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What Steve Sarkisian learned, who he thought stood out from Saturday's scrimmage

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•04/14/25•

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Warren Roberson
Warren Roberson (Will Gallagher/Inside Texas)

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian‘s program is now two-thirds of the way through spring football practices, and there is a consistent element he wants to see from his team whether it comes from Arch Manning or the true freshman who just showed up in January.

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“Finished up practice 10 today with five to go,” Sarkisian said Monday. “A couple things we touched on with the players is we’re in this process of growth and we’re in this process of consistent growth. We’re all trying to find the players we can trust and can show us they can be trusted, grow within, and sustain over time. I think there’s a level of consistency we’re striving for in all three phases. We’ve definitely seen a lot of flashes from a lot of people. Now, it’s who can replicate that practice after practice after practice.”

Texas held a scrimmage over the weekend in front of recruits, high school coaches, and other esteemed guests. The Longhorns have five practices left before they participate in the April 26 fan day and break for the end of the semester before starting summer conditioning.

Overall, Sark saw a level of effort and pad-poppin’ that left him pleased with what he saw.

“I thought it was a really physical practice, which we needed,” Sarkisian said. “Every practice has an emphasis of what we’re looking for. Collectively, it was a physical practice. The opportunity to tackle, to get tackled, to hold onto the ball, to sustain all the way through late into the scrimmage portion of the practice, those things broad-scope big-picture I thought were some real positives.”

Who were some of the players that stood out? Sarkisian wanted to reference players on the younger side of the spectrum or Horns who are making use of their first few opportunities in burnt orange. He started on defense.

  • “A guy that is starting to show up for us on the defensive side of the ball has been Warren Roberson. He’s had an impact for us on special teams here, but we’re starting to see the value of him on the defensive side of the ball.”
  • “I thought Jelani McDonald showed some really good things. Again, a guy who’s grown into that position. Has moved, moved, moved, and now is settling in there and has been a real positive for us on that front.”
  • “I think some of the new faces on the defensive front, I think Hero Kanu, Cole (Brevard) have both been really solid players for us on the defensive front, which has been impressive.”
  • “We’re getting the best version of Brad Spence right now, too, to throw that into the mix. He’s a guy that was a little nicked up when we got him, and he’s had to grow into playing in that spot and playing more football. That’s been a real positive.”

And on his side of the football?

  • “On the offensive side of the ball, Emaree Winston has been a guy that has showed up and done some really nice things for us at tight end. He showed up the other night.”
  • “I think some guys on the offensive line are starting to really show themselves to us, too. Brandon Baker is a guy who was a developmental player. Now in year two, he’s starting to show a lot of consistency as well.

Lastly, there was a special teams update.

  • “Michael Kern, I’ve seen a definite big uptick in him. He’s healthy to go along with Jack (Bouwmeester). Both those guys can bomb the ball. When you can punt the ball and it’s a weapon for you, you felt that a couple of different years with (Ryan) Sanborn and (Cameron) Dicker when they were at a high level flipping the field, things of that nature. Feel good there.”

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With a consistent emphasis on preparing the whole roster for a lengthy season, it makes sense for Sarkisian to want to highlight players still in the early portions of their journeys on the 40 Acres. Those players will be key in the fall, and they played key roles on Saturday.

“A lot of different names,” Sarkisian said. “I could talk about a bunch of guys, but those are the guys that pop into my head first.”

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