Notes from Steve Sarkisian on the SEC Coaches Teleconference including an Isaiah Bond update

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian was on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday. Here are the notable updates.

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***Update on Isaiah Bond

Steve Sarkisian says Isaiah Bond "had a pretty good practice today."

— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) October 16, 2024

***Sarkisian was first asked about what allowed his program to be prepared for the SEC. He gave an answer similar to the one he’s given on other occasions when asked this question.

He believed that to get through teams like Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, and Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff as part of championship contention, his teams needed to look like those other programs. That included being bigger in the trenches and faster on the perimeter.

“When we got notified we were going to the SEC, that formula for building the team really didn’t have to change at that point because we had already been building the team that way to try to beat the best teams out of the SEC. It just reaffirmed what we were doing,” Sarkisian said.

As usual, he credited the need for culture along with that talent: “I think culture and talent together is really dangerous.”

***Was he trying to mirror Georgia? Sarkisian didn’t say he was trying to copy the Bulldogs on the micro level but acknowledged they have similar goals at the macro level. However, both Sarkisian and Kirby Smart took plenty from their time with Nick Saban.

“A lot of this stuff is Kirby and I’s backgrounds with Coach Saban,” Sarkisian said. “When you’re at Alabama, whether it’s for a short time or a long time, there’s a lot of lessons to be learned.”

***What do Sarkisian and Smart have in common aside from their Saban ties?

“We’re both average golfers,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian explained the two had a personality connection and attributed that to their careers as college players, their paths in the business, their families with sons playing college football, and their competitive natures.

***On offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and quarterback Carson Beck: “Coach Bobo has been a great offensive mind for quite some time. We all have to evolve every year, and I think for Georgia they had to evolve. When you lose the caliber of players they lost off of last year’s and the last couple of years’ teams, most notably Brock Bowers where so much of that offense was kind of centered around him, it’s almost like they had to re-invent themselves a bit. His wide receivers have been big playmakers. The tight end (Oscar) Delp has been a big playmaker. The thing I appreciate is they’ve got all the offense. That’s probably my biggest thing in watching them. They’ve got every screen like we do. They use multiple motions, shifts, and formations. They’ve got a physical, downhill running game. Then, off of that, they have all the play-action pass stuff where they can throw it over your head.

“Like I said earlier in the week, Carson has the ability to do all of that. I think he threw a touchdown pass the other day where I think the ball was in the air 62 or 64 yards. He’s got big-time arm talent. He’s got great pocket presence. Yet, as you’re trying to defend all that down the field, you still have to worry about the advantage throws, the receiver screens, the things of that nature where they can get completions and move the ball down the field.”

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***”Obviously, you’ve used some tempo at Texas. Has the idea that the opposing defensive coordinator now has a tablet where they can slow down and maybe find some of the things you’re trying to hide with that tempo impacted your use of it?”

Steve Sarkisian: “We’ve always kind of dabbled in the tempo world. There was a time in my career when I was at Washington in the end of my tenure at Washington and in my time at USC where we were a true tempo team. We went as fast as we could go. Then, we kind of evolved out of that, especially when I went to the NFL with the Falcons.

“Since I’ve been back in college, we dabble in the tempo world. That’s not something that we major in. I don’t know, I tend not to overthink stuff like that. I believe in our execution and what we need to do. We’re definitely not a huge static formation team. Even when we use tempo, a lot of times there’s motions involved and different things. That’s just kind of who we are as an offense. It’s not so much to try to gain an advantage on the defense as far as will they recognize what we’re doing. That’s just how we install our offense and the way we go about our business.”