. ‘Here’s what you need to work on to either keep that spot or what you need to do to earn that spot that’s in front of you.’ We like to have an idea mostly so we can be honest and realistic with them of where they’re at, and then what they need to do moving forward to become the best player that they can.”
With the Texas spring game on April 15 — the same day the spring transfer portal window opens for football — Sarkisian knows there are likely to be changes to his roster in the days after those conversations occur.
“The reality of it is we’ll probably have some movement at the end of spring, going and coming,” Sarkisian said. “I don’t know exactly what it’s going to look like yet. I don’t know if some players have made decisions or not. Ultimately, that’s the time we’re in nowadays.”
