LIVE UPDATES: Steve Sarkisian takes the stage at SEC Media Days

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is set to speak on the SEC Media Days main stage at 2:20 p.m. Central. SEC Network will air the press conference and we will have updates below.

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Steve Sarkisian starts by welcoming SEC media to Dallas.

Steve Sarkisian mourns the loss of Monte Kiffin and tells a story about how Kiffin took Sark under his wing and taught him about Tampa 2: “I learned more about Tampa 2 than anybody, so anybody who is playing me please play Tampa 2 because I can tell you exactly who is supposed to go where and why.”

Steve Sarkisian to Nick Saban: “I can’t thank you enough.”

Steve Sarkisian mentions he was shocked at the amount of people that showed up for the Longhorns’ SEC Celebration: “That gave me a little sense of the feel of what goes on outside of DKR on gameday that I normally don’t get to be a part of.”

Steve Sarkisian says he wishes the leadership group of Hartzell and Del Conte had told him about the SEC move before he took the job, “but I didn’t get informed that until afterwards. I said we already had to build a team that was going to have to beat the best team in the SEC if we want to win a national championship, so not much had to change on that front.”

Respect is the word Sarkisian uses when talking about the Longhorns coming into the SEC: “We’re going to have to go earn the respect of our opponents, opposing coaches, opposing fans, and that’s going to be on the forefront of what we do.”

Sarkisian says “I think this team has been really, really focused. It’s been a long time coming for Texas to get back to this stage.”

Sarkisian: “There’s an idea of obsession going on in our locker room. They got a taste of what it can taste like, of being a Big 12 champion, playing in a College Football Playoff, and we fell short. This idea of obsession, the obsession that our players have is one that really came from them. They couldn’t wait to get back to work.”

Steve Sarkisian says he’s most proud of Quinn Ewers’ leadership: “This guy is exuding confidence right now. There’s nothing better for anybody in your organization, for anybody in your building, to walk in and say ‘there’s our guy.'”

Sarkisian: “If there’s anyone in our program that I would say go emulate that guy, the way he handles his business on the field or off the field, the way he works, first guy there and last guy off the field, that’s Kelvin Banks.”

Steve Sarkisian calls Jahdae Barron the “glue” on the defense for the Longhorns: “I love what he brings to the team. I love the leadership that he brings to the team. So we’re lucky to have him.”

Sarkisian says they have to be better at pass defense. Mentions teams can improve in coverage or they can improve how they affect the quarterback and they’ve tried to really make an effort to improve the pass rush this year.

Sarkisian: “We think we’re going to be even better on (special) teams than we’ve been in the past, and we’ve been pretty good.”

Steve Sarkisian: “Our goal is to come into this conference and compete for a conference championship.”

Steve Sarkisian: “We’re one of the few schools with realignment that has benefitted from realignment in we’ve gotten some of our rivalries back.”

Steve Sarkisian on wide receiver and possibly expanding the rotation: “We are going to play more receivers.” — Sark mention he has seven quality players but isn’t sure if it’ll be a seven-man rotation.

Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers’ Heisman hype and how he deals with it: “I think Quinn is probably like the coolest guy in the room. He doesn’t get caught up in Heisman hype.” — “Even in-game, when you think about Quinn, when he shows those moments of emotion on a great throw, it’s almost shocking to people because even when the bad moments occur, he stays so calm and so cool in the moment.”

Steve Sarkisian credits his culture for why year three was when it clicked. “5-7 in Austin, Texas sucks. That was hard. That was hard on me. That was hard on players. That was hard on a lot of people. 8-5 was a little more palatable for people. But as you continue to stay committed to your course of action, you stay committed to what you believe and over time you start to reap the benefits of that.”

Steve Sarkisian: “This year, I could probably tell you I have 25 leaders.”

Steve Sarkisian on the next step of the offense, says he always tries to stay on the cutting edge. Mentions, like he did last year, there are a lot of versatile players. All three tight ends get positive mention, too.

Steve Sarkisian on the Red River Shootout: “This is the most unique game, for sure, that I’ve ever been a part of.”

Steve Sarkisian: “It’s going to take, week in and week out, work ethic, preparation, innovation, toughness, mental toughness, physical toughness, perseverance, mental fortitude, if you get knocked down to get back up, it’s going to take all the stuff we went through the last three years and put it into one year.”