The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Video: Steve Sarkisian press conference
10.03.2022 | Football
Football head coach Steve Sarkisian previewed Saturday's game against Oklahoma.
Texas Head Coach Steve Sarkisian Opening Statement
To recap the last ball game, going back and looking at it, I was obviously really impressed with the first half of play, what we did in all three phases. (Looking) defensively, I think their first seven drives, six of the first seven resulted in four punts, two turnovers on downs against a really prolific offense. Sometimes, I forget what teams are averaging coming in, and they were averaging over 200 yards rushing per game, over 200 yards passing and over 40 points a game, so to hold that group to 60 yards rushing and a couple late touchdowns there, I thought our defense played really well, and did a good job getting off the field on third down. Offensively, I loved the execution of it all. Five of the first six drives, I know there was that drive at the end of the first half, but the execution was there because we only had five third downs in there. So, we were playing really good football on first and second down, and then converting three of the five on third down was really effective. The offense continues to take care of the ball, which I am extremely proud of. I think we only had three turnovers on the year before last Saturday night and did not have any again. Defensively, we are so close. I love the effort by the guys, I think we had (potential) two interceptions go off our fingertips. When we are punching, we are ripping at the ball. So, it is not a thought about effort. Sooner or later that that dam will break. We have to continue to play with that effort and tenacity. I thought on special teams, that was a really sound game for us. There were not as many highlight plays, but we played really sound. They brought three kickoffs back, we tackled all three of them inside the 20, right around the 17-yard line or so; all of that was really good. (Junior running back) Bijan (Robinson) continues to do what he does. Sometimes we talk about so many of the other guys, but (his) third-straight game over 100 yards, I think he has had nine touchdowns on the year – he is such a factor. Sometimes it does not always show up in the stat sheet, but it shows up for the other guys because of the attention he deserves. With all that being said, we have plenty to work on. We are back to it today, which was important for us. We have a quality opponent in a great environment and a great game and it is going to take maximum mental intensity and focus and execution to come out on top, so that is what we are striving to do.
On Oklahoma
This rivalry, this game, and what it all stands for in the way these two teams have played in this game for decades, we know more than ever we are going to get the best version of them. We need to make sure that they get the best version of us. They are a very talented team. They are an extremely well coached team. We go through the ebb and flow of a season with a new coaching staff, a new team we went through, but this team is really good and they play really hard and they are really well coached and we have our work cut out for us. We need to play a very good football game to be victorious.
On sophomore tight end Ja'Tavion Sanders
I love JT, I have said it before, but I will say it again, I give him a lot of credit. In this day and age of the five-star recruit, it is instant gratification. He is supposed to walk in the door and become a starter the day he gets here, because that is what he hears on social media and that is what everybody writes about. When in reality, there's this idea of development and developing players. And I think JT put in a lot of work last year with (Assistant Head Coach/Special Teams Coordinator/Tight Ends) Coach Jeff Banks, and we asked him to do things that were different than what he had done before. But we really wanted to drive into him the way to become a complete tight end, and not just be a one dimensional pass receiver, and he has done it. He really put in the work and we are seeing it. Obviously, we see the playmaking ability that he provides, the versatility that he provides us. One thing that I think goes a little unnoticed, for a guy who is a true sophomore in a second year, he is a really good leader. This guy has the right makeup of a great player, and that he has the leadership qualities necessary to be that kind of guy. He stands up, he is not afraid. The more guys like that we can get, the better for us. I love the progression that he has made to get to this point. His development is not over by any means, but the trajectory that he is on is a really good one.
On the offensive adjustments and preparing for Oklahoma
I think more so with snap counts. I thought the crowd noise last year got us a little bit; I do not think we handled it very well. I do not think we were very mature last year, I thought we lost a little bit of composure, especially in that fourth quarter when we were kind of backed up in that end. I didn't like our composure and I did not like our poise; that is something that we have addressed. We will continue to address (composure and poise) to make sure that, one, we have to do our part to put them in position to operate at a high level, then to their poise and composure and do that when we are at that end of the field.
