October 10, 2024 • 19 mins
Hear from Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian at his Thursday media availability as he discusses the Red River Rivalry, preparing for Michael Hawkins Jr. and the Sooners, and who will be starting at QB for the Horns.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Back to the Craig Way Show. Connect with Craig through
the text line by texting Texas to eight one five
three zero followed by your message. Standard message and data
rates may apply.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
And here we are two days prior to kick off,
and uh, let's get right back to it. Logorn's head
coach Steve Sarkisian from the media Zoom today.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Okay, exciting week. You know, I think, you know, from
our perspective, you know, when you have two weeks to
prepare for a game like this, it's kind of a
crescendo as you as you build to the ballgame and
now having Thursday's practice in the books, and you know,
having a walk through Friday and then head up to Dallas.
I know our team is really excited about the opportunity.
(00:49):
It's a great game to be part of, as we
touched on all week. But I'm very I was told
they just got done telling the team. I was really
proud of the way they've prepared this week. You know,
they've been very focused. I've had great intensity. We we
had you know, some really good physical and fast practices.
But in the end of this week, you know, I
think they're really dialed into the details, which is going
to be you know, really important in a game like.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
This, Steve, not just with Quinn, but with any of
your players. How do you determine a players healthy enough
to play?
Speaker 5 (01:18):
Is that?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
How much of a collaborative effort is that between you,
the players, your training staff? How how what's that process?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Like?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
I think they're all in some way, shape or form
a little bit different, right, Injuries are different. Player history
of coming back from an injury is different. You know.
I think there's obviously a medical component to this of
when he is cleared by doctors to play. I mean,
whether I think he can play or not, he has
to be cleared to play. And then and then I think,
(01:47):
then it goes to myself, if you know what is
my I tell me not only from a physical ability,
but also from a mental ability to be ready to
go play. I think a lot of times players can
come off injuries and be physically ready to play, but
mentally still have some things in there that that are
you know, causing hesitation or not, you know, not playing
(02:11):
one hundred percent full speed and that that can be
dangerous too. And so I guess there's science involved, there's
gut instinct involved, there's psyche involved, there's a there's a
lot that goes into it. But in the end, we're
just trying to instill confidence in the player that that
he's more than capable of going and doing it. But
then there's the other player that will tell you he
feels great just because he can't wait to get back
(02:31):
out there, and the doctor say, you know what, he's
not quite ready to go, And so that's where that
dialogue comes in. But I do agree with you it's
a collaborative effort, Steve.
Speaker 6 (02:39):
When facing a guy like Hawkins who's athletic back there,
I was wonder if you could just talk about rush
lane integrity and how crucial that is to have success,
and if possible, just maybe the difference between facing a
guy who looks to use his legs to scramble versus
a guy who's looking to throw in that process.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yeah, you know, I think there's a lot of layers
to this, you know, because I think coverages can dictate
maybe how your rush lanes go. You know, when when
you're playing zone coverage, sometimes you can you can be
a little more aggressive with trying to really rush the
quarterback because the majority of the eyes of the defenders
(03:15):
in the secondary are on the quarterback and they can
react if he does escape the pocket and you can
get him on the ground. Where you have to be
really careful with your rush lanes is when you're playing
man coverage because when you're a man coverage and you
get out of a rush lane and you give the
quarterback somewhere to escape when he goes to run, all
of those guys in the secondary's backs are turned to
the quarterback because they're guarding somebody. And now that can
(03:37):
create you know, longer yardage type runs. You know. The
other the other way you can do that is to
is to play man try to really rush the quarterback
and have a spy where you can keep some somebody's
eyes on the quarterback and when he does go to
go to scramble, you can try to get him on
the ground. And so, you know, I think I think
one of the keys in games like this is you
can't you have to continue to mix your looks, right.
(03:59):
You can't just keep throwing a fastball. You gotta throw
a curve, you gotta throw a change up. You got
to keep switching it up or or a quarterback can
find that rhythm, you know, the guys that that that
that drop back and then extend to scramble as opposed
to guys that drop back to extend to throw. It's
pretty I don't want to say it's easy when when
(04:21):
they're one or the other. When it's really hard is
when they do both. Because now you now players are
really compromised of do I do I come up and
try to get him on the ground or do I
stay in coverage? And so those guys are really the
most dangerous of that because they can do either or.
And I actually think Michael Hawkins is one of those guys.
You know, he has plenty of arm talent that can
(04:41):
that can make those throws when when plays get extended,
but clearly he's he's very dangerous with his legs when
he tucks it and runs.
