What we learned about Texas football in March
What did we learn about Texas Longhorns football as the month of March went on? Inside Texas explains below.
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Spring Begins!
The Longhorns hit the practice field six times during the month of March and have eight practices plus the Orange-White Game remaining in Spring drills.
We’ve learned what the depth chart looks like on both sides of the ball, and how players at each position have fared.
Here’s the latest on the team from the Inside Texas staff (premium content).
Thus far, Steve Sarkisian has been very complimentary of his team. Like he said when entering the 2023 season, the 2024 team looks like one he recruited and he sees his own roster preferences in this squad.
“I think it’s been very intentional now going into year four of what we’re looking for specifically at position groups, how we tried to build this team,” Sarkisian said March 25. “And I think it’s coming to fruition. Every year you look a little bit different here and there, right? But for the most part, when we come out and I look out our team warm up and I watch us stretch and I watch some of the individual drills when I’m not with the quarterbacks, we’re a good looking team.”
Helmet communications will be a benefit for the Longhorns
Though it may take a bit of a learning curve.
College football teams are acclimating to the addition of in-helmet communication devices for quarterbacks on offense and a player of the team’s choosing on defense.
This type of technology has been around for almost three decades, but it can finally make its way into college football for the 2024 season if a NCAA committee deems it worthy of inclusion in the sport.
Sarkisian, considering he’s spent several years in the NFL most recently with the Atlanta Falcons as offensive coordinator in 2017-18, knows how to use the technology. Making sure his quarterback does is a different story.
Still, Quinn Ewers is a fan of the addition.
“I love it,” Ewers said Thursday. “I think it makes things a little bit easier for me. Obviously, we’re still signaling but I still have Sark telling me the plays in the helmet. First day it was a little shaky just because I was getting used to it, but I think it’s going to be really helpful for me.”
Who will wear it for the Longhorn defense?
“No I haven’t,” David Gbenda said Thursday when asked if they’ve talked about who would wear the radio to hear Pete Kwiatkowski. “But I assume it’s going to be (Anthony Hill).”
The NFL Combine ended “Texas can’t develop”
Eleven Longhorns went to the 2024 NFL Draft combine with Xavier Worthy, Adonai Mitchell, T’Vondre Sweat, and Byron Murphy grabbing headlines. Worthy was the name who created the most buzz in Indy with his record-setting 4.21 in the 40-yard dash, eclipsing John Ross’ 4.22.
The eleven Longhorns represented all different types of players, whether they were three-and-out stars, fourth-year contributors, or fifth- or sixth-year seniors.
Their presence in Indianapolis put the final nail in the coffin for the storyline of “Texas can’t develop,” something that’s plagued the program for the past 10 years.
Steve Sarkisian’s buyout revealed
We knew back in January that Sarkisian and the Longhorns had agreed to a contract extension. We learned in February what his exact yearly salary would be.
In March, we learned a lot more about the specifics of his contracts. Specifically: Sarkisian’s buyout is 85 percent of his contract’s remaining balance.
Some other previously known details…
Sarkisian can receive up to $1.85 million annually in performance bonuses. He’ll receive $150,000 if he reaches the conference championship game and another $150,000 if he wins the game. He’ll get another $100,000 for making a bowl, with escalators up for every new level his team makes. That includes a bonus of up to $250,000 for making the College Football Playoff, up to $500,000 for making the CFP quarterfinal, up to $750,000 for making the CFP semifinal, up to $1,000,000 for making the national championship game, and his bonus total will be $1.25 million should the Longhorns win it all.
He could also add $200,000 in the form of one of the many coach of the year awards, and $100,000 should he win conference coach of the year.
All in all, the Longhorns have made their head coach one of the highest-paid in college football.
Alabama and Sarkisian? “Not really a reality”
Sarkisian garnered plenty of goodwill during his time as Alabama’s offensive coordinator working for Nick Saban. When the G.O.A.T. retired in early January, Sarkisian’s name was one mentioned as connected to the job.
