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August 19, 2024 • 13 mins
With Texas Football only 12 days away from returning, the Longhorns held this second scrimmage of fall camp over the weekend and the intensity picked up. Hear head coach Steve Sarkisian recap the scrimmage while also answering questions about the teams health, the RB position, and if any of the wideouts have seperated themselves from the pack.
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Episode Transcript

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Speaker 1 (00:02):
It's the craig Way Show with the Voice of the
Texas Longhorns and Hall of Vaine broadcast.

Speaker 2 (00:08):
There Craig Way, beginning of a new work week.

Speaker 3 (00:16):
Here on a Monday.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Now you know last Friday, I said, for some folks,
Friday is not the weekend. Friday might be their Wednesday.
So they might be enjoying their weekend right now. Good
on you if that's the case. The Long Horn football
team went back to practice data scrimmage inside of d
k R Texas Memorial Stadium on Saturday, and then we're
back on the practice field this morning. There was a

(00:39):
media briefing afterwards with Long Worn's head coach Chief Sarkisian,
who would open the media availability.

Speaker 4 (00:47):
Dusley a little recap from saturday scrimmage. I was pleased
and the fact that I really felt like we made
strides from one week to the next. Of times, that's
hard to quantify because you're trying to look at all
three phases of your team. You're looking at depth, you're
not just always looking at frontline starters. But it just

(01:09):
felt faster. It felt like we were more efficient. I
felt like there was we were moving at a better
pace offensively, not that it was all just go fast,
but even you know, just getting lined up shifts and motions.
I think that forced more communication from our defense, which
we needed. We were trying to emphasize there. You know,

(01:30):
I thought on special teams we were playing faster. We're
starting to realize kind of who we're going to be
some of our key components on special teams as well,
and so that that was real positive. And so coming
out of that as we head into this week, you know,
we kind of have what we call a Mott game
on Saturday where we kind of worked all of our
substitutions and situations that might come up Saturday. So we

(01:51):
treat this week like a game week, and although we
haven't started school, all of our timing and practices and
meeting times will be exactly as if we were we
were in class, so that we can start creating some
of those habits on their daily routine and what they
need to do to handle their preparation from a football
standpoint and still managing their personal lives. So we're working
on that. And then then more importantly than that, I

(02:13):
just touched on with the team like we really got
to we really got to drill down on the little
things this week right there. So everybody's got the little things,
the details at their position to really wire into and
at that point when they do that, that that's how
they earn the trust of us that we can count
on them to do the big things when when the
games come around. So I've been impressed with this team.
I love, I love, like I said, just the camaraderie

(02:35):
of this group. They're very connected, they work well together,
they hold each other accountable, and that was no different Saturday.
And so, uh, the one thing I'll touch on too,
I thought the offense took care of the ball much
better Saturday. You know, coming out of that first scrimmage
the ball was loose. I think we had about five turnovers.
This past Saturday. We had one and it was another

(02:55):
great red zone turnover that the defense now two weeks
in a row, has been able to create. So that's
good for them too. So again I'm trying to look
at it from a ten thousand foot view and not
through a straw just as what does the offense do,
but as a team, and I've been I've been impressed
with where.

Speaker 2 (03:09):
We're at now on to the questions, and clearly still
the running back positions on the minds of many, what
with the injuries to ce J Baxter and Christian Clark
which have taken them out of this season entirely, with
the knee and achilles injuries respectively knocking out both Baxter.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
And Clark, so.

Speaker 2 (03:33):
Three true scholarship backs healthy and remaining in Jayden Blue,
and then obviously the freshman Jared Gibson and and Trey
Weisner as well. Those guys and then some other guys
working in at the position. But the question was put

(03:54):
to start, would the possibility be there to entertain adding
and running back out of the portal?

Speaker 4 (03:59):
We are, I mean, we definitely have a spot that
we can utilize. Again, you know, a lot of times
this late in the game, it's probably not a traditional transfer,
maybe more of a graduate transfer something of the sort.
So we're we're kind of looking at all of our
options there. Again, we just don't want to take a
body to take a body. If it's someone that that

(04:20):
can that can help us in some capacity, maybe maybe
limited role, bigger role, whatever that is. We are we
are looking at all options that.

Speaker 2 (04:28):
Way, and overall, where is this team health wise?