Speaker 7 (04:48):
Coach, good morning. The NCAA released new n l I
guidelines this week, and I'm curious what you think of that,
what impact that has on you guys as the coaches.
And also shortening transfer window from forty five to thirty days,
how does that impact a coaching staff.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I gotta be honest with you, I haven't read any
of it. I'm gonna I'm gonna look into it a
little bit this afternoon when I have a little bit
of free time. I try to keep the main thing
the main thing. And you know, you know, CDC has
done done a good job of keep me abreast of
some of the decisions that are coming. Our compliance department has,
our recruiting department has. But at the end of the day,
(05:26):
they also know I'm trying to game plan and get
ready for this ballgame. But but I'll probably have a
little more dialogue with them this afternoon when I have
a little bit of downtime to h to kind of,
you know, drill down on this a little bit more.
But so I don't have I don't have a great
comment for you on that.
Speaker 8 (05:41):
Hey, Steve, whenever Quinn goes through the NFL draft process
and starts meeting with pro personnel, do you envision him
having some issue in terms of being labeled injury prone
just given the amount of injuries that he's had throughout
his career.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
I don't necessarily think so. You know, sometimes injuries have
happened because they happen, you know. I mean, you know,
when a guy gets pile drived on to his shoulder,
there's a pretty good chance. It doesn't matter who you are,
your shoulder is probably gonna be sore to some capacity.
Or when you get pile drived and you're clavigal gets
gets popped. I mean, I don't I don't know many
(06:17):
guys that would have withstood that hit from from Dallas
Turner a couple of years ago. That that was an
odd hit. And and I've seen that injury, that same
injury Quinn had that year. Jalen Hurts had as well.
Oddly enough, you know, he has the oblique strain there
a few weeks ago, and I'm watching the game the
other night, Derek Carr is out of the game oblique strain.
You know, So things happen in football, you know, our
(06:38):
sport is our sport. I think more importantly is is
they monitor his ability to come back and how he
comes back and how he plays. And I think Quinn
has shown over his time that when he's been injured,
he's engaged, he comes back and he plays really good
football coming off of injury. And so that's this to me,
is another chance for him to go show that he
can do that here moving forward.
Speaker 9 (06:59):
Yees, Steve, if you could speak to how quickly your
plan has come together, and you know, rising to number one,
you know, just barely into your fourth year, has that
even exceeded your expectations? And as Quinn definitely started.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Uh yeah, Quinn's gonna start Saturday. I'm to go backwards.
That was it. That was the easy answer. I don't
I don't know, you know, I I don't know if
I ever had just a timetable on when we were
going to be, you know, competing for championships. I definitely
wanted it to happen sooner than it did, I'll be
(07:36):
truth be told. You know. You know, you go through
some of those the tough roads of year one and
and some of the ups and downs in year two,
and you're thinking, man, we're so close. Uh and what
would that you know, year or two have looked like
if we had uh maybe not lost that lead at
Oklahoma State, you know, and and what what would that
season have looked like? But to think last last season,
(08:00):
to go twelve and two, to be conference champs and
to be a play away from competing for a national championship,
that felt like that felt right to me. That felt
like that's this is where we're supposed to be. And
now we got to try to take the necessary steps
to try and to go finish it. But that's that
every year, there's so many other new challenges that present themselves.
And so for this journey this season in twenty twenty four,
(08:23):
to get off to the start that it has, I'm
like I said, I'm proud of our coaches, our staff,
our players that we are in this position, but we
have there's such a long way to go, you know,
it's even it's even hard to see the light at
the end of the tunnel for the season, and we
know how difficult and how challenging our conference schedule is,
and now we're navigating different waters with with what an
(08:46):
extended college football playoff could look like. That I just
try to appreciate the way we prepare and the way
we play week in and week out, and I try
to appreciate the culture and the leadership that we have
and the and the intent in which our guys come
to work every day, and that that, to me, is
what I envisioned. You know that, I think the record
and the rankings and all those other things are a
(09:07):
byproduct of what we put in every single day. And
so that part I'm proud of and you know, when
we'll see what the end result looks like. There, you know,
at the end of the.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
Season, coach the piggyback off of Kurt's question there talk
about you know, we're enamored with ourselves. When you think
about the week and the preparation that the team goes through.
Are there some specifics that you see the team doing
outside of your coaching. They maybe took your coaching now
they're taking it to another level in preparation, either mentally physically.
