LIVE UPDATES: Steve Sarkisian's ULM game week press conference

We are five days away from the first Texas Longhorns football game of the 2022 season. Second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian will address the media at 11 a.m. Central time, and Inside Texas will provide updates here.

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The press conference will also be carried live on 104.9 The Horn FM, Longhorn Network, and TexasSports.com.

Updates from Steve Sarkisian

Sark recaps training camp to start things off. “I thought the mock game was really beneficial for us.” — Says it helps all the new players get accustomed to how the program runs things.

Sark says he believes different guys have responded in the wake of injuries to Isaiah Neyor and Junior Angilau — “That’s the whole next man up mentality that has got to be in place across the board.”

Sark: “A lot of guys are going to play.” — Mentions guys listed as first string or second string on the depth chart are going to get a lot of playing time.

Sark on ULM QB Chandler Rogers: “QB is an electric guy who can do it on the ground or in the air.”

Sark: “Obviously, a lot more excitement in the air. I felt it today in meetings and in practice. The volume gets turned up when the season rolls around, the intensity gets turned up, the attention to detail, and all those things.”

Sark on when the game slows down for the QB: “I think a lot of it is specific styles of play. Some plays come more naturally to certain guys, some take a minute. I’m trying to navigate through the things that have really slowed down for (Quinn Ewers) and those are the things we’ll try to emphasize on Saturday. Maybe some things that he’s not quite as comfortable with, maybe we push that back a week. But he appears very comfortable.”

Sarkisian mentions that the defense is “playing as one. We’re not playing as 11 individuals but we’re actually playing as one.”

Sarkisian: “I like a tight-knit group that can be vulnerable, can be honest, can hold each other accountable, yet is full of love. We say it a lot in coaching that it’s not personal, but to me it is personal. I want what’s best for our players and I want them to want it for each other. I think we have done a lot of work in that area. I’m proud of the guys for being vulnerable and really opening up and getting to know their teammates and knowing what things have caused them angst in their lives, and what things maybe excite them, that push them to go further. I think our culture is at an all time high since I’ve been here.”

Sarkisian on his message to Quinn Ewers ahead of his first start: “Allow us to coach you and trust the fact that we’re putting you in a really good position, whether it’s myself, Coach Milwee, Coach Flood, and just trust the people around you.”

Sarkisian: “Isaac Pearson has really performed well this training camp.” Says Will Stone has done a good job with kickoff. Field goal kicking is tough to gauge since it hasn’t been in a game situation — “Bert Auburn has done a really nice job. That doesn’t mean Will Stone won’t get his opportunities, too. We’re going to take this thing throughout the week and put them in real stressful situations.”

Sarkisian says Bijan Robinson has worked hard on becoming more vocal. “He’s held in such a high regard in our locker room that it’s okay to step out of that and coach a guy, help a guy, motivate a guy. We’re seeing that. I think Coach Choice was a perfect fit for him to bring some of that out in him.”

Sarkisian says both kickers feel good about Isaac Pearson holding on field goals.

Sarkisian: “These guys work really hard for a long time.” — “I think our guys are excited to play a game. I don’t think they’re worried about what’s down the road. I honestly think our guys are excited to play football against another team, another helmet, another scheme, and enjoy doing it.”

Sarkisian says he feels like his roster is bigger — “We got bigger up front.” — “We feel fast. I feel speed on our team across the board, whether it was some of the shifting or things we did in the secondary, or some of the influx of the linebackers we brought into the program whether it was high school or transfer. I feel like tight end, we feel a little more athletic, a little more faster.” — “We feel tough to me. I know the old adage, everyone’s got a plan until you get punched in the mouth, and we’ll get punched in the mouth Saturday night, but we feel tough. I feel like we’re a hardened group that is going to play a brand of football that I’m accustomed to.”

Sarkisian: “I think every year, you’ve got to try to do what’s best for your team and your players to have success. I think we’re more than capable to play a little tighter in the back end. I think we recruited to it.”

Sarkisian: “I think this team has the unique ability to create explosive plays on both sides of the ball and special teams. I’ve seen enough from us in the kicking game of blocking punts and creating big returns.” — “I think we’ve got enough playmakers on offense to create those explosive plays, whether it’s the runners or the receivers. I think the quarterback naturally has the ability to do that.”

Sarkisian: “Saturday night at 7 o’clock, I want our guys flying.”

Sarkisian: “We just put in the work. Over time, we really tried to do a really good job of celebrating small victories and not letting things go by without letting them know that’s what it looks like, or that’s how you come together, or that’s what you know player-led leadership looks like. We’ve really tried to celebrate the small wins.”

Sarkisian: “We did a couple of things as a team I felt were really effective.” — Says they did community service in order to give back. Also mentions they participated in more team activities outside of football in order to know each other outside of the lines. Mentions position groups also grew closer together within their room.

Sarkisian: “I think as a staff, we know each other even better than we did a year ago. That’s not to make an excuse, that’s just the reality.”

Sarkisian: “We’re going to get faced with a bunch of tight moments. You don’t just ho-hum your way through four quarters of football, we’re going to get put in difficult situations.”

Sarkisian: “I don’t sit around and dwell and browbeat these guys about being 5-7. This is a different football team. We’ve got a lot of new faces in that room. More than half the guys in that room weren’t even here a year ago. The ones that are still here, they feel crappy already.” — “If I keep looking back at 5-7, I’m going to run right into a tree at some point. We try to keep our focus ahead of us.”