Those mentions weren’t grounded in reality.
“Like I told people before, when I left Alabama to come to Texas at the end of that 2020 season when we won the national championship, I came here with the hopes and the goals of building my own legacy,” Sarkisian said on Keyshawn Johnson’s podcast. “I think that’s something that obviously Coach Saban did at Alabama, (Pete) Carroll did at USC and with the Seahawks. I think the speculation in the outside world was probably just that. We were in the process of developing and getting my new contract here done. I think we’re just on the cusp of doing some special things here at the University of Texas. Fortunate, but no, that was not really a reality.”
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Additionally, ESPN reported that Alabama had a sense not to approach Sarkisian because “Alabama’s leadership knew Sarkisian wasn’t going to leave Texas, especially with the Longhorns moving to the SEC next season.”
Transfers fare well
Texas welcomed eight transfers to the program during the first window in the form of Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, Silas Bolden, Kendrick Blackshire, Tia Savea, Andrew Mukuba, Amari Niblack, and Trey Moore.
Bolden won’t arrive on campus until June, though he did take a visit to Austin over the weekend. That said, his seven portal partners earned plenty of praise from Sarkisian after the Longhorns’ first spring practice.
Plus, players like Bond, Moore, and Mukuba have earned a lot of behind the scenes praise over on the Inside Texas Members Only board.
2025 SEC schedule revealed
And it looks a lot like 2024’s.
Instead of moving to a nine-game conference schedule in 2025, the SEC league office elected to simply flip the locations of the 2024 matchups and revisit the issue ahead of the 2026 season.
For Texas, that means the 2025 SEC schedule will include…
Home: Arkansas, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt
Away: Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi State
Neutral: Oklahoma (Dallas, Texas)
Quinn Ewers is relishing the 2024 season
Ewers explained last week why he decided not to head to the draft.
“I feel like I’ve been rushing my entire life,” Ewers said. “Just take a year, slow down, and not rush things. I skipped my senior year, that went by fast. I was at Ohio State for a semester or so, that all went by fast also. Just take my time throughout the whole process, enjoy being here. Being present and not looking too far forward.”
Much more from Ewers and the decision to return to Texas can be found here.
KJ Lacey earns Elite 11 invite
2025 Saraland (Ala.) QB and Texas commit K.J. Lacey competed at the Austin regional of the Elite 11 camp series last weekend and earned a spot in the finals of the prestigious quarterback competition. He then took in Texas’ March 25 practice.
Lacey told Inside Texas he only has one official visit scheduled at this time, and it’s to Texas on June 21-23. Other programs remain in pursuit of Lacey, but he continues to say all the right things about his commitment to Texas.
“Just knowing that Texas is going uphill from here,” Lacey said. “Just knowing as soon as I get here, I’m going to be developed to be my best self until I get to the next level after that. I’m going to have my teammates around me, the class is going to get built up, and with the people that are going to be there before and I after I get here is going to keep it going uphill.”
That said, Lacey took a visit to Auburn, one of three programs along with Ole Miss and Oregon who he told IT continues to pursue him.
Texas continues to do the right things to keep Lacey in the fold, but they may also want to add another quarterback to the 2025 class.
SEC Check-Ins
Inside Texas has checked in with writers who cover SEC schools for On3 or for friends of IT. Thus far, IT has talked with seven SEC football media outlets…
- Mississippi State: Jeff Lebby begins a new era
- Texas A&M: Aggies start over with Mike Elko ahead of the return of the rivalry
- Ole Miss: The Rebels are going for it all in 2024
- Florida: A pivotal year three awaits Billy Napier at Florida
- Georgia: UGA looks to assert itself as top-dawg in new-look SEC
- LSU: With Jayden Daniels moving on, what’s next for Brian Kelly?
- Kentucky: Cats move forward with new faces at QB & OC under Mark Stoops
For more on Texas Longhorns football, click here.
For more on Texas football recruiting, click here.
