Steve Sarkisian optimistic about Isaiah Neyor coming off of injury

It’s been a slow start to 2023 for Texas wideout Isaiah Neyor, coming off a torn ACL prior to the 2022 season. But Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian still sees plenty of good from Neyor in practice, and expects to see more happen on the field soon.

In Texas’ 3-0 start, Neyor has just one catch for 14 yards, coming in the opener against Rice. With Big 12 play ramping up this weekend, Sarkisian would certainly like to see a big game from Neyor.

“I think Isaiah, first of all, I think physically he’s great, but it’s like anything. When you have an injury like that, there’s a mental component to it, too. And I see some really good days, I see some days when it doesn’t feel as good. And I think the challenge for him is finding that level of consistency day in and day out of what he brings and understanding of what we’re doing and having the intent — which he does,” Sarkisian said.

With a spate of talented pass catchers already in the lineup, Texas has the luxury of letting Neyor come along at a slower pace.

But in a sport where depth wins out, especially later in seasons, getting Neyor into the flow of the offense sooner is preferable.

Plus, Sarkisian is high on what Neyor can add to an already top-notch group of pass catchers.

“But he’s a very talented guy and we’re hopeful we can get him to that point,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian dished on the Baylor defense ahead of Texas’ Big 12 opener

Baylor’s off to a tough start in 2023, but Sarkisian isn’t overlooking a defense coached by Dave Aranda as his Longhorns prepare to face the Bears in Waco this weekend.

In 2021, a Baylor defense led by All-American safety Jalen Pitre propelled the Bears to a surprising Big 12 title run in Aranda’s second year, finishing No. 10 in the country holding opponents to just 18.9 points per game. The results weren’t quite as strong in ’22, but Baylor certainly didn’t have a bad defense, allowing just over 26 per contest.

“Well, I think one, you know, I wanted to keep belaboring the point, but they’re well coached,” Sarkisian said. “You know, Dave’s been doing it a long time at multiple stops — Utah State, Wisconsin, LSU, now Baylor. And it’s definitely his defense. You know, I know they’ve changed coordinators, but it’s his defense.”

The Texas coach then went into some descriptive detail to explain just what makes Baylor and the Aranda defensive system so solid vs. both the run and pass.

“So, the reality is, they’ve got the scheme too. They’ve got really big bodies up front. You know, they’re a physical front, they’re long, they do a good job with gap integrity. And when they’re playing really good, they don’t have to, you know, kind of put an extra hat in the box to defend the run,” Sarkisian said. “They can play the pass, and with their coverage units, whether it’s the the five DBs, depending on the formation and and trust, that front to defend the run. And then they’ve got a multitude of ways that they can play their coverages in the back end to match your routes.”