LIVE UPDATES: Steve Sarkisian at Big 12 Media Days

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is up at Big 12 Media Days. First, he’ll be on ESPNU just after 3 p.m. then will make his way to the main stage just before 3:30 p.m. Central.

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Everything is televised on ESPNU, ESPN+, and Longhorn Network, and Inside Texas will have updates below.

Steve Sarkisian on ESPN+

Steve Sarkisian on expectations and the staff’s approach to a big year: ”I think first of all we have to acknowledge it. We can’t have our head in the sand. This is why you come to Texas.”

Steve Sarkisian: ”Now, there’s quality depth and competition. I think competition brings the best out of all of us, and that’s why I think the team production and the way we play is better than it’s ever been.”

Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: ”I thought our team needed to know who our guy was, who they were going to follow. I thought naming Quinn was important to Quinn so he can continue to develop the confidence in himself in what he’s capable of being. I think Quinn is a championship level quarterback and I think he’s a first-round level quarterback.”

Sarkisian on the offensive line: ”I love that group. Last year, starting two true freshmen on the offensive line was not ideal. The fact that we’re returning all five this year — at a highly competitive group. There’s a lot of young guys that are fighting for jobs. I think that’s the beauty of our program, that it’s predicated on competition and that everybody knows the players that earn it, that give us the best chance to be successful will play.”

Sarkisian on running back: ”I don’t know if we’re going to replace it with one or two guys.”

Sarkisian on Jaylan Ford: ”I still, to this day, keep fighting that he should have been the Big 12 defensive player of the year last year.”

Sarkisian: ”I think Jahdae Barron, at the nickel spot, is a tremendous player.”

Sarkisian on his offseason emphasis: ”That everything we do is with intent, and our intent is to go and win a Big 12 championship.”

Sarkisian: ”You have to create an environment where they’re creating and competing for something every day.”

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Steve Sarkisian on the main Big 12 Media Days stage

Sarkisian: ”I really love our football team. I love our mindset. I love where they’re at. I know there’s so much talk about the SEC and what’s happening in 2024, but one thing I think I love about this team that we have this year is their focus on 2023 and this opportunity we have here in the Big 12.”

Sarkisian says the season won’t be awkward for them with the SEC talk: ”We’ve got a roster full of players that, quite frankly, came to the University of Texas to win a Big 12 championship. We’ve got one more opportunity to do that, and I think our guys are focused on that so it won’t be awkward from our end.”

Sarkisian on BYU, his alma mater, in the Big 12: ”To me, BYU has been a national brand for decades going back to (LaVell) Edwards and what he was able to do, some of the great teams and great players.”

Sarkisian: ”Something that we’ve, in my opinion, going into year three is we’ve got really quality, competitive depth on our roster across the board. I think our players know when they go to practice every day, the guy in the same line as them, whether he’s behind them or in front of them, is probably as equally talented as him if not better.”

Steve Sarkisian: ”I expect our team to play aggressive, tough, fast, physical, and smart football every Saturday. If we do that every Saturday, we’ll put ourselves in position to be competing for a championship.”

Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: ”He came back for the OU game coming off an injury and had a really good football game. You read the quotes he had after that game, all he did was praise his teammates for how well they played. Then you look at him after we don’t play great against Oklahoma State and we suffer a loss and he took all the blame. I think right then you found out the type of leader that he is and what he did coming into this offseason is continue just to pour into what he needed to do to be the best quarterback for the University of Texas.

Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: ”If things go the way we think they can go, the pundits are probably right: he is a first-round draft pick quarterback.”

Steve Sarkisian on his lines: ”You win football games up front, you’ve got to recruit big humans to make it happen. That’s something that we’ve committed ourselves to doing over the last two years and we’ll continue to commit ourselves to it.”

Steve Sarkisian on the remaining running backs, says Keilan Robinson, Jonathon Brooks, and Jaydon Blue learned from Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson ”There’s no shortage of talent in our running back room. It’s just about preparing them for the grind of a 12-game regular season and the hopefully games to come after that.”