Longhorns ‘didn’t have a couple great weeks,’ but Sarkisian undeterred about offensive capabilities
The Longhorns got back to work Monday, and one thing coach Steve Sarkisian noticed was the overall noise level.
To him, it sounds like a team ready for November.
“What I loved about today’s practice was the spirit, the energy and the intent,” Sarkisian said Monday. “You could hear us at practice today. That was something we challenged them on. We didn’t want the bye week to bleed into game week.”
The fifth-ranked Longhorns (7-1, 3-1 SEC) have to get back going and somewhat find their mojo again. A home loss to Georgia and a closer-than-many-liked road win at Vanderbilt could leave you guessing as to what comes next. Not Sarkisian, though.
I just don’t want our guys to press,” Sarkisian said. “We’re plenty good enough and we’ve got good enough players. We have good enough schemes. We’ve got enough balance to be a really electric offensive football team.
“And, yeah, we didn’t have a couple great weeks. That’s OK. We’re going to be all right and make sure that we got confidence to go do those things. So I don’t overdo it with them, because I just want them to know I believe in them, here’s why I believe in them and here’s what we’re going to do to ensure opportunities for them to go make some plays.”
Sarkisian likened the offense to other sports. Good basketball shooters want to see the ball go through the net. Home run hitters like to see the ball sailing over the outfield wall.
“They need to see one fly out of the park,” Sarkisian said. “For us offensively, if we can find a little of that mojo, whatever that is in the football vernacular, I think that’s going to spark our confidence and kick us into high gear.”
Florida (4-4, 2-3) comes to Austin with the SEC’s third-worst defense. The Gators are also up in the air at quarterback. Coach Billy Napier said Monday that DJ Lagway’s hamstring injury wasn’t as bad as feared, and Lagway has not been ruled out against Texas.
The Horns can’t worry about Lagway or third-stringer Aidan Warner. This team needs to put some points on the board itself.
Sarkisian admitted the running game has been “a work in progress.” And that quarterback Quinn Ewers had a good week of practice, and “he’s really delivering the ball well.”
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