Sarkisian talks SEC but notes Texas ‘in the Big 12’

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is targeted on the Massive 12 as he attends conferences this week alongside the league’s different 9 soccer coaches. The Massive 12, like different leagues holding their spring gatherings, is addressing a number of main objects impacting the way forward for faculty sports activities.

“For us, on the finish of the day, we’re within the Massive 12,” Sarkisian mentioned. “It is necessary to know the course of the convention and course of school soccer and the place we’re occurring a number of these subjects. … We’re within the Massive 12, so we have to know the course of the place the convention goes proper now.”

However Sarkisian is also aware of Texas’ upcoming transition to the SEC and what it’s going to take to reach a brand new league. Texas and Oklahoma will stay within the Massive 12 till 2025 until the faculties negotiate an earlier exit to the SEC.

Sarkisian spent a part of three seasons within the SEC on the Alabama teaching employees below Nick Saban, profitable a nationwide title as offensive coordinator in 2020.

Though his time at Alabama will inform him earlier than the SEC transfer, he mentioned Texas will stay its personal distinct program.

“There’s a number of nice elements of [Alabama] that I feel we are able to take with us, however naturally, now we have to do the issues I am snug doing and doing it the way in which that most closely fits us,” Sarkisian mentioned. “There’s nice coaches within the SEC, there’s actually good gamers, there’s large folks, there’s quick folks. We have to assemble a very good employees, which I feel we have executed. We have to recruit on a very excessive stage, which I feel that we have proven that we are able to do. After which finally get these gamers large enough, quicker and stronger.”

Sarkisian famous the SEC’s success in final week’s NFL draft, because it led all conferences with 65 picks, 17 greater than the Massive Ten and 40 greater than the Massive 12. Texas didn’t have any gamers drafted after Sarkisian’s first season as coach, simply the second time since 1938 that no Longhorns heard their names known as.

Texas does not plan to overtake its recruiting technique for the SEC, as Sarkisian mentioned, “I really feel like all of the groups within the SEC wish to recruit Texas.”

“I really feel like there is a wonderful line there of constructing certain that we handle the gamers which are in our residence state,” he added. “We already naturally go into Louisiana; that is sensible for us. We signed a child from Mississippi this yr; we signed a child from Birmingham, Alabama, this yr. So I feel there’s some pure development that approach. Are we going to make a residing in recruiting Florida and Georgia? In all probability not. And this doesn’t suggest that we’re not going to recruit California, both.”

Sarkisian mentioned Texas will proceed to adapt and evolve with title, picture and likeness. A number of media shops reported that Longhorns standout vast receiver Xavier Worthy turned down a large NIL provide from one other Energy 5 program to stay at Texas.

“I perceive it, I get it, Xavier Worthy was a heck of a participant, a freshman All-American, broke a number of data,” Sarkisian mentioned. “After all, folks have been going to try to use NIL to entice him to go to their college, so you have to proactive in the case of these issues.”

Aside from the staff’s 5-7 report in 2021, Sarkisian has considered his time at Texas as optimistic, particularly the begin to 2022. He mentioned the local weather across the program has been supportive and unified.

“In the end, we bought to start out profitable some extra video games, I am not naive to that,” he mentioned. “However so far as simply folks tugging and pulling and transferring in numerous instructions, no. I felt like all people is transferring in a optimistic course. That was one thing that I challenged our fan base to do, our donors to do, our administration to do, was belief the truth that you employed me to do a job; let’s get on board and let’s all transfer in the identical course to make this factor particular once more.”