San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Sarkisian still eyeing prospects for 2021 class
AUSTIN — “Well, I know this much,” new Texas coach Steve Sarkisian began, “‘The Eyes of Texas’ is our school song and we support that song, we’re gonna sing that song, we’re gonna sing it proudly.”
Sarkisian’s statement about the alma mater during a Jan. 12 introductory Zoom news conference was heavenly music to the ears of affluent university donors and hostile fans who’d bemoaned a push by current and former Texas student-athletes to eliminate the century-old song. Some football players, such as former receiver Brennan Eagles and safety Caden Sterns, went so far as to threaten sitting out the 2020 season unless a list of campus-wide changes and reforms were enacted.
And while Texas did positively respond to several requests it decided retiring “The Eyes” in favor of a fresh alma mater was a nonstarter. Given the rhetoric on both sides of the debate it’s clear the song, with its historic ties to blackface minstrel shows and Confederate general Robert E. Lee, will remain a divisive issue even after The Eyes of Texas History Committee appointed by university president Jay Hartzell concludes its report March 1.
“I think when I come into the fold, I think any talks that (we) need to have whether it’s about ‘The Eyes of Texas’ or any other issues
that come up, I think is having the discussions,” Sarkisian said. “We can’t put our head in the sand and act like things aren’t happening. We have to really have those discussions with them and educate our players to make sure that we’re all on the same page and understand that.”
A fascinating subplot of the controversy surrounding “The Eyes,” which has pitted unpaid studentathletes against outraged fans and boosters, will be how it affects Sarkisian’s recruiting efforts. There has been no sign of backlash from current or prospective players thus far.
Texas hasn’t lost any of the recruits that joined up with former
coach Tom Herman during the December early signing period. Junior tailback Keaontay Ingram, the team’s only transfer since Herman’s ouster, was on his way out long before Sarkisian’s hiring. And since the new staff arrived in Austin, it has added two graduate transfers — Notre Dame linebacker Ovie Oghoufo and LSU linebacker Ray Thornton.
Texas also plans to add a few more players to its 2021 class on National Signing Day with highpriority targets like Houston Cypress Fairbanks running back L.J. Johnson and Mansfield Legacy defensive end David Abiara still considering the Forty Acres as a temporary home. Additionally, Texas will sign Dallas Kimball four-star corner Ishmael Ibraheem and Bryan Rudder receiver Keithron Lee.
The Longhorns also received a commitment from 2022 Lewisville four-star wideout Armani Winfield on the morning of Sarkisian’s formal introduction.
“The energy and excitement for our program right now I think is one that is directly effective in to what’s happening in recruiting,” Sarkisian said. “From the moment I got hired up until last night after the (CFP title game) and getting a commitment to the program already from an in-state player. I mean, that that just tells you I think where the excitement of Longhorn football is right now.”
There still remains significant institutional problems with representation at higher levels, both at Texas and across the NCAA.
Texas recorded 5.3 percent of its student population as Black in Fall 2020, compared to 38.9 percent white and 23.4 percent Hispanic. And while Black athletes made up between 46 and 51 percent of Big 12 football rosters from 2017-19, white coaches still held at least 80 percent of available offensive and defensive coordinator positions during that time period, including all but one in 2017, per the most recently available NCAA data. Former Texas head coach Charlie Strong (2014-16) remains the last Black man to lead a Big 12 team.
Mercurial as his tenure was, Herman was at least willing to march with his players to protest systemic racism and injustice and support those who did not feel comfortable performing “The Eyes of Texas” before and after games. It’s possible Sarkisian and his staff, which features five Black assistants, will be able to create an inclusive environment where open discussions and debates are encouraged.
But for now it doesn’t appear any locker room dialogues about the alma mater will make the Texas administration budge. Whether that comes back to haunt Sarkisian’s new regime will be one of the most intriguing storylines of Year 1.
“I think sometimes there are tough discussions that need to happen,” Sarkisian said. “Without speaking too candidly, we’re living in a country right now where there’s some turmoil going on. But as long as we can have those discussions and be on the same page, we can do that.
“As it pertains to ‘The Eyes of Texas,’ that’s our song and we’re fired up to sing it.”