ESPN's Marty Smith: "Honestly, I think Texas is ready for all of it because they're used to the stage"

ESPN and the SEC Network didn’t let the occasion of Texas joining the Southeastern Conference pass without a major celebration. Most of the mainstay talent of the SEC Network ventured to Austin on Sunday to take part in the University of Texas’ SEC Celebration, which marked the Texas Longhorns leaving the Big 12 for their new home in the SEC.

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With the SEC Network crowd was longtime analyst Marty Smith, who has traveled across the southeastern United States chronicling football and athletics at every SEC school. Texas is a novel location for him and his colleagues, and the type of spotlight the Longhorns have on them entering the year hasn’t shone with its current brightness in over a decade. As a result, Smith joined the SEC Network contingent in Austin, and was treated to all things the 40 Acres had to offer.

In his estimation after absorbing every detail of yesterday’s event, plus with what he knows about Steve Sarkisian‘s program, does he believe Texas is prepared for the attention, the novelty, and the challenge?

“Honestly, I think Texas is ready for all of it because they’re used to the stage,” Smith said Sunday.

It won’t be easy, for sure. Smith mentioned the SEC, in football specifically, is the home of a gauntlet not found in other conferences. He told a story about how Joe Moorhead, then the head coach at Mississippi State, spoke with Smith about the physical toll of SEC play and preparation needed to weather it.

But if there’s a program and head coach that can do it successfully in year one, Smith think Texas under Sarkisian can be just it.

“Texas went to the Playoff last year,” Smith said. “It’s world-class talent at every position. I love Sark. I think he’s a tremendous leader and a great man. It’s a hell of a gauntlet, but they’ll be ready.”

The four-time national champion program combining forces with the league that has been at the top of college football this century was described by Smith as “a hell of a marriage.” He mentioned the fervor of Longhorn fans, something made evident by the thousands who flooded the South Mall despite sweltering heat to celebrate the Longhorns.

“It’s 100 degrees and to have this celebration of this new chapter for the university, the teams they love, and that so many of them take identity from and pride from, and have something they can get behind, feel a part of, and be proud of, it just speaks so well to what this place is,” Smith said.

In just over two months, that passion will be fully realized when 100,000-plus flock to Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium for the Longhorns’ first football game as members of the SEC. Texas will then go to Michigan for a difficult battle, then play two more non-conference games before starting SEC play on September 28 when Mississippi State comes to town.

Texas is projected to have a strong group take the field on August 31, something Smith believes will have the Longhorns in contention for the conference title.

“I think Georgia’s the standard, and Georgia’s the best team in the league, but I would put Texas right in that conversation,” Smith said. “When you have an experienced quarterback like Quinn (Ewers) and a great backup that is giving him competition every single day, which is actually very beneficial I think to keep you sharp, four of five offensive lineman starters are back, it was a hell of a potent offense last year, so I think it’s going to be a really good team.”

Smith called championships the standard at Texas and believed Sarkisian to be the perfect coach to lead Texas into its new league. Celebrating that change was the order of the day on Sunday.

While marquee matchups Smith and the rest of his SEC Network crew will be in town for are sure to follow, the party in front of the UT Tower marked a significant moment for Smith not just for the league he covers closely, but for all of college sports.

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“I think it’s so awesome,” Smith said. “When you have the opportunity to take what I believe is the best league in the country and add two brands like this, all it does is accentuate the best league and make it bigger. Not only from the brand perspective, which is obvious, but it’s also the esteemed respect that both of those universities carry. I just think it’s amazing.”