‘Physical’ Longhorns give Sarkisian a peek
AUSTIN — Save for a couple quarterbacks shielded by do-not-hit-me pinnies, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian finally got to see his fullypadded team colliding with one another.
The Longhorns held their first scrimmage Saturday morning, after which Sarkisian relayed they ran about 100 plays with “live tackling, blocking, the whole thing.” The crunch of pads and chorus of strained grunts made for a sublime morning soundtrack.
“I thought it was a physical day,” Sarkisian said after practice. “Pretty much all position groups had moments where they kind of shined. And then there was areas where each position group took their opportunities to make some mistakes that hurt.”
With redshirt junior Casey Thompson and redshirt freshman Hudson Card dueling, albeit free from actual harm, Sarkisian got to gauge the ongoing quarterback competition.
Long before he landed in Austin, Sarkisian was a stellar signal-caller at BYU and a position coach to college stars such as Carson Palmer, Matt Leinert, Jake Locker, Tua Tagovailoa and Mac Jones. It’s too early to determine whether Card or Thompson will rise to that level, and since arriving from Alabama, Sarkisian hasn’t been itching to elevate one over the other.
“I thought for the most part we threw the ball pretty accurately today,” Sarkisian said. “Missed a couple throws here and there, but I thought both of them moved the ball pretty well, especially when they were operating with the first offense. Both of the guys stepped in, had good command, moved the ball and created some explosive plays.
“The biggest thing we’ve got to improve on offensively is just our pocket presence and awareness needs to improve. Which is pretty natural in your first scrimmage with the defensive line rushing the passer.
We’ve got a little bit of a quick whistle but guys will be getting home, and I think the quarterbacks can help that from a decisionmaking standpoint and also stepping up in the pocket.”
Sarkisian’s expertise doesn’t really extend to training defensive linemen, but the former QB understands and appreciates the work of those agile titans. And even though Texas will miss the bull-rushing of Jack linebacker Joseph Ossai, who declared for the upcoming NFL draft, this team has some legitimate threats upfront.
Defensive tackle Alfred Collins flashed last season as a true freshman with an NFL-ready body. Fellow 2020 signee Vernon Broughton carries AllAmerican pedigree and tantalized in the Longhorns’ Alamo Bowl drubbing of Colorado, logging two tackles and one sack in the 55-23 win. And redshirt junior nose tackle Keondre Coburn is the superglue holding together an intriguing group of linemen that also includes junior T’Vondre Sweat, junior Moro Ojomo, sophomore Myron Warren, redshirt freshman Sawyer Goram-Welch and incoming five-star freshman Ja’Tavion Sanders.
“Coburn, he provides a great deal of leadership and energy,” Sarkisian said. “I love that guy because he brings it every day. What he does really is defend the run, but he does have some quickness and does do a nice job in the pass rush. But he’s built to stop the run and does a really good job of it.
“I think Alfred has really come on here. He’s pretty long, he’s quick for a big man, which can cause some issues for us. And Vernon Broughton has been another bright spot. Another big, long guy who has some quickness who’s been encouraging.”
Sarkisian also praised the efforts of edge rushers Jacoby Jones and Ray Thornton, who will attempt to fill the gaping void created by Ossai’s departure.
Thornton is a 6-foot-3, 242-pound graduate transfer from LSU who has had coaches and teammates gushing since spring practice began last month. Jones transferred from Butler Community College ahead of the 2019 season, and in 20 career games at Texas has recorded 43 tackles, 2.0 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and two fumbles recoveries.
Gradually, Sarkisian is getting a read on this team he inherited from Tom Herman. There’s still a wellspring of talent remaining from three straight top-10 recruiting classes and this year’s top 20 group, and he’s got about five months left to figure out how all the pieces fit together.