Three Things to Know from Sark: Spring game format, what he wants to see Saturday, special teams update
Texas head football coach Steve Sarkisian was available to the media on Tuesday for one final spring practice update before the Orange-White Game on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
[Get FOUR MONTHS of Inside Texas Plus for only $1!]
Here are three things to know from the availability, including the format of the scrimmage, what he’d like to see on Saturday, and how the special teams corps looks during practices.
Format revealed for the Orange-White Game
Last year, lack of depth at certain positions made the Orange-White Game more of a glorified practice than anything resembling an actual contest. That won’t be the case this weekend.
“Saturday, we’ve got the Orange-White spring game, which we’re really excited about,” Sarkisian said. “We’re going to be able to play it as a game, so it should give everybody and the fans a real sense of being able to keep score and what’s going on. I know we’ve got a lot of young players. It’s going to be good for them to play in front of a crowd. We’re looking forward to a great crowd.”
When asked the format of the game, whether it be a draft of teams or simply ones vs. twos, Sarkisian made it clear he’s the one picking teams and calling the shots.
“I’m the commissioner and the team owner, so I’m picking the teams,” he said.
The Orange-White Game presented by the Texas One Fund is part of the Made In Austin Weekend. Around the stadium, parking lots will open at 7 a.m. Bevo Blvd. and Longhorn City Limits will open at 9 a.m., with an autograph signing featuring members of the Texas Longhorns football team beginning at that time.
The team shop will have a fire sale that also starts at 9 a.m. The Bevo Parade will begin at 10:30 a.m., and the gates of Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium will open at 11 a.m. prior to the 1 p.m. kickoff.
Around campus, the women’s tennis team will host Baylor beginning at 11 a.m. The Big 12 championship is on the line during the duel. Admission is free. Men’s tennis will face TCU beginning at 7 p.m. with the conference title at stake as well.
Softball faces Kansas at McCombs Field beginning at 4:30 p.m. Finally, the soccer team will battle Houston at Mike A. Myers Stadium at 7 p.m.
More information can be found here on TexasSports.com.
What is Steve Sarkisian looking for on Saturday?
With burnt orange battling burnt orange, what can be gleaned from a contest where if one team succeeds the same team fails?
“That’s always the hard part when you play yourself,” Sarkisian said. “That’s always the challenge. Who won?
“What I look for is a clean game. I look for the mental errors, if we have guys doing the wrong thing or guys lining up incorrectly. I look for physicality. Who can play well at the point of attack, whether it’s inside the box or on the perimeter? I look for playmaking ability. Those are the types of things I look for because ultimately, if both sides play pretty well, it should be pretty evenly matched and it should be hard fought for offense and/or defense, and whichever side of the ball is going.
“The problem comes when the big plays occur. Whether it’s a big touchdown, a turnover, or a sack, generally there’s an error somewhere. Hopefully we can reduce the number of errors that occur in the game. That’s really what I’m looking for.”
Special teams
Last season, Will Stone handled kickoff duties while Bert Auburn was the place kicker. Daniel Trejo handled punting, but his eligibility has run out.
Stone and Auburn are back for 2023. What has Sarkisian seen from his two specialists during 13 spring practices?
“I feel great about Bert and Will,” Sarkisian said. “I think it’s a healthy competition. I thought both guys, for young players a year ago, performed pretty well. I think we can see their game take a step forward this fall. Granted, Bert made some big kicks for us last year, but there’s a few he would love to have back. For Will, first time playing in college kicking off, he was really effective. We covered kicks really well. I’d like for both those guys to take a step forward, but I feel very good about that.”
Stone kicked of 86 times with 26 touchbacks and three kicks sailing out of bounds. Thanks to his 62.4 yards per kick average, the Longhorns ranked No. 22 in the nation in kick return defense. Texas allowed no returns for touchdowns and just 17.23 yards per attempt. The leading figure was 13.64 yards per return.
Auburn was 21-of-26 kicking field goals with one attempt blocked. His long was 49 yards. He was a perfect 55-of-55 on PATs and scored a total of 118 points last year.
During media viewing portions of the spring, walk-on Charles Feris handled punting duties. While that may continue during the spring, responsibilities for that part of the game are likely to shift to Stanford transfer Ryan Sanborn.
Said Sarkisian about the Cardinal specialist, “I’ve seen him punt for four years at Stanford, so we’re in good shape.”
