Barryn Sorrell hopes to put tips from a Longhorn legend to use to achieve double-digit sack goal
Affecting the quarterback and recording more sacks has been an often-repeated goal for Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski during the 2023 preseason. Not enough pressures turned into times when the Longhorns put the quarterback on the ground to their liking in 2022.
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Barryn Sorrell wants to change that, and he put down a specific number he wants to eclipse by himself on Friday. Sorrell said he’s aiming for 10 sacks.
“That’s definitely the goal,” Sorrell said.
Ten would put him in nice company in the school record books. Kiki DeAyala’s record 22.5 sacks in 1982 might not be feasible, but with a goal of 10 Sorrell wants to place himself in the conversation of one of the better pass-rushing years in school history.
How did Sorrell work over the course of the offseason to put himself in position to join names like Brian Orakpo, Kenneth Sims, Steve McMichael, Alex Okafor, and Ken McCune? By working with another legendary Longhorn defender.
“I worked with Derrick Johnson,” Sorrell said. “He was a big help for me. In the month of May, we had that month to take off, and I really just wanted to focus on my pass-rush. I stayed here and worked on it every day. That was very helpful for me.”
Another former NFLer, this one a recent addition to Sarkisian’s program, made a difference, too.
“Getting a guy like Jacquies Smith on the staff, who has been helping me with my pass-rushing first hand, has been great,” Sorrell said.
Pass-rush was the focus for Sorrell for good reason. Last season, Sorrell’s overall defensive grade according to Pro Football Focus was 63.5. That was made up of a 67.7 run defense grade, a 62.3 mark for tackling, and a 71.2 grade for coverage, something asked of his Jack position a few times per game.
Pass-rush? His season-long grade was 58.7. Sorrell was honest about his strengths and shortcomings on Friday.
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“I think I was pretty solid in the run game,” Sorrell said. “I really want to bring that up honestly, production across the board. But definitely on the pass-rush side, I definitely want to get my sacks up and my pressures up.”
Sorrell recorded 5.5 sacks and nine tackles for loss in 13 games in 2022 after making six appearances during his freshman year in 2021. He wants to make sure the valuable experienced gained from his 13 appearances and 10 starts is put to good use in 2023.
“I would just say obviously coming off a year with a lot of playing time, I had the experience, I had a lot of clips to see what I wanted to work on obviously, and being able to see that and being able to see myself in those positions so that I know what I need to get better at, that obviously helped me,” Sorrell said. “Now I’m able to put those things in action in this fall camp.”
The main place Sorrell and others in his position group want to put that focus? Of course, it’s getting the opponent’s signal-caller on the ground.
“Being in the EDGE room, that’s what we need to bring to the table,” Sorrell said. “All the defensive line, we need to take that personally and that’s what we’ve been doing in trying to get after the quarterback.”
