Steve Sarkisian reveals the part of Alabama transfer Jahleel Billingsley’s game that's overlooked

Jahleel Billingsley is getting ready for his first season at Texas after transferring from Alabama. As he does so, his new coach already noticed an aspect of his game that’s been overlooked.

Steve Sarkisian assessed his tight ends room this week and the new faces he has on the roster. Billingsley is among that group even though he has plenty of experience under his belt, and he’s impressed Sarkisian so far. At Alabama, he had 37 receptions for 559 yards and six touchdowns through 20 games with the Crimson Tide before hitting the transfer portal.

Now, transitioning to Texas, Sarkisian took notice of how Billingsley can make an impact on offense because of the physicality he brings. That part of his game, Sarkisian said, deserves more respect.

“Obviously, Jahleel is a real threat in the passing game,” Sarkisian told reporters. “He’s a much more physical player than people would probably think and give him credit for. With Jahleel, it’s all about … playing at a consistent level. And that’s our job as coaches to try to get him to do that.”

Steve Sarkisian says Jahleel Billingsley, other new players stuck out in opening spring practice

Head coach Steve Sarkisian has done a lot of work on the roster heading into his second season in Austin. Texas has 14 new players this spring, with a few more coming in the fall via the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class, according to the On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings.

After the first practice of the year, Sarkisian was asked if any certain players stood out before being able to watch the tape. He started on the offensive side of the ball, saying two transfers looked comfortable before mentioning a couple of true freshmen and some line of scrimmage players.

“That’s a lot of guys,” Sarkisian said. “I mean, we have 14 new players out there today. So there’s a lot of guys to try to assess them all just from looking at it live. I don’t get to hit the rewind button out there on the field. I thought Jahleel (Billingsley) was really natural, comfortable for him. Obviously, systematically, it was a good fit for him.

“I thought Isaiah (Neyor) looked comfortable at wideout. It was good to get (Jaydon) Blue out there, playing football again. He hasn’t played football in over a year so I thought that was good for him. It’s hard to tell. Like Cole Hutson at the line of scrimmage or a Jaray Bledsoe, Aaron Bryant. Those guys are tough to tell, you have to look at the tape on that.”