What Steve Sarkisian is looking for in Texas' first scrimmage

Thursday’s practice was the second in full pads for the Texas Longhorns, meaning it was the second where full-fledged tackling was in order for Steve Sarkisian’s team. When the Longhorns return to the practice field on Friday, Sarkisian said they’ll go through a lighter day before scrimmaging for the first time this training camp on Saturday.

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When the scrimmage begins, Texas players will attempt to put together all the fundamentals of tackling (or breaking tackles) they’ve been practicing in the two days with live, to-the-ground contact.

“It’s going to be the first time they tackle for a lot of plays in a row,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “Who is a consistent tackler? Who is not?”

Sarkisian mentioned though the Longhorns have been in full pads the past two practices, he and his staff have been judicious about how often they work to-the-ground tackling. Over three weeks of camp remain, and despite the need for improvement in tackling from last season, the goal is for the Longhorns to be ready to take down Warhawks, Crimson Tide, Roadrunners, and fellow Big 12 rivals.

Texas still works on tackling by using bags, various pieces of equipment, and other players even though they don’t always go to the ground. There are plenty of parts to the tackling process that can be drilled without finishing the tackle. How prepared that has Texas for Saturday(s) is something Sarkisian is excited to evaluate.

“We have to utilize these live periods that we have to really work on it, but it really starts in the front end in working the fundamentals and techniques,” Sarkisian said. “Then, you see the guys that apply those fundamentals and techniques when its time to go live. The guys that abandon their fundmanetals and techniques, those are the guys we know we have to drill back into because he’s not applying the things we worked on for five practices to get ready for this one.”

In addition to tackling, what is Sarkisian looking for in Saturday’s scrimmage?

“It’s about who can do right over an extended period of time, one play at a time, regardless of how long a drive is,” Sarkisian said.

That of course applies to quarterbacks. It’ll be Sarkisian’s first chance to see how Hudson Card and Quinn Ewers handle situations as close to live as possible until games begin on September 3. On Thursday, Sarkisian said he wants to see how the quarterbacks are able to execute, make decisions, and carry themselves as leaders. He also mentioned he wants to see how they respond to different scenarios.

“Understanding the special situations that arise in a scrimmage; third downs, red area, two-minute drills,” Sarkisian said. “There’s going to be a a lot of different scenarios that come up.”

Quarterbacks are never live for tackling in scrimmages, so how does Sarkisian prepare them for pressure from the Longhorn defense?

“It’s probably one of the more difficult things to do at that position,” Sarkisian said. “We do a lot of drill work with them. They feel bags, they feel things. Hopefully, I put a fair amount of fear in them from the back about getting the ball out. I’m not very shy when it comes to that.”

What else? If his defense can force turnovers. Texas was -4 in turnover margin last year, a mark that had them tied for No. 94 in the country. That’s an aspect he believes correlates strongly to a team’s win-loss record. Just look at Baylor, who was tied for third in the country with a +14 turnover margin during the Bears’ conference championship season.

There are other aspects that Sarkisian didn’t mention Thursday, but evaluating offensive linemen, defensive backs, and specialists will be some of his major focuses. Plus, after deploying four platoons in special teams periods, he’s ready to pare down four-deep to a three-deep.

Sarkisian mentioned a desire for better football IQ from his team throughout the offseason, and even has schedule meetings for his players in order to improve that mental aspect. But at the end of the day, both he and his players are ready to carry out the most basic facet of the sport.

“It’s a contact sport,” Sarkisian said. “It’s a violent sport, and for some of these guys, it’s part of the reason I think they play it. They can hit people. Outside of hitting people above the shoulders, you don’t get in trouble for hitting people hard.”

Put simply, about the excitement: “You can kind of feel it a little bit.”