(09:37):
And are there some players that just kind of rise
above that kind of set the standard for everybody else?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Well, I mean some some simple things I look for,
like when I see them at lunch or when I
see him walking through the building, what are they talking about? Right?
Are they talking about you know, hey, how we're going
to play a certain coverage or I can't wait for
for Sark to call this, or man, you know, I
was studying number five this week. Here's what you know
(10:03):
when they're talking about football generally, that that gives me
a sense and a feel of like, Okay, they're they're
engaged in what we have going. I think the other
thing I look at is the energy that we bring
every morning You know, we start with these guys every
day at seven fifteen. You know, what kind of energy
do they have in the team meeting when we walk in,
what kind of energy do they have when they take
the field at practice for pre practice? You know what
(10:26):
a stretch feel like and look like, and so all
those things kind of give me a sign of like, man,
these guys are engaged. And then the ultimately it comes
down to how do we practice? You know, do what
is our you know, are we do we have the
right mental intensity to reduce the number of missed assignments?
Are we finishing runs? Are we finishing blocks? Do we
have Does it sound loud on defense because we're communicating
(10:49):
at such a high level, right, There's a lot of
layers to that, but but all adds up to what
to your point, it's that are we preparing the way
that that is of importance, that that we've value you know,
we value preparation, We value practice because I think that
that's what instills belief and confidence in what we're trying
to go do.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Hey, Steve, just with Michael current on the injury report,
what's the what's the concern level there?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
And then what's the plan if he can't go.
Speaker 10 (11:15):
Uh uh.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Ian Ratliff will punt if he can't go, and then
obviously you know Michael's still a holder too, so you
would be the backup there if he can go as well.
Speaker 11 (11:26):
Steve, you mentioned on Monday about Jake, you know, leaving
the game last year and Connor playing, and we talked
with Jake about, you know, anticipation for this game considering
he didn't get the chance last year. Have you noticed
any difference in him and how he prepares or is
he trying to kind of keep it same old, same old,
even though you know last year happened for him.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
He feels pretty same old to me.
Speaker 11 (11:50):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Jake's uh, he's a he's a really good leader because
you know, when it's football and he's you know, in
his hands on that ball and he's made in the calls,
he's very intense, I mean, very very intense player. In
pre practice when we're working quarterback center exchanges, you know,
he's loose, he's laughing, he's having fun. And then when
(12:11):
you come to meetings and we're working third down protections
and all the calls, I mean, he's dialed in and
it's like he's almost an extension of Coach Flood. So
he's a he's a really well versed guy that I
think is for me, it's calming. You know when I
see Jake like that, he's in great spirits, but yet
he can he can shift gears kind of within the
day or within even practice. That makes me feel good
(12:35):
because that tells me he's not over the top in
one direction or the other. And then I think that
that kind of permeates throughout the offensive line. Steve Guy's
just curious about what were your final thoughts or Coach
Flood's thoughts to the offensive line about OU's pass rush
something they do really well. Yeah, they're a great pass
rush team. I think one they've got good players, and
(12:58):
two they've got good scheme and and and three they
play hard. You know, they play with play with really
good effort. And so you put all three of those
things together. Uh, they do a heck of a job
of getting to the quarterback and because of that, they
do a heck of a job of creating havoc, which
I think leads to the opportunistic defense that they have
where they create turnovers. So a lot of what they
do defensively starts up front. And that's kind of been
(13:21):
a staple of coach Venables defenses throughout the years, you know,
regardless of the school he was at. Uh, it's always
started up front. And you know this, this group's not
not much different than that. You know, they they do
a heck of a job of creating pressure internally, they
do a good job coming off the edge, They do
a good job with their pressure packages and and a
variety of those that they have. So there's layers to
(13:42):
what they do. And we know we've got to work
cut out for us this week with that.
Speaker 12 (13:47):
Hey, coach, what's the the SEC rule as far as
how many guys can travel to a neutral site? And
what's that number compared to what it looks like in
the normal season?
Speaker 13 (13:59):
Uh?
Speaker 12 (13:59):
And then what you know for regular road games, and
how does that impact your preparation as far as special
teams or anything as relates to that number that.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
There is no special consideration for neutral site. So we
get as a road team in the SEC, we get
to travel seventy four. Players a home team in the
SEC you get to travel eighty. We're obviously the road
team this year, so we get to travel seventy four.
And then the only caveat that is different from what
we had in the Big Twelve. In the Big Twelve,
(14:29):
we were able to we were then able to bring
the remainder of our team the day of the game
and they could be on the sidelines. And this year's
format with the SEC, we're not allowed to do that.
