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Is Texas becoming more battle-tested? + Steve Sarkisian on the SEC Coaches Teleconference

Joe Cookby: Joe Cook4 hours agojosephcook89
Steve Sarkisian
Oct 26, 2024; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian watches against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Have the Longhorns gained battle scars during SEC play? Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian believes so.

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“I think we’re growing up,” Sarkisian said on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday. “I think we learned lessons in Gainesville, too. I think we learn from losses and failure. I think we’ve grown through a couple of tough losses on the road. I think we’ve grown through some big wins. I think the OU win was a big win for us in controlling ourselves emotionally but playing with the right type of energy.

“I think (we’re) learning how to play on the road and the togetherness and connectivity that you have to have. I think we’re growing up. Like I said Saturday and Monday, this is the most connected we’ve been as a team all year. We’ve grown together and we’re playing as a team. That’s what you have to have in this conference. You can’t be one-dimensional. You’ve got to lean into one side of the ball to the other. You’ve got to be good on special teams. You’ve got to be really good at the critical moments in-game.

“Our games right now are becoming more and more like the NFL than it ever has been. It’s a lot of one-possession games. How you play in those critical moments, from play-calling, to personnel groupings, to execution in those moments is really critical. I think from where we were to where we are now, we’re much more equipped to handle those types of situations as they present themselves.”

More updates from Sarkisian on the SEC Coaches Teleconference

Opening statement: “Great to be back at home at DKR. Been over a month since our last home game. The challenges of playing on the road in the SEC are obviously daunting. To come out of that four-game stretch 3-1 with some tight victories the last couple of weeks, both overtime games, I think speaks to the resiliency and mental toughness that our team has. Without question, it’s great to be back home against a really good Vanderbilt team. I think Clark (Lea) has done a great job. They’re playing very efficient offensive football. They’re playing really sound defense and keeping people out of the end zone. They’re playing well on teams. They’re playing really good complementary football. We’re going to need to play well in all three phases to try to come out on top.”

Steve Sarkisian on Arch Manning and Michael Taaffe, says both Taaffe and Manning practiced today: “Arch is obviously still in protocol. There are steps as it pertains to protocol. But Michael has practiced the last two days.”

Steve Sarkisian on Vanderbilt’s tight ends: “I don’t know what everyone is doing around the country. I know they do a great job of it and they’re all very versatile guys. They all have their strengths. They do a nice job schematically of using them and playing to their strengths. Yet, you can’t just hunker down on that’s all that they do. They’re versatile enough to where they can do multiple things. Credit to the staff and credit to those players that they can use them in a variety of ways in the pass game but also in the run game. They’re a big part of what they do in the run game as well.”

Steve Sarkisian on how missing Michael Taaffe may have affected the defensive performance against Mississippi State: “One, (Jeff) Lebby does a really good job. It’s a unique style of offense that they play with the big splits, the vertical stress they put on you, the RPO stress that they put on you, and I think that was a lot of the issue, especially early on. We weren’t getting a ton of pressure on the quarterback. We were trying to play the run and the pass at the same time. Our DBs were getting isolated. Then, they hit us on a couple of crossing routes because we’re so stretched wide. I thought we shifted some things. So much of pass coverage is tied together with the pass rush. I thought we did a better job late in the game of applying pressure and that forced the ball to come out quicker. And, maybe, forced a couple of errant throws and allowed us to be tighter in coverage and also allowed us to get home and create some sacks and some negative plays. I think those two things tie together.

“Clearly, we’ve got to trust our fundamentals, our techniques, and be on the same page communication wise in the back end. But tying the pass rush and the coverage together is vitally important for us. Naturally, when you don’t have a player of Michael’s caliber, you’re going to miss him. You’re going to miss the playmaking ability. You’re going to miss his ability to fix issues in real time as they’re happening on the field and not have to wait to get to the bench to fix it. When you don’t have a player of his caliber, you’re going to miss him to some degree. I thought we could have played better collectively. What I’m glad (about) is we were able to play better as the game went on. In the fourth quarter, really, the only big pass they hit was the checkdown to the running back on the broken play. Outside of that, I thought our pass defense was much better in the fourth quarter and overtime.”

Steve Sarkisian on Vanderbilt’s schemes and how different they are from last year: “Schematically, definitely similar. Who they are offensively, the style of offense, the multiple looks that they can give you from formations, to sets, to the traditional run game, to the quarterback-driven run game, to the option run game, to utilizing the tight ends in the pass game, to the screen game, there’s a lot that goes into the way they play. You’ve got to be very disciplined in that approach. Defensively at their core, what Clark has done in his background on defense and what they’ve built on hasn’t changed. They’ve definitely evolved defensively and they’ve got some really good players on that side of the ball that they’ve brought into the program. Schematically, it hasn’t changed a whole, whole lot. Like all of us, we evolve and grow from one year to the next. Very sound team. Really good schemes. They tax you and challenge you in all three phases. You’ve got to be on your toes in this game.”

Steve Sarkisian on his message to the team with everything still in front of the Longhorns: “I think from a big picture standpoint, I’m always very honest with our players. I think they understand what’s in front of us. None of that is a reality unless we can take care of business on Saturday. We’ve got a top 10 opponent coming to town. This is a heck of a challenge. I love it for our team, the opportunity this weekend. I love it for our fans, it should be a great environment in DKR. Our focus is really on Saturday quite frankly.”

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