There is one key change to spring practice this year from previous ones under Steve Sarkisian.
Sark has elected to begin spring practice the week following Texas' spring break from school. Each of the previous spring practices, Sark had elected to start spring ball a week prior to spring break, then give the players spring break off, and have them return and ready to go into pads.
I asked someone about the move, about why Sark opted to compress the amount of time for spring ball.
"I thought the last couple of years worked well," the source told me. "But, with the way the season went, the extra game, the increased expectations we had, it was a little draining. I think he just wanted to give the guys some more time to recuperate, and to give the new guys another couple of weeks to get acclimated to what college football is all about."
"And let's face it, the first couple of years here, it was about learning the plays, instilling the culture, that sort of stuff. Now it's just as much or more about focus and an even higher level execution, especially on offense.
"With more practices coming in succession, the reps will come at the guys faster. We'll see who picks up on things, who needs more time, that sort of thing. And we'll also see who's locked in over the short haul as opposed to longer, more drawn out spring practice."
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Each college team is allowed 15 practices during spring. If we assume Texas returns to the practice field at the end of spring break (March 20), the Horns will basically be practicing on the field every other day for the next month until the spring game April 20.
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Sark has worked for two of the game's best - Pete Carroll and Nick Saban.
Decisions like when to start spring practice may not seem all that big. But there's a reason for everything.
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