Steve Sarkisian shares there is an 'idea of obsession' in Texas locker room

Texas tasted success in the 2023 campaign and now it’s hungry for more. At the 2024 SEC Media Days, Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed how an obsession with winning has consumed his team.

“There’s an idea of obsession going on in our locker room right now,” Sarkisian said. “They got a taste of what it can taste like, of being a Big 12 champion, playing in a College Football Playoff, and we fell short. This idea of obsession, the obsession that our players have is one that really came from them. They couldn’t wait to get back to work. They couldn’t wait to get back in the weight room.

“When I took the job, I don’t know if I could have said that. It was almost like kind of prodding cattle to make sure that what they were doing day in and day out to get them to that point. Now, we’ve got a team full of hungry players.”

Texas has improved every season since Sarkisian took the reins in 2021. In 2023, the Longhorns’ growth culminated in a 12-2 overall record and an 8-1 mark in conference play. Texas’ 12 wins were the most by the program in a single season since 2013 under head coach Mack Brown.

Texas also took home the Big 12 title and made its first-ever College Football Playoff appearance. By all metrics, it was a standout season. Nonetheless, the Longhorns were unable to acquire what they wanted most: a national championship.

Now, Texas is ready to take another step forward. The team returns 70% of its production from last season, the 25th-most in the country, according to ESPN. Additionally, the Longhorns had an excellent offseason in the transfer portal.

Sarkisian and Co. added 10 players via the portal this offseason, earning the No. 4 spot in On3’s Transfer Portal Team Rankings. The talented transfer class is headlined by former Alabama wide receiver Isaiah Bond and former Clemson safety Andrew Mukuba.

With so much added talent, Texas has its eyes on the prize.

“At the University of Texas, part of the standard being the standard is competing for championships,” Sarkisian said. “I’m up here talking about football, but it’s at every sport. It’s at every level.

“Regardless of the conference — and that’s to take nothing away from the SEC — our goal is to come into this conference and compete for a conference championship. It is what it is. That’s why you go to the University of Texas. So that won’t change.”