So so a little unfortunate, but we'll have seventy four
guys and it really doesn't impact us too too much.
You know, there's a couple of guys you'd really like
to bring that could you know, maybe be you know,
(14:51):
a second or third team guy on teams, but we
just have to adjust accordingly.
Speaker 13 (14:56):
Hey, Steve, you and Quinn were basically a freshman the
Red River Rivory your first and you did your first
one together. What were those conversations like with a young
quarterback playing in that kind of atmosphere and what what
did you have to remind yourself because it was your
first one as well.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
My first one was with Casey and he's on the
other team.
Speaker 13 (15:17):
Now, Yeah, yeah, Quinn about Quinn then, ye, Quinn.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Quinn's was a little unique in that he is coming
off the injury, and but I knew how much this
game had meant to him growing up right in South
Lake and uh, havn't been to the game and sitting
in the stands watching this game. My big thing for
him was just relax and go have fun, you know,
and go play ball. And we had a pretty good
(15:45):
team and we were playing pretty good at that that
juncture of the season, and so I thought I thought
he did that. He had a heck of a game.
I joked with him. In the middle of the game,
he threw one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen.
He was trying to throw the ball away and it
kind of just fluttered in the air and I actually
thought it hit the wire from it from the TV
camera that it but it didn't. So we're able. I
(16:06):
think that's one thing Quinn and I are able to
do that a lot of times doesn't get seen. Like
we're able to laugh things off. And I think that
that's important for a guy like him, and really for
Arch for that matter. Like we're a very intense quarterback
room and we coach them hard, but we also have
the ability to kind of laugh at ourselves and have
fun with things, and and and that, and that ended
(16:27):
up itself. I think in games like this is really helpful.
When the intensity is so high around you, the emotions
are so high around you, the quarterback has got to
be that steady see. You know, he has got to
be that even keel guy that can that can remain
calm and keep his poison composure in the midst of
all the intensity.
Speaker 14 (16:46):
Hey, Steve, kind of an off the wall one here
for you. I'm working on a story on your Spanish
broadcast crew and I was listening to the call. I
heard you do an ad for him. I'm wondering if
you were able to do that off the rip or
if you had to read it, and do you ever
go back and and kind of listen to the energy
those guys bring.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Let me say this the fact that you asked, did
I have to read it or did I let it?
Let it come off the rip? I'm so pumped about
because I had to read that. I had to have
it narrated to me for me to say it my Spanish.
I wish was better than it is, but uh, I've
listened to it a couple of times and I cringe
it like gosh, I should be better at this. But
(17:28):
what a great telecast they do, and and the covers
they give us and just the energy they provide. So
but no, I I had a halfway read it and
have it halfway kind of you know, read to me,
and then I was kind of repeating it back.
Speaker 10 (17:44):
Hey, Steve, I know Big Humans has been a big
part of how you guys have built this program. I'm
curious what are the traits you look for, whether it's
like arm length, explosive and strength in your offensive line
and also the trees you look for defensive line, and
that led you two guys like Kelvin Banks or DJ
Campbell or Collins meant yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Man, I think one is the first measurable is the size, right,
there's height, weight, Then do they have the ability to
bend because you can be a really big guy, but
if you can't bend, then you probably can't move. And
you're always looking for initial quickness, lateral quickness, change a
direction and then when we get them, you know obviously
you know arm length matters, hand size matters. Uh, those
(18:27):
are all those are all things that that you know
through you know historically, you know when you when you
look at the NFL draft and you look at the
average numbers there those types of things matter as well.
So there's a variety of things in there. But but
it's if they don't have the first prerequisite right, which
is some mass, right, some size, then then the other stuff. Man,
(18:47):
you really be a need to be an outlier.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
It's like, well, we've never recruited a six to one guard. Okay, Well,
if he's going to be a six to one garden,
he's that good. He better have like thirty four and
a half inch arms right to protect himself because he
doesn't quite have the height. Hardiell thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Walgorn's head coach Steve Sarkeesian from the weekly media availability,
the Media Zoom that happens on Thursday, his final visit
with the media prior to the next game. All Right,
we have more coming up. To stay with us here
on sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone in the
iHeartRadio app.
