Steve Sarkisian: "Don't forget what the last decade looked like"

Steve Sarkisian may have arrived at Texas in 2021, but he knows the Longhorn football program was not one reaching its ceiling during the mid and late 2010s.

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That’s why during the course of an answer to a question about what he hopes Quinn Ewers is doing in preparation for the final two regular season games, Sarkisian added this piece of advice for Texas fans.

“We’re 9-1 for the second year in a row,” Sarkisian said Thursday on his Zoom. “We’re competing for a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row. Don’t forget what the last decade looked like. Let’s just remember how good we’ve got it right now and appreciate this team and how good they’re playing right now.”

Texas suffered through five losing seasons between 2010 and 2024. That stood in stark contrast to the run of 10-win seasons the program achieved every year from 2001 to 2009.

Sarkisian was the author of one of those losing seasons, and the program has come a long way, both in terms of quality and conference affiliation, since the 2021 campaign.

Speaking of the SEC, Texas battles Kentucky this weekend, a game that Sarkisian does not want his team to overlook with the return of the rivalry against Texas A&M on the horizon.

It’s also senior day, a day where Sarkisian will be able to thank a number of seniors who helped his program go from that 5-7 year in 2021 to College Football Playoff contenders in 2023 and 2024.

“In this day and age of college football and the transfer portal, when all these guys had plenty of opportunities to go to other schools, they believed in what we were doing,” Sarkisian said. “They gave everything they had to this program over a four-year span, and they’ve been part of this evolution of our football program.

“When you’re 5-7, they all could have left. When we were 8-5 and maybe they weren’t starters, they all could have left. In year three, they’re Big 12 champs, they go to the College Football Playoff, and then they all became leaders.”

Here are more updates from Sarkisian’s Zoom.

Texas HC Steve Sarkisian on Jaydon Blue: “He’s obviously a really versatile player for us. His ability to run the football and get on the edge, and when you can get him in the open field, the first guy — we were joking with him today — doesn’t ever get him on the ground.”

More on Blue: “Where we’ve grown with Jaydon is finding multiple ways to get the ball in his hands, especially when we can get him the ball in his hands in space. He’s just a really tough matchup and he’s obviously got elite speed.”

Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: “From where he was year one to where he is today, to the rapport he has with his teammates, to the mental and physical toughness he exudes, for us I think is one that’s admired in the locker room. I think there wasn’t a more fitting play for him than the 4th and 2 last week against Arkansas where we call the zone read with him. He decides to try to run the safety over to get the first down to seal the victory, and I just think that’s who Quinn is.”

Steve Sarkisian said practices this week, specifically Wednesday, were “feisty”: “In November, for so many teams it can feel monotonous to the players. Clearly, for our guys, it was not.” — “I enjoyed that because they’re still very hungry. The same hunger I talked about all offseason and in training camp. This group is still very hungry.”

Steve Sarkisian: “The best memory you’re going to have Saturday of your senior day is playing really well and winning the game.”

Steve Sarkisian on the Stoops brothers at Kentucky: “Mark and Mike are tremendous football coaches, all the way back to their days at Youngstown. They grew up in the profession. I actually started competing against them I think when they were at Arizona and I was an assistant at USC, then in my time at Washington. They’ve always played great defensive football, and they’re so sound, they’re so disciplined, and they recruit really good looking players.”

Steve Sarkisian says he tried to hire Mark Stoops away from his brother Mike at Arizona when Sarkisian was head coach at Washington.

— Inside Texas (@InsideTexas) November 21, 2024

Steve Sarkisian on Kentucky: “They just play really good defense. They minimize the explosive plays. They can bog you down. I think Ole Miss scored 17 points against them. Georgia scored 13 points against them. Tennessee got a couple scores late to get to 28. They can control the game that way. Offensively, they’re a run first offense that can control the clock. They get yards in the return game.”

Steve Sarkisian on the path to victory: “You’ve got to play sound football against them. We’ve got to find explosive plays on the offensive side of the ball, we’ve got to minimize the return yards, and then we’ve got to make sure that we get off the field on defense.”

Steve Sarkisian on Quinn Ewers: “My hope is that he’s enjoying this experience because this stuff is once in a lifetime.”

More on Ewers: “He comes back (for 2024) and here we go again. We’re 9-1, we’re in the SEC, and we’re competing for a conference championship and an opportunity to get back to the playoffs.”

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Even more on Ewers: “I’m hopeful that he’s enjoying it, that he’s learning some real life lessons about how to deal with adversity, and I think I’m hopeful that he’s pouring into those that are really close to him.”