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Steve Sarkisian: "We built a program here that I think can withstand," but it's time to kick in the door

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•04/02/25•

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Steve Sarkisian
Steve Sarkisian Aaron E. Martinez/American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK

For Steve Sarkisian and the Texas Longhorns, rebuilding is no longer part of the lexicon. Everything Sark and the UT football program does is made in an effort to reload for yearly championship contention in the hopes of an eventual title run, whether that’s recruiting, coaching, or how he develops his players.

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Getting talent is key, and Texas has fared exceedingly well in that aspect on multiple fronts.

“We built a program here that I think can withstand,” Sarkisian said to Colt McCoy on the Clean Pocket Podcast. “Granted, we signed some good players, we signed the No. 1 class in the country and there’s an influx of these young players. We don’t live in the transfer portal, but we utilize it. We signed five guys in the portal. We’re getting coaching turnover now more than ever because of attrition and guys are getting great opportunities. But I get to bring in really good coaches, too.”

Texas sent 14 Longhorns to the NFL combine and could see that many or more picked in the 2025 NFL Draft. But as Sarkisian mentioned, several top-five classes have been brought to the 40 Acres and Texas tends to do well in the transfer portal. The Longhorns also saw Blake Gideon, Terry Joseph, and Tashard Choice depart for opportunities in the NFL or to call plays. That’s a lot that leaves, but plenty is staying as well and fresh ideas arrive in the form of Mark Orphey, Duane Akina, and Chad Scott plus a number of other assistants for individual positions.

The coaches can only go so far in guiding the Longhorns. Players have to lead as well. Along with Arch Manning, Sarkisian mentioned several players who could take on larger leadership mantles.

And those players want to do something special in burnt orange after back-to-back College Football Playoff semifinals appearances.

“Michael Taaffe has been an awesome leader,” Sarkisian said. “Anthony Hill has been a great leader. Trevor Goosby is a natural leader even though he’s only started a few games for us. You can feel his presence. DeAndre Moore has been a great leader. Manny Muhammad. Colin Simmons is already there.

“We’re probably returning more production than people want to give us credit for, but man, this is a group of really young, talented players that they want to be the group that kicks in the door. They know somebody is going to do it. They want to be the group that gets it done.”

There’s an expectation for this team, from young players to elder statesmen.

“Everybody has to be better this year than they were last year,” Sarkisian said.

Sarkisian gave the team a bit of an extended break after the season before ramping up offseason workouts, save for some of the newcomers and freshmen. He mentioned it took a few weeks into those training sessions before the team kicked off some of the blues from finishing just short of playing for a national championship again.

But now, the team is ready to contend and reach new heights.

“This team is energized,” Sarkisian said. “They’re talented, they really are talented. Probably more important is that they’re really hungry. A lot of these guys were puppies the last two seasons. Now they’re like the grown up dog that still has the energy of the puppy.”

All these aspects are reasons why Sarkisian told the former Longhorn he’s excited to see if this team can take the Texas football program to the next level.

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“We’re going to kick in the door here, hopefully sooner rather than later. It’s going to be fun,” Sarkisian said.

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