Back to the Craig Way Show. Connect with Craig through
the text line by texting Texas to eight one five
three zero followed by your message. Standard message and data
rates may apply.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
And here we are two days prior to kick off,
and uh, let's get right back to it. Logorn's head
coach Steve Sarkisian from the media Zoom today.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Okay, exciting week. You know, I think, you know, from
our perspective, you know, when you have two weeks to
prepare for a game like this, it's kind of a
crescendo as you as you build to the ballgame and
now having Thursday's practice in the books, and you know,
having a walk through Friday and then head up to Dallas.
I know our team is really excited about the opportunity.
(00:49):
It's a great game to be part of, as we
touched on all week. But I'm very I was told
they just got done telling the team. I was really
proud of the way they've prepared this week. You know,
they've been very focused. I've had great intensity. We we
had you know, some really good physical and fast practices.
But in the end of this week, you know, I
think they're really dialed into the details, which is going
to be you know, really important in a game like.
Speaker 4 (01:11):
This, Steve, not just with Quinn, but with any of
your players. How do you determine a players healthy enough
to play?
Speaker 5 (01:18):
Is that?
Speaker 4 (01:19):
How much of a collaborative effort is that between you,
the players, your training staff? How how what's that process?
Speaker 5 (01:24):
Like?
Speaker 3 (01:26):
I think they're all in some way, shape or form
a little bit different, right, Injuries are different. Player history
of coming back from an injury is different. You know.
I think there's obviously a medical component to this of
when he is cleared by doctors to play. I mean,
whether I think he can play or not, he has
to be cleared to play. And then and then I think,
(01:47):
then it goes to myself, if you know what is
my I tell me not only from a physical ability,
but also from a mental ability to be ready to
go play. I think a lot of times players can
come off injuries and be physically ready to play, but
mentally still have some things in there that that are
you know, causing hesitation or not, you know, not playing
(02:11):
one hundred percent full speed and that that can be
dangerous too. And so I guess there's science involved, there's
gut instinct involved, there's psyche involved, there's a there's a
lot that goes into it. But in the end, we're
just trying to instill confidence in the player that that
he's more than capable of going and doing it. But
then there's the other player that will tell you he
feels great just because he can't wait to get back
(02:31):
out there, and the doctor say, you know what, he's
not quite ready to go, And so that's where that
dialogue comes in. But I do agree with you it's
a collaborative effort, Steve.
Speaker 6 (02:39):
When facing a guy like Hawkins who's athletic back there,
I was wonder if you could just talk about rush
lane integrity and how crucial that is to have success,
and if possible, just maybe the difference between facing a
guy who looks to use his legs to scramble versus
a guy who's looking to throw in that process.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Yeah, you know, I think there's a lot of layers
to this, you know, because I think coverages can dictate
maybe how your rush lanes go. You know, when when
you're playing zone coverage, sometimes you can you can be
a little more aggressive with trying to really rush the
quarterback because the majority of the eyes of the defenders
(03:15):
in the secondary are on the quarterback and they can
react if he does escape the pocket and you can
get him on the ground. Where you have to be
really careful with your rush lanes is when you're playing
man coverage because when you're a man coverage and you
get out of a rush lane and you give the
quarterback somewhere to escape when he goes to run, all
of those guys in the secondary's backs are turned to
the quarterback because they're guarding somebody. And now that can
(03:37):
create you know, longer yardage type runs. You know. The
other the other way you can do that is to
is to play man try to really rush the quarterback
and have a spy where you can keep some somebody's
eyes on the quarterback and when he does go to
go to scramble, you can try to get him on
the ground. And so, you know, I think I think
one of the keys in games like this is you
can't you have to continue to mix your looks, right.
(03:59):
You can't just keep throwing a fastball. You gotta throw
a curve, you gotta throw a change up. You got
to keep switching it up or or a quarterback can
find that rhythm, you know, the guys that that that
that drop back and then extend to scramble as opposed
to guys that drop back to extend to throw. It's
pretty I don't want to say it's easy when when
(04:21):
they're one or the other. When it's really hard is
when they do both. Because now you now players are
really compromised of do I do I come up and
try to get him on the ground or do I
stay in coverage? And so those guys are really the
most dangerous of that because they can do either or.
And I actually think Michael Hawkins is one of those guys.
You know, he has plenty of arm talent that can
(04:41):
that can make those throws when when plays get extended,
but clearly he's he's very dangerous with his legs when
he tucks it and runs.
Speaker 7 (04:48):
Coach, good morning. The NCAA released new n l I
guidelines this week, and I'm curious what you think of that,
what impact that has on you guys as the coaches.
