Amidst a busy schedule, Steve Sarkisian offers thoughts on No. 12 Washington

SAN ANTONIO — The No. 20 Texas Longhorns don’t play the No. 12 Washington Huskies for another three weeks, but both UT head coach Steve Sarkisian and UW head coach Kalen DeBoer were in the Alamo City on Thursday as part of a charity event put on by the Valero Alamo Bowl.

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Both Sarkisian and DeBoer are in the midst of incredibly busy schedules. In recent days, Sarkisian has traveled across oceans and several states to see commits and targets as part of wrapping up what portends to be a top-five recruiting class. He had the media event in San Antonio on Thursday. Tomorrow, he has to be back on the Denius Fields.

Plus, he continues to have conversations with players about their professional or portal futures. It’s a lot to handle.

“I think at the end of the day, it’s about prioritizing,” Sarkisian said. “It’s what are you doing today? Today we happen to be here for this press conference, then going on to do in-home visits, then you get ready for practice tomorrow. You just go through it.”

Though the Valero Alamo Bowl is three weeks away, he knows he faces a significant challenge in DeBoer’s Huskies. Washington was 10-2 this season, and Sarkisian’s former program earned his high praise on Thursday for its 2022 exploits. He even mentioned he thought U-Dub was a handful of plays away from the College Football Playoff.

What stood out most to Sarkisian was Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. A left-handed transfer from Indiana, Penix Jr. lead the No. 2 total offense in the country. Only Tennessee was ahead of UW in that metric, but nobody was ahead of Penix Jr. individually as a passer.

“They score a lot of points,” Sarkisian said. “They throw it around. Wish I could do a clinic with Coach DeBoer, but Michael Penix, those receivers, they do a heck of a job.”

He also noted the Husky defense makes life difficult for passing offenses.

“Their ability to rush the passer defensively and create havoc on the quarterback are issues,” Sarkisian said.

But as an offensive minded coach like Sarkisian is, his mind went right back to the Washington O in his comments about the Pac 12 program.

“They can score,” Sarkisian said. “They score on everybody, it doesn’t matter the helmet. It doesn’t matter who they’re playing. They go score and you’ve got to be prepared to make sure you play four quarters and go collectively against them. They can do it at a high, high level.”

DeBoer, in his first year leading the program in Seattle, was asked for his early impressions on the Longhorns. He offered praise to the burnt orange squad from just up IH-35.

“I think probably the biggest thing is just a balanced team offensively and defensively, finding ways to win,” DeBoer said. “Looking at the teams they played and the wins and even a couple of close loses, you know that strength of the team is in there. We know we’re going to have to bring our best to meet the challenge that’s going to be presented by UT here in the Alamo Bowl.”

Both Sarkisian and DeBoer quickly had to leave the event after its conclusion to get back to their busy schedules. Sarkisian has to be back in Austin for practice tomorrow, a practice where younger players are likely getting more and more opportunity to prove themselves ahead of the offseason. Before he gets to Friday, his Thursday includes meeting more recruits, including attending more in-home visits.

Eventually, the matchup versus Washington will be on his doorstep and the Longhorns will be in the Alamodome. When that day arrives, Sarkisian knows defeating the Huskies will be no easy task.

“We’ve got a great opportunity ahead of us,” Sarkisian said. “It’s going to take everybody dialing in to what we need to do. But it’s a great challenge, for sure. We’ve got to make sure we’re prepared, we’re focused, and we’re doing the things necessary to perform.”