Steve Sarkisian reveals plans for wide receiver rotation in 2024

Dating back to his days at Alabama, Steve Sarkisian has been strict with his wide receiver rotation. Only three, maybe four guys would see the field during games. Guys like John Metchie had to wait on the sideline while others shined in Tuscaloosa.

The same was true for Texas this last season. Rarely would you see Xavier Worthy, AD Mitchell, or Jordan Whittington leave the field for somebody else. Sarkisian kept his rotation tight as those three were not only the best players but also had great chemistry with Quinn Ewers.

Sarkisian is not going to have the same luxury heading into the 2024 season. It’s by far the deepest room of his coaching career, having too much talent to keep off the field.

“We are going to play more receivers,” Sarkisian said. “The length of the season and because of not having all the rapport with Quinn, some of that I have to feel out as games go. It is a very talented room for sure.”

Texas brought in three transfers and all expect to make a big impact. Silas Bolden, Isaiah Bond, and Matthew Golden all put up big numbers at their former schools and landed in Austin this offseason. Internally, there is a talented trio of second-year players with Johntay Cook, DeAndre Moore, and Ryan Niblett. Being more comfortable in the system means they will be pushing to get on the field.

Sarkisian then took time to speak about the talent Ryan Wingo possesses, a true freshman out of St. Louis. Wide receiver is a position where players have enough talent to get on the field but need to catch up from a mentality perspective.

Wingo is apparently there, meaning Sarkisian is going to be forced to play a handful of guys.

“To think that I’ve got seven quality players there,” Sarkisian said. “Now, is it going to be a seven-man rotation? That will bear itself out. But I do think we’ll play more players than in the past. We’ll rotate more guys than we probably have in the past.”

Texas will need all seven at some point in the season. Sarkisian admitted injuries will factor in, especially if a deep run in the College Football Playoff comes to fruition. Ideally, keeping everyone healthy is the goal but Sarkisian knows keeping the rotation open will help in the long term.

“When you start playing this many games, I’d love to tell you we’re not going to get injuries,” Sarkisian said. “Injuries are going to occur. So, we’re going to play more players, probably earlier in the season, than we have just because you don’t have some of that experience that we lost from a year ago.”