And also shortening transfer window from forty five to thirty days,
how does that impact a coaching staff.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
I gotta be honest with you, I haven't read any
of it. I'm gonna I'm gonna look into it a
little bit this afternoon when I have a little bit
of free time. I try to keep the main thing
the main thing. And you know, you know, CDC has
done done a good job of keep me abreast of
some of the decisions that are coming. Our compliance department has,
our recruiting department has. But at the end of the day,
(05:26):
they also know I'm trying to game plan and get
ready for this ballgame. But but I'll probably have a
little more dialogue with them this afternoon when I have
a little bit of downtime to h to kind of,
you know, drill down on this a little bit more.
But so I don't have I don't have a great
comment for you on that.
Speaker 8 (05:41):
Hey, Steve, whenever Quinn goes through the NFL draft process
and starts meeting with pro personnel, do you envision him
having some issue in terms of being labeled injury prone
just given the amount of injuries that he's had throughout
his career.
Speaker 3 (05:55):
I don't necessarily think so. You know, sometimes injuries have
happened because they happen, you know. I mean, you know,
when a guy gets pile drived on to his shoulder,
there's a pretty good chance. It doesn't matter who you are,
your shoulder is probably gonna be sore to some capacity.
Or when you get pile drived and you're clavigal gets
gets popped. I mean, I don't I don't know many
(06:17):
guys that would have withstood that hit from from Dallas
Turner a couple of years ago. That that was an
odd hit. And and I've seen that injury, that same
injury Quinn had that year. Jalen Hurts had as well.
Oddly enough, you know, he has the oblique strain there
a few weeks ago, and I'm watching the game the
other night, Derek Carr is out of the game oblique strain.
You know, So things happen in football, you know, our
(06:38):
sport is our sport. I think more importantly is is
they monitor his ability to come back and how he
comes back and how he plays. And I think Quinn
has shown over his time that when he's been injured,
he's engaged, he comes back and he plays really good
football coming off of injury. And so that's this to me,
is another chance for him to go show that he
can do that here moving forward.
Speaker 9 (06:59):
Yees, Steve, if you could speak to how quickly your
plan has come together, and you know, rising to number one,
you know, just barely into your fourth year, has that
even exceeded your expectations? And as Quinn definitely started.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Uh yeah, Quinn's gonna start Saturday. I'm to go backwards.
That was it. That was the easy answer. I don't
I don't know, you know, I I don't know if
I ever had just a timetable on when we were
going to be, you know, competing for championships. I definitely
wanted it to happen sooner than it did, I'll be
(07:36):
truth be told. You know. You know, you go through
some of those the tough roads of year one and
and some of the ups and downs in year two,
and you're thinking, man, we're so close. Uh and what
would that you know, year or two have looked like
if we had uh maybe not lost that lead at
Oklahoma State, you know, and and what what would that
season have looked like? But to think last last season,
(08:00):
to go twelve and two, to be conference champs and
to be a play away from competing for a national championship,
that felt like that felt right to me. That felt
like that's this is where we're supposed to be. And
now we got to try to take the necessary steps
to try and to go finish it. But that's that
every year, there's so many other new challenges that present themselves.
And so for this journey this season in twenty twenty four,
(08:23):
to get off to the start that it has, I'm
like I said, I'm proud of our coaches, our staff,
our players that we are in this position, but we
have there's such a long way to go, you know,
it's even it's even hard to see the light at
the end of the tunnel for the season, and we
know how difficult and how challenging our conference schedule is,
and now we're navigating different waters with with what an
(08:46):
extended college football playoff could look like. That I just
try to appreciate the way we prepare and the way
we play week in and week out, and I try
to appreciate the culture and the leadership that we have
and the and the intent in which our guys come
to work every day, and that that, to me, is
what I envisioned. You know that, I think the record
and the rankings and all those other things are a
(09:07):
byproduct of what we put in every single day. And
so that part I'm proud of and you know, when
we'll see what the end result looks like. There, you know,
at the end of the.
Speaker 5 (09:15):
Season, coach the piggyback off of Kurt's question there talk
about you know, we're enamored with ourselves. When you think
about the week and the preparation that the team goes through.
Are there some specifics that you see the team doing
outside of your coaching. They maybe took your coaching now
they're taking it to another level in preparation, either mentally physically.
(09:37):
And are there some players that just kind of rise
above that kind of set the standard for everybody else?
Speaker 3 (09:42):
Well, I mean some some simple things I look for,
like when I see them at lunch or when I
see him walking through the building, what are they talking about? Right?