Speaker 4 (04:32):
We're great health wise, quite frankly, but been. I mean
a credit to coach Beckton and his staff for the
work that they did this summer. Credit to our training staff.
You know a lot of the guys. You know, we
had a couple of guys coming a little limited and
they've everybody is back working and at this juncture of
training camp, you know, again we've had a couple tough injuries,

(04:52):
you know, season ending injuries that that you have to
deal with, but we're really not missing you know, many
players at all that are that are kind of out.
You know, we're making some business decisions as a staff
on what we need to do. And a guy like
Jake Majors's who's been here for fifteen years and started
about one hundred games. I don't know if he necessarily

(05:12):
needs that scrimmage, but I needed some of those other
centers to get some work. And so you make you
make those types of decisions on what you think is
in the best interests of your team long run. And
I liken it a little bit too. It's probably not
a whole lot different from NFL preseason football. There's a reason,
you know, the starters, you know, maybe get a couple
series or maybe a half about that third preseason game.

(05:34):
But they're getting them ready for showtime, and so we're
having to look at it the.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Same way toward that in and back to that running
back position. Do you start bubble wrapping them a little bit?
Do you start the ones that are there that are
healthy the scholarship backs are in other words, are they
still in live drills or has it gone non contact
now in the scrimmage.

Speaker 4 (05:56):
No, they're not no contact. They're definitely though, and we
need them to get needed to get thudded. We're trying
to minimize them going to the ground, and that would
be not a whole lot different than we normally would be.
You know, if somebody reminded me of a couple of
backs that had in the past, they were at truly
no contact all season long. When you when you have
one guy, and we're fortunate we've got three really good

(06:17):
players back there right now. So they're definitely still thud
They need to get hit, they need the strip attempts,
they need to punch out opportunities by the defense as
they as they learn to take care of the ball.
But again, we really don't want them going to the ground.
For some you know that those are unnecessary hits and
falls they have to take. So but but again it's
still our practice. Are still very physical that way.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
Thud of course meaning taking hit on getting a handlef
but not full tackling, taking you down to the ground.
And that's one thing that gets evaluated even with these
scrimmages being officiated, when the whistle gets blown, when the
when and where the play is marked dead, things.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
Like that as well.

Speaker 2 (06:55):
About the wide receivers, there's there's been great competition for them.
Are there some more than others beginning to separate themselves.

Speaker 4 (07:04):
Yeah, it's it's a tough deal man. As I said,
you know, we have we have six guys that I
feel very comfortable with playing in the games, and I
would say coming out of Saturday, I would say seven.
Ryan Niblett has really come on here in the last
week week and a half and have been very impressed
with him not only offensively but also on special teams.
And so that's a credit to him. I told him
that today on the field is really proud of him

(07:25):
because he just continued to work. So we're very comfortable
that way. I think what we've found out coming out
of Saturday is the right combination of guys on the field,
you know of you know who are your who's your
speed guys, and who's good at doing what, and as
a play caller, understanding who you want on the field
for what. So it's getting shifting back maybe to a

(07:46):
little bit more of that NFL mentality of putting guys
in very specific spots rather than just three guys out
there the whole time. So it's a shift and a change,
and that's okay, But I think it's the right combination
of players on the field is probably more important than
who's the top three. And I think that that's something
that myself, coach Jackson, coach Milly, you know, we're working

(08:06):
on trying to get that right mix of guys at
the right time infield.

Speaker 2 (08:09):
We'll hear more from Start coming up next hour and
in the four o'clock hour as well, all of it,
all of it. You'll hear everything he had to say
following this morning's practice and recapping the scrimmage and the
practice and where the team is. We will have the
availability to bring you everything he said, and there'll be
more of that coming up in the second hour, and

(08:30):
then still more in the third hour of the program. Cameron,
I asked you about the Cowboy game, but I've got
a different question to ask you, and I have a
specific reason for asking this. It doesn't have to do
specifically with the Cowboys, although it could include it as well.
Have you watched much preseason NFL overall?

Speaker 3 (08:53):
Now? Not really, and you know how I feel about
the preseason. Uh huh.

