Steve Sarkisian would be ’emotional nightmare’ if he listened to opinions on how to use Arch Manning

Steve Sarkisian would be ’emotional nightmare’ if he listened to opinions on how to use Arch Manning

1. Secondary second to none. Much has been made about whether quarterback Quinn Ewers, offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr., and wide receiver Isaiah Bond will turn pro early. Most of us in the media feel all three will look to the NFL as might receiver Matthew Golden and tackle Cam Williams. But junior safety Michael Taaffe has been a little more ambiguous. He walked with the seniors at the Kentucky game and has kind of left the door open to returning through his comments. When I asked directly about it Monday, he said, “My goal coming to Texas was to win a national championship. Everything else is in the future. The future has enough worries of its own. My goal is to win a national championship. That’s what I came here to do.” So maybe he returns to Texas if he doesn’t check that box. … Texas’ secondary arguably is the best in the nation. Clemson All-ACC receiver Antonio Williams can remember going up against former teammate Andrew Mukuba, now a star safety on the nation’s best pass defense, which has allowed only four passing touchdowns all season. When I asked Williams who has the edge Tuesday, he said, “I would say the receiver always has the edge in the matchup versus the DB, because they’re reacting. He’s a very instinctual player who makes a lot of plays, and he’s also a good tackler. He plays with a lot of fire. We’ve had a lot of practices and reps against each other. It’s made me better, and I think I made him better.” … I asked Mukuba if he’s had a more violent hit than the one he put on Georgia quarterback Gunner Stockton. “(Not) in my college career,” he said. “But I had more in high school.” … Steve Sarkisian wasn’t wild about all the criticism he encountered for not using Arch Manning more extensively against Georgia than the two plays he was part of.  “I try not to consume myself with what y’all think,” Sarkisian said to the host of “The Rich Eisen Show” last week. “We focus on the task at hand, and that’s doing what’s in the best interest of the team to win ballgames. If I read, if I kind of let the emotional roller coaster of what other people think (guide me), I’d be an emotional nightmare. I feel really good about our opportunity to go out and compete for a national championship, so I’m really not one to kind of buy into the opinions of others, or the criticism of others, that I would never ask for advice from.” Manning has too much talent to waste, something illustrated by the 15-yard run against Texas A&M on which he had to dive for the pylon. Sarkisian should expand his package moving forward.

2. Transfer U. Sarkisian plays the portal as well as any coach. Just last offseason, he added an elite safety in Mukuba, bona fide elite receivers in Bond and Golden, a starting punt returner in Silas Bolden, and depth on the defensive line in Trey Moore and Bill Norton. Sark rarely strikes out and has already grabbed three front-line players in this window in Utah punter and Australian Jake Bouwmeester, linebacker Brad Spence and defensive lineman Cole Brevard. Bouwmeester ranked 21st nationally with an average of 44.7 yards, which would be a big upgrade over the disappointing Michael Kern. “Obviously, an elite punter at the University of Utah,” Sarkisian said. “He’s a guy who’s mastered a lot of different punts. When you look at some of the specialty punts that he has the ability to do, pinning people inside the 5, inside the 10-yard line, the hang time, we’re super excited to have him join the team.” … Sark will get an experienced down lineman in the 6-3, 333-pound Brevard, who began his career at Penn State and was an All-Big Ten honorable mention pick in 2024 with Purdue, making 19 tackles and six tackles for loss for the Boilermakers. Six seniors depart the Texas defensive line. “To get him on board as a big, physical interior defensive lineman is huge for us,” Sarkisian said. … Sarkisian said the Longhorns recruited Spence “pretty extensively” out of Klein Forest High School, where he played as a defensive end. At Arkansas, he played a traditional linebacker role on early downs but plugged in as an edge rusher in passing situations. He had 54 tackles and 4½ sacks for the Hogs and, against Texas, stood out with seven tackles and a sack. “We’ve had some attrition at the linebacker position with some transfers,” Sarkisian said, mentioning also that David Gbenda graduated. “We were already a little under the number from where we wanted to be. We signed a couple high school kids. But to get him on board and the versatility he can provide on defense, off the ball as well as pass rushing, and what he did on special teams for Arkansas I think is big for us.