Are they talking about you know, hey, how we're going
to play a certain coverage or I can't wait for
for Sark to call this, or man, you know, I
was studying number five this week. Here's what you know
(10:03):
when they're talking about football generally, that that gives me
a sense and a feel of like, Okay, they're they're
engaged in what we have going. I think the other
thing I look at is the energy that we bring
every morning You know, we start with these guys every
day at seven fifteen. You know, what kind of energy
do they have in the team meeting when we walk in,
what kind of energy do they have when they take
the field at practice for pre practice? You know what
(10:26):
a stretch feel like and look like, and so all
those things kind of give me a sign of like, man,
these guys are engaged. And then the ultimately it comes
down to how do we practice? You know, do what
is our you know, are we do we have the
right mental intensity to reduce the number of missed assignments?
Are we finishing runs? Are we finishing blocks? Do we
have Does it sound loud on defense because we're communicating
(10:49):
at such a high level, right, There's a lot of
layers to that, but but all adds up to what
to your point, it's that are we preparing the way
that that is of importance, that that we've value you know,
we value preparation, We value practice because I think that
that's what instills belief and confidence in what we're trying
to go do.
Speaker 2 (11:08):
Hey, Steve, just with Michael current on the injury report,
what's the what's the concern level there?
Speaker 3 (11:13):
And then what's the plan if he can't go.
Speaker 10 (11:15):
Uh uh.
Speaker 3 (11:17):
Ian Ratliff will punt if he can't go, and then
obviously you know Michael's still a holder too, so you
would be the backup there if he can go as well.
Speaker 11 (11:26):
Steve, you mentioned on Monday about Jake, you know, leaving
the game last year and Connor playing, and we talked
with Jake about, you know, anticipation for this game considering
he didn't get the chance last year. Have you noticed
any difference in him and how he prepares or is
he trying to kind of keep it same old, same old,
even though you know last year happened for him.
Speaker 3 (11:48):
He feels pretty same old to me.
Speaker 11 (11:50):
You know.
Speaker 3 (11:50):
Jake's uh, he's a he's a really good leader because
you know, when it's football and he's you know, in
his hands on that ball and he's made in the calls,
he's very intense, I mean, very very intense player. In
pre practice when we're working quarterback center exchanges, you know,
he's loose, he's laughing, he's having fun. And then when
(12:11):
you come to meetings and we're working third down protections
and all the calls, I mean, he's dialed in and
it's like he's almost an extension of Coach Flood. So
he's a he's a really well versed guy that I
think is for me, it's calming. You know when I
see Jake like that, he's in great spirits, but yet
he can he can shift gears kind of within the
day or within even practice. That makes me feel good
(12:35):
because that tells me he's not over the top in
one direction or the other. And then I think that
that kind of permeates throughout the offensive line. Steve Guy's
just curious about what were your final thoughts or Coach
Flood's thoughts to the offensive line about OU's pass rush
something they do really well. Yeah, they're a great pass
rush team. I think one they've got good players, and
(12:58):
two they've got good scheme and and and three they
play hard. You know, they play with play with really
good effort. And so you put all three of those
things together. Uh, they do a heck of a job
of getting to the quarterback and because of that, they
do a heck of a job of creating havoc, which
I think leads to the opportunistic defense that they have
where they create turnovers. So a lot of what they
do defensively starts up front. And that's kind of been
(13:21):
a staple of coach Venables defenses throughout the years, you know,
regardless of the school he was at. Uh, it's always
started up front. And you know this, this group's not
not much different than that. You know, they they do
a heck of a job of creating pressure internally, they
do a good job coming off the edge, They do
a good job with their pressure packages and and a
variety of those that they have. So there's layers to
(13:42):
what they do. And we know we've got to work
cut out for us this week with that.
Speaker 12 (13:47):
Hey, coach, what's the the SEC rule as far as
how many guys can travel to a neutral site? And
what's that number compared to what it looks like in
the normal season?
Speaker 13 (13:59):
Uh?
Speaker 12 (13:59):
And then what you know for regular road games, and
how does that impact your preparation as far as special
teams or anything as relates to that number that.
Speaker 3 (14:08):
There is no special consideration for neutral site. So we
get as a road team in the SEC, we get
to travel seventy four. Players a home team in the
SEC you get to travel eighty. We're obviously the road
team this year, so we get to travel seventy four.
And then the only caveat that is different from what
we had in the Big Twelve. In the Big Twelve,
(14:29):
we were able to we were then able to bring
the remainder of our team the day of the game
and they could be on the sidelines. And this year's
format with the SEC, we're not allowed to do that.
