Live updates: Steve Sarkisian recaps Iowa State, looks forward to trip to Oklahoma State
After the Texas Longhorns’ 24-21 win over the Iowa State Cyclones, UT head coach Steve Sarkisian is set to address the media beginning around 11 a.m. Central. Longhorn Network and TexasSports.com will televise the press conference. 104.9 The Horn will broadcast it in Austin and on hornfm.com
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Steve Sarkisian press conference updates
Steve Sarkisian: “This was a good team win. This was a good culture win for us because it wasn’t easy.”
Steve Sarkisian: “This week, we’re going to play a very good team on the road, a veteran football team. Coach Gundy’s he’s done a great job.” — Says they use tempo well and have a veteran defensive line.
Steve Sarkisian on Ryan Watts: “Ryan’s great. Very fortunate, nothing worse. He was back on the field with us today, which is a great sign.”
Steve Sarkisian: “A year ago, I don’t know if we win that game. I don’t know if we were mature enough as a culture, to persevere.” — “We were not perfect, but we made some critical plays.”
Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: “We’ve all seen quarterbacks airmail that ball or throw it in the dirt.” — Compliments his composure on the touchdown pass to Xavier Worthy, plus Worthy’s route.
Steve Sarkisian on the Big 12: “It’s a great conference. A bunch of really good coaches and a bunch of really good players that compete at a high level.” — “There is a lot of parity. There is a lot of football to be played in our conference.”
Steve Sarkisian on road struggles: “I think poise and composure is really important on the road. The crowd’s not cheering for you, it’s cheering against you.” — Says when adversity strikes on the road, there is a need for mental intensity, maturity, poise and composure on the road to overcome it.
Steve Sarkisian on Bijan Robinson: “One thing I value about Bijan, and I don’t think it makes him different than other people, for being as good of a player as he is, I really think it’s the person that makes it different.”
Steve Sarkisian on the Oklahoma State defense, says Derek Mason saw a lot of the success that Jim Knowles created and “adopted a lot of what they did, but you can definitely see (Mason’s) fingerprints on it as well.”
Steve Sarkisian on Spencer Sanders, calls him the “ultimate competitor”: “He’s an impressive young man, you can tell he’s the leader of that team, you can see the guys rallying behind him.”
Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: “I give him a lot of credit for regrouping and getting himself back.”
Steve Sarkisian on Hayden Conner: “He’s battled a little bit of a stinger deal.” — “He’s a tough guy. He’s bought in. He’s a natural leader. We even felt that a year ago when he was a freshman.”
Steve Sarkisian on the third down defense: “It felt like a combination of things. We have two third downs we jump offsides. Those are two of their conversions.” — “The third and eight in the red zone, we don’t have very good pass rush lanes on third and eight.” — on other ones, he says they had coverages they didn’t play right, or some where the coverage wasn’t as tight, some where they didn’t read the pocket shifting well.
Steve Sarkisian says Maalik Murphy will be the scout team stand-in for Spencer Sanders this week.
Steve Sarkisian on if he would go for two like Utah did versus USC, mentions he has to have “a feel for the momentum of the game” when it comes to his decision.
Steve Sarkisian on the defense: “I think the biggest thing I’m pleased with is our effort. I think when you watch us play, there’s not many times you can say ‘they’re loafing, they’re not trying hard.'” — “The effort, the tenacity, the physicality that we’re playing with is something I’m really proud of.”
