AUSTIN, Texas — Steve Sarkisian has yet to make his debut in the Big 12, but the new Texas coach was asked Thursday to ponder life in his next league, the Southeastern Conference.
Texas and Oklahoma will move to the SEC at some point between 2022 and 2025. For now, the Longhorns begin practice Friday, and Sarkisian has more imminent concerns, among them choosing a starting quarterback and making sure his talented running back, Bijan Robinson, receives enough work.
Not that Sarkisian won’t face SEC-related issues. Players, coaches, fans and administrators of the eight other Big 12 schools face uncertainty with the eventual loss of Texas and Oklahoma. People are angry. Some no doubt will let the Longhorns hear about it during games.
“You’ve got to recognize the elephant in the room,” Sarkisian said. “We can’t be naive to that. But we also can’t put so much emphasis into it that we don’t focus on ourselves and do what’s necessary for us to have success. Whether it’s loud crowd noise, yelling at us on the bench, a ‘horns down’ signal, all those things are really irrelevant to our ability to execute and succeed at a really high level.”
Sarkisian is familiar with the SEC, of course, having been offensive coordinator when Alabama won the national championship last season.
“Definitely big people, talented people, good coaches,” Sarkisian said. “That’s something, when we get to that point, we’ll worry about.”
As for this season, quarterback Sam Ehlinger, a starter for 43 of his 46 games at Texas over four seasons, left for the NFL and the Indianapolis Colts. His replacement will be either junior Casey Thompson or redshirt freshman Hudson Card, who has yet to take a snap for the Longhorns.
Thompson appeared in three games last season, eliciting raves for his second-half performance after replacing an injured Ehlinger against Colorado in the Alamo Bowl. Thompson completed 8 of 10 passes for 170 yards and four touchdowns against no interceptions. Texas, which led 17-10 at halftime, finished with a 55-23 victory.
Sarkisian said 15 spring practices were not enough for him to make a decision.
“At some point I’m gonna have to do what I think is best for the team,” Sarkisian said. “But I do believe we’re going to need both these guys this fall.”
Robinson, a freshman last season, also had a big game against Colorado: 10 carries for 183 yards and a touchdown; two receptions for 37 yards and two touchdowns.
But fans and media complained that Robinson, under coach Tom Herman, averaged only 11 touches a game. Sarkisian plans to increase Robinson’s work load, suggesting 20 touches as a working number.
“There’s going to be games when he touches the ball upwards to 30,” Sarkisian said. “And there’s gonna games when maybe it’s closer to 13 to 15. Every game takes on a life of its own. We can put a ballpark in that 18 to 22 range. That puts us in a good position, I think, as a team, as an offense. And that still allows opportunity for other players to do what they want to do and what they can do to help our team.”
