Steve Sarkisian reveals how Texas will approach transfer portal this summer

Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns are roughly halfway through spring football like most programs through the college football landscape. After finally getting to see a shell of what his team may look like when the fall arrives, Sarkisian has a clear plan on how to utilize the transfer portal this summer.

When asked about adding specific positions, the Texas coach responded in a way to allude that he’s content with his starting group on both sides of the ball. Instead, Sarkisian has depth at the forefront of his approach for 2022.

“More than anything, it’s about depth when you’re looking at different position groups,” the Texas head coach said.

“It’s about okay, what’s our style of play, how we want to play, what we want it to look like? You know maybe we got a couple of front line guys but that depth at that position is what we have to think about.”

Steve Sarkisian learned how quickly a few injuries can alter the course of a season the hard way, according to the Longhorns’ frontman himself.

“The hard part about football, is nobody likes when a player gets injured, right?” Sarkisian added.

“But at some positions, if an injury were to occur, they are tough to overcome. We felt the effects of that a year ago. When we lost Denzel at TCU, and when we lost Jacoby Jones against OU and then when we lost Jordan Whittington at the end of that game? Those three guys, I don’t know if I gave them enough credit at the time on having such a big impact on our season as we were moving forward.”

For the Texas Longhorns to be successful this season, Sarkisian believes they need to have solid backups in key areas who can seamlessly fill pivotal roles if starters go down.

“So everything I am trying to do is assess and make sure we got 22 ‘good guys’ on either side of the ball from a rotational standpoint, so from a potential injury standpoint, we’ve got some room to maneuver here,” Sarkisian said.

While the second-year Longhorns’ head coach didn’t single out a specific area of need, it’s clear his staff has had discussions about adding depth through the transfer portal. It doesn’t sound like Texas fans should be surprised if Sarkisian and company attempt to add a player or two before the start of the season.

“Again, I don’t want to take a player just to take a player,” Sarkisian added.

“I want to take him because there is a need at a certain position . And I think some things are starting to shake themselves out to where we have a pretty idea of what we are looking for if we decide to do something.”

Steve Sarkisian on why Ohio State transfer Ryan Watts has made instant impact

As Texas remakes their secondary on the defensive side of the football, Steve Sarkisian has been impressed with former Ohio State defensive back Ryan Watts. In a media availability earlier this week, Sarkisian detailed how Watts has made an instant impact with the Longhorns.

“Tough to call,” Sarkisian responded, when asked if Watts was the best cover guy in the secondary. “He’s different. You know? Because of the length. When he can press you and get his hands on you, it’s very different than like DJ [D’Shawn Jamison], who can play top-down because of the speed and the change of direction. So, it’s also what style of player are you, and playing to your strengths as a player. And I think that that’s something we’ve tried to emphasize to those guys in the back-end.”

During two seasons at Ohio State, Watts accumulated just 11 total tackles and two interceptions. The former four-star recruit, per the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average, will be on the hunt for more with the Longhorns. 

It’s evident Steve Sarkisian is expecting a lot out of Ryan Watts— time will tell if he can deliver.