So so a little unfortunate, but we'll have seventy four
guys and it really doesn't impact us too too much.
You know, there's a couple of guys you'd really like
to bring that could you know, maybe be you know,
(14:51):
a second or third team guy on teams, but we
just have to adjust accordingly.
Speaker 13 (14:56):
Hey, Steve, you and Quinn were basically a freshman the
Red River Rivory your first and you did your first
one together. What were those conversations like with a young
quarterback playing in that kind of atmosphere and what what
did you have to remind yourself because it was your
first one as well.
Speaker 3 (15:15):
My first one was with Casey and he's on the
other team.
Speaker 13 (15:17):
Now, Yeah, yeah, Quinn about Quinn then, ye, Quinn.
Speaker 3 (15:25):
Quinn's was a little unique in that he is coming
off the injury, and but I knew how much this
game had meant to him growing up right in South
Lake and uh, havn't been to the game and sitting
in the stands watching this game. My big thing for
him was just relax and go have fun, you know,
and go play ball. And we had a pretty good
(15:45):
team and we were playing pretty good at that that
juncture of the season, and so I thought I thought
he did that. He had a heck of a game.
I joked with him. In the middle of the game,
he threw one of the worst interceptions I've ever seen.
He was trying to throw the ball away and it
kind of just fluttered in the air and I actually
thought it hit the wire from it from the TV
camera that it but it didn't. So we're able. I
(16:06):
think that's one thing Quinn and I are able to
do that a lot of times doesn't get seen. Like
we're able to laugh things off. And I think that
that's important for a guy like him, and really for
Arch for that matter. Like we're a very intense quarterback
room and we coach them hard, but we also have
the ability to kind of laugh at ourselves and have
fun with things, and and and that, and that ended
(16:27):
up itself. I think in games like this is really helpful.
When the intensity is so high around you, the emotions
are so high around you, the quarterback has got to
be that steady see. You know, he has got to
be that even keel guy that can that can remain
calm and keep his poison composure in the midst of
all the intensity.
Speaker 14 (16:46):
Hey, Steve, kind of an off the wall one here
for you. I'm working on a story on your Spanish
broadcast crew and I was listening to the call. I
heard you do an ad for him. I'm wondering if
you were able to do that off the rip or
if you had to read it, and do you ever
go back and and kind of listen to the energy
those guys bring.
Speaker 3 (17:06):
Let me say this the fact that you asked, did
I have to read it or did I let it?
Let it come off the rip? I'm so pumped about
because I had to read that. I had to have
it narrated to me for me to say it my Spanish.
I wish was better than it is, but uh, I've
listened to it a couple of times and I cringe
it like gosh, I should be better at this. But
(17:28):
what a great telecast they do, and and the covers
they give us and just the energy they provide. So
but no, I I had a halfway read it and
have it halfway kind of you know, read to me,
and then I was kind of repeating it back.
Speaker 10 (17:44):
Hey, Steve, I know Big Humans has been a big
part of how you guys have built this program. I'm
curious what are the traits you look for, whether it's
like arm length, explosive and strength in your offensive line
and also the trees you look for defensive line, and
that led you two guys like Kelvin Banks or DJ
Campbell or Collins meant yeah.
Speaker 3 (18:05):
Man, I think one is the first measurable is the size, right,
there's height, weight, Then do they have the ability to
bend because you can be a really big guy, but
if you can't bend, then you probably can't move. And
you're always looking for initial quickness, lateral quickness, change a
direction and then when we get them, you know obviously
you know arm length matters, hand size matters. Uh, those
(18:27):
are all those are all things that that you know
through you know historically, you know when you when you
look at the NFL draft and you look at the
average numbers there those types of things matter as well.
So there's a variety of things in there. But but
it's if they don't have the first prerequisite right, which
is some mass, right, some size, then then the other stuff. Man,
(18:47):
you really be a need to be an outlier.
Speaker 1 (18:50):
You know.
Speaker 3 (18:50):
It's like, well, we've never recruited a six to one guard. Okay, Well,
if he's going to be a six to one garden,
he's that good. He better have like thirty four and
a half inch arms right to protect himself because he
doesn't quite have the height. Hardiell thank you.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
Walgorn's head coach Steve Sarkeesian from the weekly media availability,
the Media Zoom that happens on Thursday, his final visit
with the media prior to the next game. All Right,
we have more coming up. To stay with us here
on sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone in the
iHeartRadio app.
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