Ahead of the CFP semifinals, Steve Sarkisian continues to emphasize culture
NEW ORLEANS — During his final media availability ahead of the Allstate Sugar Bowl between the Texas Longhorns and Washington Huskies, UT head coach Steve Sarkisian was asked what he believed his players would say if questioned about what matters most to the program on the eve of the game.
[Join Inside Texas and get ONE MONTH of Longhorn intel for just $1!]
He didn’t choose specific aspects concerning the game of football like physicality, or play-action passing, or sound run defense, or anything else. Like he has so often this season when singing the praises of his 12-1 team that’s ranked No. 3 in the nation, he went back to the overarching idea of culture.
“I would imagine one of the things out of the mouths would be our culture,” Sarkisian said. “I know that because the players have put so much time and effort into our culture, I think that they take a lot of pride in that. So I would imagine that would be one of the first things out of their mouths.”
Culture has been one of the leading storylines surrounding Texas and Sarkisian entering their semifinal with the Huskies. Throughout the season, information became public about Culture Wednesdays where players and coaches would work on learning more about each other and their backgrounds without a concern for stunts of crossing routes.
Sarkisian and players alike extolled the benefits of those sessions. Current Longhorns said it brought the team together and made them want to play for each other rather than themselves. Sarkisian believed that it was the basis for season highlights like winning by 10 versus Alabama in Tuscaloosa, or making a fourth-down stop in overtime versus Kansas State. The talented players and top schemes that put them there were crucial, of course.
Top 10
- 1
Memphis shakes up CFP
Tigers upsets changes CFP picture
- 2
A Twisted Mess
Big 12 Championship scenarios
- 3Trending
Saban chirped
Big 12 comes after GOAT
- 4Hot
Underranked SEC
Lane Kiffin protests CFP rankings
- 5
UConn star hospitalized
Alex Karaban hospitalized at Maui Invitational
But the desire for those talented players in those top schemes to make the plays stemmed from the work made in the offseason and during the season that was put into culture.
Sarkisian likes to say that culture isn’t just something you put on a T-shirt. Rather, it’s something he believes must be worked on constantly. It’s something that must be maintained at a high level, which led to the second thing Sarkisian believes his players would mentioned when pressed on what matters most to the program.
“And I’d say the second thing would probably be the standard,” Sarkisian said. “They understand there’s a standard to which we do things here on and off the field, in the classroom, in the community, whatever that is, that they hold each other to. And so those would probably be two of the first things that would come out of the mouths of the majority of our players.”
[Subscribe to the brand new Inside Texas YouTube channel!]
One helps feed the other. The culture Sarkisian has crafted requires those who are a part of it to perform at a certain level in everything they do. It’s something Texas players throughout the year have referenced playing up to. It’s been instilled in them that if they play to a certain level, it doesn’t matter who is across from them. They believe their standard is better than anyone else’s in the nation, even at this juncture where the remaining four teams are elite.
