Four of Steve Sarkisian’s most honest statements from Monday

If you would have told anyone at the beginning of the year that Texas would lose five games in a row, with one of them being to Kansas, they would think you are crazy.

However, that’s reality for the Texas football program right now, and it seems as if fans and even those within the program are already looking forward to next season. Texas has been on the wrong end on a lot of bad plays throughout this losing streak, but they’ve also been a play or two away from pulling off impressive wins.

First-year head coach Steve Sarkisian addressed the media on Monday, and while he is usually very uplifting and positive, he seemed to have a no nonsense vibe to him and was not holing back. He seems to be fed up with some of the players remaining from the Tom Herman era, and will have no remorse or issue when they move on.

Here are a few of his most interesting statements he made to the media in regards to the program.

Sarkisian addressed roster build and turnover

While 33 seems like a huge number, this is likely a regular sized recruiting class and a handful of transfers. What’s interesting is the fact that he likely will have a ton of the new players in significant roles from the jump. This Texas roster needs help pretty much everywhere but running back, so don’t be surprised if there are plenty of new faces and names on the field next season.

Pinpointing the biggest needs

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It is no secret that the Longhorns have been pushed around on both sides of the line this season, as the offensive line is the equivalent of counting two Mississippi’s and letting the defense through, while the defensive line hasn’t been able to generate consistent pressure. As it currently stands, Texas holds seven commits on the defensive line, and two along the offensive line. While they are in the mix for multiple highly touted offensive lineman still, it seems more realistic that they will hit the transfer portal extremely hard in the trenches.

Defending his staff

Sarkisian brought in a group of coaches who know winning, and just because the play on the field hasn’t shown that does not mean it is all their fault. Both the players and staff are to blame for this disaster of a season, but this answer seems to hint more so at the fact that players are not executing rather than coaches messing up.

What happened to the players from the 2018 and 2019 classes?

Two classes that ranked No. 3 nationally and No. 1 in the Big 12 have not helped the program as much as you would think. These two classes have seen a ton of attrition, with just a handful of players from both classes have been significant contributors still on the roster. While Herman was able to get kids to Austin, many of the players have not contributed as a Longhorn, which is something Sarkisian is suffering from right now.

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