Speaker 1 (08:58):
I'm not gonna learn too much about teams. You will
learn some stuff about about the players, such as Daniel
Jones throwing two interceptions in the first quarter the Giants
last week. He still is not good at football. Yeah,
so we did learn that. Sorry Giants fans who get
to enjoy that the first year of his contract extension
with the New York football team. But have not watched

(09:20):
too much, but you know I have. I have probably
read a good amount. Texans looked good against the Dance
on Saturday. Here's why I'm asking of what you have seen.
Have you seen the new kickoff rule?

Speaker 3 (09:35):
A few?

Speaker 1 (09:36):
A few, not a lot though, Okay, I don't have
an opinion yet on whether I like it or this. Okay,
it will probably be like week ten before I figured out.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
Okay, I kind of like it and and I know
a lot of people don't like it, but I know
a lot of people who do like it because it's
something fresh and something new. We're not just seeing touchbacks.
We're seeing guys get returned. And of course if you
haven't seen it, it's it's pretty dramatic what these changes
have been. And it's also designed to help mitigate the

(10:09):
risk of significant injury as well. And in im media
briefing today focused on health and safety, the NFL announced
that the kickoff return rate for two weeks of the
preseason seventy eight percent last year. You want to know
what the rate, take a guess with the kickoff rate

(10:29):
return rate was last year thirty eight percent? How about
less than twenty two percent? Twenty one point eight according
to True Media. Now, the kickoff return rate is usually
higher in the preseason as the teams are trying to,
you know, work on their strategy and things like that.
But the average kickoff return rate in the preseason last
year was only fifty four percent. So they don't have

(10:52):
injury data for a kickoff returns just yet, but they
say the sample size does matter. Right now, nothing has
jumped out so far. They have been any unusual findings
in the first two weeks of injury rates or types
of injury, says doctor Alan Sills, the NFL's chief medical officer.
He said that's obviously something will continue to track closely.

(11:12):
The average kickoff return in the preseason has been twenty
five yards. That's up from twenty three last year. As a well,
that's not that big a deal. It's just that there's
more opportunity to return it. There have been thirty nine
kickoffs of thirty or more yards in the preseason. There
were just ninety seven total all of last year. Again

(11:33):
small sample size, but it indicates there might be more
explosive plays on kickoff returns. Another major difference the team's
average starting field position coming off of kickoffs last year
twenty five point two yard line. Because of all the
touchbacks in the twenty twenty four preseason, it's up to
the twenty eight yard line.

Speaker 3 (11:52):
Given touchbacks now in.

Speaker 2 (11:53):
The new rule result in the balls being placed at
the thirty yard line. It raises the question from whether
teams will just settle for touchbacks in an effort to
avoid giving up explosive returns. Touchback rate in the preseason's
only nineteen percent, so there's some interesting things. And also
if you kick it out of bounds off of that

(12:14):
with everybody up and he doesn't, and it goes to
the landings and goes out of the band's coming out with
forty yard line.

Speaker 3 (12:19):
So that's important to note as well.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
And I did it. I watched quite a bit of
preseason over the weekend. I did saw Jordan Whittington have
another and another big showing for the Rams called five
more Passes. They love him and listen. As long as
Jordan Whinnington is healthy, he's going to be productive and
he'll be a part of that Rams.

Speaker 1 (12:42):
Offense, especially because Pooka will not be ready for Week one. Right,
it's looking doubtful now.

Speaker 2 (12:46):
I mean Matthew Stafford they say will be, but it's
probably not going to take any snaps.

Speaker 3 (12:51):
Who had a knee issue, so he hasn't.

Speaker 2 (12:56):
He wasn't going to take a snap of the preseason, McVeigh.
None of his league guys take a snap of the preseason,
at least not on an offense. None of them do.
And Stafford wasn't going to anyway. But since he had
a little hamstring tightness, he's not even practicing. I think
this week they want to make sure that he's ready
to go. But there's other NFL notes that we'll get
to a little later on, some starting quarterback. Now, listen,

(13:19):
Bone Hicks looked pretty good last night. Yeah, I know
you're not big on Bone.

Speaker 3 (13:24):
I'm not.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
I'm not.

Speaker 3 (13:25):
He looked pretty good. He looked pretty good last night.

Speaker 2 (13:27):
Brocos on that we'll have other quarterback notes a little
bit later on, but up next inconceivable for a Monday
afternoon on sports Radio AM thirteen under the Zone and
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