On Texas Football: ESPN's Tom Luginbill on the Longhorns
In the latest On Texas Football, Bobby Burton and Gerry Hamilton are joined by ESPN’s Tom Luginbill to get his perspective on the Longhorns, Quinn Ewers, Steve Sarkisian’s program, and more.
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Luginbill has seen several Texas games over the course of Sarkisian’s tenure as Longhorns head coach as part of his responsibilities with ESPN.
“I felt after seeing them from year one to year two where they really made some strides were some high profile recruits that panned out early,” Luginbill said. “Like Xavier Worthy being a dude early, they needed that. They needed a downfield type guy.
“I think they got off on the right foot in that regard. I still believe though, and I think Sark would tell you this because they know what they’re getting into with the SEC, now those types of in-roads need to start happening up front on both sides of the football in relationships to those difference makers that we see — the common denominator, right — amongst the teams that are either winning a College Football Playoff game or winning the national championship.”
Luginbill said he thinks this OL could be one of the best Texas has had in some time, and players like Kelvin Banks could end a stretch of over two decades without a first-round offensive lineman.
Burton explains that there’s talent on the team that could include 8-10 draft picks in the coming years. The defensive improvement plus the continuity in the system has Burton confident in the upcoming season.
Luginbill jumps into the offense.
“My thoughts on the offense is that it is diverse,” he said. “They are going to throw a lot of eye candy at you. They want to formation you. They want to motion you. They want to personnel group you to try to create advantageous matchups. How do we get our best guy on your weakest defender, and various ways of doing that?”
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Luginbill says Sarkisian has advanced a “tried-and-true” scheme that others like Norv Turner, Andy Reid, and Mike Holmgren have implemented. He also now has a level of depth and talent Texas hasn’t been accustomed to that can help the Longhorns “mismatch you with every player across the board.”
On Quinn Ewers, Luginbill says that level of talent requires Ewers to elevate.
“I don’t know if last year, if going into it, during it, preparing for it, I’m not convinced that Quinn Ewers really truly knew how to be a pro,” Luginbill said. “Really truly knew how to take on the role of the CEO of the locker room, of the football team. The first guy in the building and the last guy out.
“I’m not saying he wasn’t working hard, things of that nature. But look at now, you hear Sark talk about his work habits, and his weight room habits, and his diet. Something as simple as cutting his hair, so now instead of that being an attraction or a distraction, he’s viewed differently. That changes the perception of how people look at him. I think these things all matter.”
Luginbill, Burton, and Hamilton discuss Ewers’ mentality and development, teams who could be competitive in the Big 12, realignment’s affect, and the effect of the SEC move on recruiting.
