Steve Sarkisian on Texas' defensive line depth: 'Not enough big humans'
The talent level at Texas has improved by leaps and bounds since Steve Sarkisian took over the program. The Longhorns now have a roster that is among the elites in college football and can compete for championships.
With that said, there’s one spot in particular where Sarkisian feels like Texas is lacking depth entering the 2024 season.
Coming out of the spring, Sarkisian shared that he is concerned about depth up front on the defensive side of the ball.
“We don’t have enough bodies. There’s not enough big humans, you know,” Steve Sarkisian said. “I mean, it’s simple math, and for a variety of reasons. So we’ve gotta address it.”
Texas is working to build depth on the defensive line from the transfer portal before the start of the 2024 season after Byron Murphy and T’Vondre Sweat were both high draft picks in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Sarkisian understands that Texas is unlikely to find someone of their caliber from the portal, but he is hoping the Longhorns can land some players who can at least come in and contribute.
“It’s not always about addressing it with the guy who’s going to come in and win the Outland. It’s about having enough depth, especially playing in Austin, Texas in September and early October,” Sarkisian said. “We have to rotate players. There were times I sat in here with you guys a year ago in September, and we were playing upwards of 30-32 guys on defense in the first half of games, never mind in the total game.
“So to do that, you have to have enough quality people that you feel comfortable rotating in there to make that happen. So we have got to address it, which we will.”
While Texas might be lacking some depth on the defensive line, overall Sarkisian feels great about where the roster is at.
Texas is coming off of a 12-2 season, which included winning the Big 12 Championship and reaching the College Football Playoff. The Longhorns look like serious national title contenders heading into the 2024 season.
“We’re in a really good spot. We’ve got a good, quality football team. We’ve got a lot of great depth at multiple positions, on both sides of the ball, on special teams,” Sarkisian said. “But naturally, when one area is not quite where you need it to be and the others are at such a high level, it’s a little easier to see now.
“Three years ago it might have been tougher to see, when maybe we didn’t have the depth at a few other spots. But it’s a little easier to see, and that’s OK. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’ll address it. I love our front-line players. We just have to make sure we have enough bodies in there that can really contribute.”