Steve Sarkisian details his approach to coaching quarterbacks

Steve Sarkisian has coached plenty of talented quarterbacks in his day. From Mac Jones and Tua Tagovailoa at Alabama to Matt Ryan in the NFL, Sarkisian has seen many players with different abilities.

As he coached those players he tried to play to their strengths while also staying true to his offensive system. That is the approach he intends to take during his second year at Texas with quarterbacks Quinn Ewers and Hudson Card battling for the starting position.

“I think every quarterback is different,” Sarkisian said in a recent appearance on ESPN. “Every quarterback has got their strengths and weaknesses. Has the things that they will be good at down the road but they’re still working their way through. We try to schematically lay a really good foundation of, ‘This is our offense.’ Once we identify who that starting quarterback is or even the backup or third developmental guy, we try to keep putting those quarterbacks in position to do the things they do really well so they can gain confidence in their play. Then we’re sprinkling in the things that we know we want and need as an offense. Ultimately come game day, we’re trying to put the starting quarterback in the best position to be successful running the things he does well and doing it in a creative manner. But we’ve laid a foundation for all of them in what our offense is.”

Steve Sarkisian said the best way to understand how he coaches is quarterbacks is to compare his two seasons as the Alabama offensive coordinator. The offense looked a little different with Tagovailoa at quarterback compared to Jones, but both were equally successful. The Crimson Tide even won the national title in 2020 as Sarkisian took home the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation’s top assistant.

“The best analogy is, when we were at Alabama for two years, was our starting quarterback,” the coach said. “That offense looked a lot different than the one the next year when Mac Jones was the starting quarterback. It was the same system, we just focused and did things that accentuated their strengths. Tua was a lot of RPOs and more of the drop back pass game playing to his creativity. When it was Mac, a lot more play action pass. A lot more of the running back in Pistol, creating slot formations, two-man combinations. And Mac operated that really well.

“I think that’s one of the beauties of the system that we’ve evolved into now. It’s got a lot of versatility. It can play to the strengths not only of the quarterback, but of all the players. But ultimately it starts with the quarterback. He’s gotta be confident. He’s gotta feel comfortable with what we’re doing. Because the other players and coaches feel that. When that guy’s in a good rhythm and comfortable with what he’s doing, I think that kind of reverberates throughout the entire team.”

The Longhorns finished 5-7 in Sarkisian’s inaugural season, missing a bowl game for the first time in four seasons. Despite this, they enter 2022 with high expectations thanks to adding Ewers and returning playmakers Xavier Worthy and Bijan Robinson. If they are to reach those goals, however, the quarterback must be comfortable in the system.

Texas is set to open the 2022 season on Sept. 3 against Louisiana-Monroe.