LIVE UPDATES: Steve Sarkisian takes the podium to preview Rice, recap the preseason

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian will be available to the media today at 11 a.m. Central to discuss the end of preseason camp and preview the Longhorns’ Week 1 matchup with the Rice Owls to start the 2023 campaign.

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Players will then be available in breakout sessions following Sarkisian’s time with the media as they prepare for the Longhorns’ last season in the Big 12.

Stay tuned to Inside Texas for updates below. The press conference can be seen on Longhorn Network and on TexasSports.com.

LIVE UPDATES

Steve Sarkisian: “Game week. Awesome time of the year. Felt odd Saturday after our mock game going home and watching college football and not being a part of it.”

Steve Sarkisian: “We’ve got a veteran opponent coming to town. Rice is a team that has a great deal of experience, returning a lot of starters especially on the defensive side of the ball. They got a quarterback who’s played with a ton of experience, he’s played twice here in his career. They’re hard-nosed. They’re tough. They’ve got very intricate schemes, so we’ve got our work cut out for us from a preparation standpoint.”

Steve Sarkisian says Rice will challenge them with an intricate style of play, and the way they play with a “relentless” style.

Steve Sarkisian says Morice Blackwell will be out for a couple of weeks. Every other player will be available, per Sarkisian.

What will Sarkisian look for on Saturday outside of winning the contest? Most importantly, “playing our style of football.”

Steve Sarkisian says the current running backs “just need to do what they’ve done throughout practice” and not try to put in superhuman effort to replace Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson.

Steve Sarkisian on Jonathon Brooks and CJ Baxter: “There’s physical stature and running style of a physical nature. I think both those guys are not just physical at the point of attack but they’re elusive in the open field. They got good pass receiving skills, and they’re both very smart. In our system, the running back, that intellect is important. Both those guys are smart players.”

Steve Sarkisian on how he challenged his older players, mentions he talks to the older players early on so younger players recognize the staff is coaching everybody. “How do we want the movie to go this year? What did they do to set the stage to write that script so that movie can play out?”

Steve Sarkisian: “We’ve got to embrace the hate. You can’t just sit back and keep taking punsches, and it’s just okay. At some point, you have to go hunt, you have to punch back, and you have to fight back. That’s what we’re imploring veterans to do.”

Steve Sarkisian says Maalik Murphy and Arch Manning are “both doing well” — “Who do we feel like come Thursday is the guy that earned that opportunity to be the backup this week, that’ll be who the backup is.”

Steve Sarkisian says both DJ Campbell and Cole Hutson will play at right guard on Saturday.

Steve Sarkisian says the lack of a battle has allowed for him to coach Quinn Ewers differently: “It’s coaching him to be the best that he an be and not feel like sometimes that I’m pointing things out that he’s doing wrong.”

Steve Sarkisian says that during this training camp, the lack of a battle at QB has allowed him to “focus on the entirety of the team.” Kyle Flood and AJ Milwee allowed Sarkisian to “stay connected to the defensive side of the ball and on special teams” more so than during the install year in 2021 and the QB battle ahead of 2022.

Steve Sarkisian: “I think we’ve got really good playmakers on this team. I’ve got a pretty good understanding of who Xavier Worthy is. A pretty good understanding of JT Sanders, Jordan Whittington, AD Mitchell, a pretty good understanding of those guys. I’ve got a pretty good understanding that Jaylan Ford is going to find the football in some way, shape, or form. Now going through training camp, pretty good understanding Jalen Catalon is going to find the football.”

Steve Sarkisian: “I’m a fan of football. I’m a fan of college football. I’m a fan of high school football. I’m a fan of the NFL. We’ve got coaches on the team whose sons are playing little league ball. It’s that time of year, so that part always kind of perks me up.”

Steve Sarkisian on Brett Yormark’s comments: “I got a letter from the commissioner about sportsmanship the day before that speech. So I’m trying to figure out what are we promoting to our student-athletes and then to go say those types of things. I’m guessing he’s not going to have his Thanksgiving dinner with us the night before the game. The reality of it is, there’s a lot that has been made about that. A lot has been made about a t-shirt being made. Let’s not make this more than it is. This is about us. We’re focused on what we need to do and why we get to do it. We’re proud to be part of the University of Texas. We’re proud to represent the burnt orange. We’re proud to represent 550,000 living alumni. We’re proud to represent four national championship teams. We’re proud to get to go do that, and we know who’s behind us. That’s okay, now let’s go play.”