Steve Sarkisian on DeMarvion Overshown, Texas defense

Steve Sarkisian and the Texas offense got off to a great start in his first game in Austin. However, the Longhorns defense held up their end of the bargain as well against Louisiana.

In his postgame press conference, Sarkisian was complementary of the unit, starting with star linebacker DeMarvion Overshown.

“I thought DeMarvion was really special, especially early on,” said Sarkisian. “You could really feel his presence. The first half of that game I think he was already close to about 10 tackles with a half a sack.”

Furthermore, Sarkisian continued by complementing Overshown’s fellow linebackers, Luke Brockmeyer and Ovie Oghoufo.

“We’ve talked at length about Luke. The headiness, the savvy, the way he plays,” said Sarkisian. “Then Ovie, like I said — in spring ball, DeMarvion was out with a shoulder injury, we didn’t really know what we had in Luke and Ovie was still living in South Bend, Indiana.

“So to get to this point, with those three guys starting at back or force and playing effectively and physical and getting people on the ground, was big.”

The three defenders mentioned by Sarkisian had great days against Louisiana, combining for 30 tackles between them. Moreover, Oghoufo added a sack, while Overshown and Brockmeyer added half a sack each.

Sarkisian: “There’s nothing like winning.”

While Sarkisian was happy to see his team win, he was overjoyed to come out of the gates to play a clean football game with minimal mistakes. After not having fans in stadiums last season, opening weekend was a big moment for everyone involved. 

Having a normal atmosphere and a full stadium added to the excitement for Sarkisian in his Texas debut.

“I loved it, man. There’s nothing like winning, I’ll tell you that much,” Sarkisian told reporters after the win. “We put in a lot of work whether it’s the coaching staff, the players or the strength and conditioning staff. 

“There’s a lot of moving parts that goes into putting on a performance at a football game. There’s a lot of people from staffing the stadium, and we were down some people there. Just from the administration, the coaching staff, our players, I was pleased just with the environment. I loved it.”

Over the last decade, Texas has been attempting to return to a premier power in the college football world. While one game won’t do that for the Longhorns, the Sarkisian era is already off to a fast start.

Sarkisian and the Longhorns will look to continue to roll this weekend, as they travel to take on the Arkansas Razorbacks. Afterwards, dates with Rice, Texas Tech and TCU follow prior to the highly-anticipated matchup against Oklahoma.

For now, Steve Sarkisian can bask in the glory of his first win with the Texas Longhorns.