No. 3 Texas' eyes on Kentucky, Senior Night this weekend

With the daunting Texas A&M game being the talk of the town in Austin as College Football Playoff hopes continue to dominate the discourse, a lot of fans may have forgotten about the importance of this weekend.

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Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian called this matchup vs. Kentucky the most important game of the year, continuing to prove his mindset that every game is an SEC championship. But even with playoff hopes on the line against a team built for upsets, the importance of this game transcends the results on the field.

Saturday is senior night, potentially the final home game (who knows what will happen with the College Football Playoff) for many of the most important players on this Longhorn team. 

A lot was said about last year’s team in regards to culture and love. Texas wasn’t as talented from players 1-100 in 2023 as they are this year, but the leaders of the team made the group feel special. True Texas fans will never forget Jordan Whittington or Jaylan Ford, even if players like Anthony Hill or DeAndre Moore may be stuffing the stat sheets more than their former mentors. While the ‘24 team has always had the talent, it seems like talks of notable leaders and a strong bond had lessened from Sarkisian throughout the season.

That truly changed on Monday. Sarkisian was emotional when remarking on what this team meant for him, and the love that he posseses for all of his players.

“I love these guys,” Sarkisian said about this group. “They put forth a lot of effort, they work their tails off, but yet we have fun doing what we get to do. And that starts with the leadership on those guys, the Jahdae Barron’s, the Barryn Sorrell’s, the Jake Majors’, the Hayden Conner’s, those guys lead the charge. And for us to empower them to be able to do that, and then them to take the reins and go do that  is super cool to see.”

Whether fans still doubt if the offense has completely hit their stride with deep passing or the run game, there should be no doubt with what this group has turned into. Barron, Sorrell and Majors in particular are true leaders of this team, and it was obvious in hearing Sarkisian’s speech how much these guys meant to the team.

“Jahdae’s just super easy to talk to, Barryn Sorrell really gets us up for the fourth quarter, Quinn (Ewers) really gets us up for the fourth quarter. Jake Majors really gets us up for big games,” senior tight end Gunnar Helm said. “We got a lot of leadership on the team, and I like the diverseness of our of our leadership council.”

Texas will be celebrating up to 23 seniors this Saturday, 16 of which have turned into key contributors for the team. This group of players features an extremely important group of 11 athletes, including guys like Sorrell and Majors, that have been there for everything in the Sarkisian era. 

Some players, like sixth-year linebacker David Gbenda, have seen what Texas was like before Sarkisian, but that group of 11 guys means so much to Sarkisian as the true instillers of culture in Austin.

“I’m really appreciative of these guys, because it’s a it’s hard to get a culture the way you want it. I’m not saying the last one was wrong, right and different. It’s just what we were looking for. And these guys bought in,” Sarkisian said. “And when it got difficult year one, year two, they didn’t jump off and go somewhere else. They stayed the course with what we were trying to do. And so super grateful for these guys. And you know, I owe a ton to them. And you know, I get a little emotional about this stuff, because without without this group, we wouldn’t be where we are.”

Saturday marks the end of a lot of traditions that these players hold dear. Sorrell couldn’t decide what he’d miss most about the atmosphere, whether it was the initial walkout down the steps before the team’s entrance or the Longhorn crowd itself, the things that make The University of Texas its own unique entity. 

“It’s been a four year long journey, and there’s been a lot that goes into it,” Sorrell said. “But there’s just a lot of moments and a lot of things that I poured out into this team and into this program.”

Sorrell said he wouldn’t be the guy to cry on Saturday, and that the most likely culprit would be Barron, the most vocal leader on the team. Whether it was because of the cornerback’s high emotions or his love for the team, Barron, in the most Jahdae Barron way possible, agreed that he would maybe shed a tear or two.

“I’m gonna drop some real gangsta’ tears out there.”