On Texas Football: Spring football reactions, Steve Sarkisian's first press conference of 2023
In the latest edition of On Texas Football, Inside Texas’ Bobby Burton and Joe Cook discuss what they saw at Monday’s first spring practice for the Texas Longhorns and what they heard from UT head coach Steve Sarkisian in the press conference that followed.
[Get FOUR MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for just $10!]
In this episode, Bobby and Joe discuss…
What stood out to each during the limited viewing period for the local media? Joe noted how many members of the 2023 class who had early enrolled were already contending for spots near the top of the depth chart. That wasn’t limited to Arch Manning, but also DeAndre Moore, Johntay Cook, CJ Baxter, and others. Bobby agreed, saying “the Longhorns have some freshmen, to your point of view, Joe, who certainly impress on the hoof. In what little we did see, whether it was athleticism, ability to go up and catch the ball in traffic, drive the ball deep downfield in the case of Arch Manning, even Liona Lefau in coverage as a true freshman, just really, really impressive across the board.”
The two get into what Sarkisian talked about during his press conference, including what Sarkisian wants to improve. The head coach’s answer was pass game and pass rush. When it comes to pass rush, there are more questions than answers outside of Barryn Sorrell, especially at the buck position. “He said, right now we don’t know. Ask me that in a couple of weeks,” Burton said.
Xavier Worthy’s hand injury, which Sarkisian publicly revealed on Monday, was brought up. Worthy had one broken hand in the back half of the season, but Sarkisian only admitted it on Monday due to his policy not to reveal injuries to a certain extent. The two argue about whether Sarkisian made the right call in keeping that private, and what it could mean for Texas this year.
Maalik Murphy’s foot injury was the next topic as Murphy was only getting mental reps during the viewing window of Monday’s practice. Sarkisian raved about Murphy, but also noted how he hasn’t been available to show why he’s so lauded.
The duo then discuss Arch Manning, who impressed in his first practice as a Longhorn. He showed a lot of polish for it being his first college practice, and offered a lot of evidence behind his Five-Star Plus+ ranking. “He looked like Arch Manning and looked like everything we expected from him,” Joe said.
The two conclude with some observations about running back and a host of other topics.
Follow along with Inside Texas media content
Inside Texas is a vibrant community and one of the most active message boards on the college football internet. You can be a part of that if you sign up now where you get FOUR MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for just $10!
Subscribe to our YouTube channel for live podcasts, content from the entirety of our staff, Texas football and recruiting and more.
