Steve Sarkisian on how Texas prepared for SEC move: 'That's what we were already building for'

In January 2021, Texas announced Steve Sarkisian as its next head coach after serving as Nick Saban’s offensive coordinator. Six months later at SEC Media Days, news broke of the Longhorns’ plans to leave the Big 12 for the SEC in 2025, along with Oklahoma – a move that will end up happening in July 2024.

It seems like a big shift, especially for someone taking over a program that ended up going 5-7 in his first season. But when Sarkisian heard of Texas’ plans to take the leap, he knew he’d have the program ready. After all, his plan was to build a program that could contend on the national stage.

To do that, Sarkisian said, the road went through the SEC.

“When I took the job and I was meeting with Chris Del Conte and Jay Hartzell, our president, what is needed and how are you gonna build it, and you talk about your plan. I said then, we’re gonna have to build a roster that can compete and ultimately beat Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Ohio State, Notre Dame – because those are in those Final Four games,” Sarkisian said on SiriusXM College. “And that’s the goal at Texas is to win the national championship.

“So when they exposed it to me that we were going to the SEC, they said, ‘What needs to change?’ I said, ‘Nothing,’ because that’s what we were already building for anyway.”

After Steve Sarkisian’s rough first year as Texas head coach, he turned the Longhorns around. Two years after missing a bowl game entirely, UT played in the College Football Playoff for the first time. Roster construction was key to that success as Sarkisian added talent in the trenches and at wide receiver as part of three straight top-six recruiting classes, according to the On3 Industry Team Recruiting Ranking.

But one of the most notable additions came at quarterback. Quinn Ewers transferred to Texas from Ohio State, and Arch Manning is waiting in the wings as a former No. 1 overall recruit. To Sarkisian, those are the keys to success in the SEC – a conference he knows well from his time under Saban, which resulted in a national championship.

“Having the size and the depth at the line of scrimmage is critical in the SEC … you’ve got to have speed and playmaking ability on the perimeter,” Sarkisian said. “And at any level, you’ve got to have quarterback play if you’re gonna try to win a championship.”

Sarkisian and the Longhorns will look to continue their positive momentum this season in a loaded SEC. That journey starts Aug. 31 against Colorado State.