CJ Vogel

A quick look at the latest redshirt tracker for the Texas freshmen class. After five weeks of the 2024 season, the latest: *** No surprises on the burned redshirts so far – Ryan Wingo, Colin Simmons, Jerrick Gibson, Kobe Black, Alex January and Ty'Anthony Smith have all burned their redshirts through five weeks. As has punter Michael Kern. Perhaps a surprise here, DB Xavier Filsaime has not suited up in two of the past three weeks for Texas on the sidelines. Filsiame is on the redshirt course per a source. Only two games on the participation tracker for the McKinney blue-chipper. In that same breath, you can expect to see Jordon Johnson-Rubell's redshirt to be burned in Dallas. The staff really trusts his football IQ and has been impressed with how quickly he can diagnose what is in front of him. Other fringe redshirters include Brandon Baker, Parker Livingstone, Jordan Washington and Wardell Mack.

😎

A quick late night recruiting snack. *** First on the topic of five-star ATH Michael Terry III. I wanted to reiterate the confidence boost from our @Gerry Hamilton from last week. There has been a surge in confidence from the Longhorns' side in the past couple of days based off of conversations I have had in Austin and San Antonio. When I visited Alamo Heights a last week, the plan in place was a decision later in the cycle in December. That very well could be the case, but I think there will be a clear clubhouse favorite after the Georgia week where Texas will host the five-star San Antonio athlete for an official visit. Nebraska has been the top contender in this fight, however with where things stand currently, they will need a wave of momentum to take back the top spot. Texas holds a comfortable lead at the moment.

Dropping this here – Danny Stutsman leads all linebackers in missed tackles this year per PFF.

Played well, but hasn't flashed is probably fair.

Sarkisian says compared to teams around the country, Texas hasn't really been bit by the injury bug that bad this season.

Sarkisian calls Colin Simmons 'ball get off' a God-Given Gift.

Sarkisian says Isaiah Bond "makes plays in critical moments."

Sark speaking specifically about the running game there.

"There is nothing like (the Red River Rivalry)... The best way to enjoy and experience a rivalry game is to prepare really well."

Sarkisian says he was trying to explain to Arch Manning via helmet communication to stay down on the field on his QB sneak attempt at the goal line to allow officials to see where he is on the field. Sarkisian says Manning got up too early after his first QB sneak attempt to which the officials called him short because they could not see where his body was positioned in the scrum.

Sarkisian says he wants more out of his running game. He has challenged the receivers to be more physical in the perimeter blocking as well. Sark says Texas is very close to having an explosive game.

Sarkisian and his staff will be out on the road to recruit this weekend during the bye week: It is always a good thing when you are undefeated and get to go out on the road to recruit.

In terms of getting Quinn Ewers back on the field running after being sidelined for the past few weeks. Sarkisian says it is his job to "keep him engaged" during the game, during the week of practice and in the game plan. Ewers was wearing the ear piece on the sideline to hear the plays and was involved in practices leading up to the game to stay mentally involved.

Sarkisian says Texas was looking at a 56-point game had it not been for fumbles, drops, penalties and a coaching error. Wanted to point out it is not necessarily the quarterback's fault for drives not scoring. Mentions he judges quarterbacks by their ability to be efficient each drive and right now both quarterbacks are doing a very fine job.

"That was the SEC in its finest."

Sarkisian credits Venables' defense for getting after the quarterback very well and being able to create turnovers. Points to it being the two best attributes of the defense for OU right now.

QB Quinn Ewers "has been making steady progress from one day to the next" without any signs of setbacks, says Steve Sarkisian.

Sarkisian says the Texas OL/QB rooms use the term "cookin' steaks" to describe when there is a lot of time to throw the football thanks to clean pass protection. Points to the second TD pass to DeAndre Moore as one of those key moments.

Sark says he doesn't see a dramatic difference between SEC and Big 12 officiating so far this season.

Sarkisian says he is as concerned about the duration of the season as anybody. Wants to be sure there is health and depth for the Longhorns both physically and mentally as the season continues to linger on.

Sark says it's been frustrating in the return game since there just haven't been many opportunities. Says "When teams don't score, they don't kick off." And of course opponents are averaging 7.0 ppg against Texas so far. Did add it was encouraging to see Silas Bolden with an explosive return in the punt game.

Sarkisian says there were some alignment and assignment issues against Miss State on Saturday which allowed for some runs to get out of the box. Still, he says the unit has been playing very well collectively on the defensive side of the ball.

Texas was called for five holding penalties. "Those are taking away from positive yards and putting us behind the chains." Sarkisian says it is a hard way to live with the number of self-inflicted wounds they are committing at the moment offensively.