Jeff Howe

Sark said they’re training a lot of guys at the STAR because they want variety based on certain in-game situations.

The Texas defense missed 15 tackles, but Sark said there were no egregious misses.

Sark said the scrimmage was balanced in terms of production on both sides of the ball. He also liked the physicality.

Sark said the team had a “fantastic” practice a few hours after the AP Poll came out. ”That told me they weren’t concerned with what hit their Twitter feed around noon today,” he said.

Texas entering into Steve Sarkisian’s fifth season on the Forty Acres as the No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 doesn’t guarantee anything. Still, the history of preseason No. 1 teams since 1998 — the first season in which the Bowl Championship Series decided college football’s national champion — is a sign that the Longhorns can almost bank on a prosperous season. The proof will be in the pudding, whether Texas is destined for a third consecutive trip to the College Football Playoff under Sarkisian. Regardless, there’s a baseline level of success that the previous 27 clubs voted No. 1 in the preseason by AP Top 25 voters has reached. — Only one of the 27 previous preseason No. 1 teams failed to win 10 or more games. USC opened the 2012 season ranked No. 1 by the AP (LSU was No. 1 in the Coaches Poll) and went 7-6 with a loss to Georgia Tech in the Sun Bowl. Lane Kiffin’s last full season as coach of the Trojans saw USC join Ole Miss (1964) as the only preseason No. 1 teams in history to not appear in the final poll. — Texas will attempt to join Florida State (1999), USC (2004) and Alabama (2017) as the only preseason No. 1 teams in the BCS/CFP era to win a national championship. — In the BCS era (1998-2013), four preseason No. 1 teams — Miami (2002), Oklahoma (2003), USC (2005) and Ohio State (2006) — reached the national championship game. The Hurricanes, Trojans and Buckeyes won their respective conference championships; the Sooners lost to Kansas State in the Big 12 title game. — While Alabama (2017) is the only preseason No. 1 to win a national championship in the CFP era (since 2014), nine other No. 1 teams made it to the CFP: Florida State (2014), Alabama (2016, 2018 and 2021), Clemson (2019 and 2020) and Georgia (2023 and 2024). Of those eight teams, four (Alabama three times and Clemson in 2019) reached the national championship game. — Nick Saban’s 2017 Crimson Tide won the national championship with a walk-off victory over Georgia, but the Bulldogs won the SEC title with a win over Auburn. Of the 27 previous preseason No. 1 teams, 14 won at least a share of a conference championship, while Oklahoma (2003), Florida (2009) and Georgia (2023) lost their respective conference title games. — Eleven preseason No. 1 teams since 1998 didn’t win a conference championship, reach the BCS title game or make the CFP: Nebraska (2000), Florida (2001), Georgia (2008 and 2023), Florida (2009), Alabama (2010, 2013 and 2022), Oklahoma (2011), USC (2012) and Ohio State (2015). The 2015 Buckeyes, the 2022 Crimson Tide and the 2023 Bulldogs are the only AP preseason No. 1 teams since 2014 to not qualify for the CFP in the four-team format. — Georgia was No. 1 to open the 2024 season, the first in the 12-team CFP format. The Bulldogs went 11-3 and won the SEC championship with an overtime win over Texas before falling to Notre Dame at the Sugar Bowl in the CFP quarterfinals. Final results for preseason AP Top 25 No. 1 teams since 1998 2024: Georgia (11-3, SEC champions, lost in the CFP quarterfinals to Notre Dame) 2023: Georgia (13-1, lost the SEC championship game to Alabama, Orange Bowl champions) 2022: Alabama (11-2, didn’t make it to SEC championship game, Sugar Bowl champions) 2021: Alabama (13-2, SEC champions, Cotton Bowl champions, lost the CFP national championship to Georgia) 2020: Clemson (10-2, ACC champions, lost in the CFP semifinals to Ohio State) 2019: Clemson (14-1, ACC champions, Fiesta Bowl champions, lost the CFP national championship to LSU) 2018: Alabama (14-1, SEC champions, Orange Bowl champions, lost the CFP national championship to Clemson) *2017: Alabama (13-1, didn’t make it to the SEC championship game, Sugar Bowl champions, CFP national champions) 2016: Alabama (14-1, SEC champions, Peach Bowl champions, lost the CFP national championship to Clemson) 2015: Ohio State (12-1, didn’t make Big Ten championship game, Fiesta Bowl champions) 2014: Florida State (13-1, ACC champions, lost in the CFP semifinals to Oregon) 2013: Alabama (11-2, didn’t make SEC championship game, lost the Sugar Bowl to Oklahoma) 2012: USC (7-6, didn't make the Pac-12 championship game, lost the Sun Bowl to Georgia Tech) 2011: Oklahoma (10-3, Insight Bowl champions) 2010: Alabama (10-3, didn’t make the SEC championship game, Citrus Bowl champions) 2009: Florida (13-1, lost the SEC championship game to Alabama, Sugar Bowl champions) 2008: Georgia (10-3, didn’t make SEC championship game, Citrus Bowl champions) 2007: USC (11-2, Pac-10 co-champions, Rose Bowl champions) 2006: Ohio State (12-1, Big Ten champions, lost BCS national championship game to Florida) 2005: USC (12-1, Pac-10 champions, lost Rose Bowl/BCS championship game to Texas) *2004: USC (11-0, Pac-10 champions, BCS national champions) 2003: Oklahoma (12-2, lost the Big 12 championship game to Kansas State, lost the Sugar Bowl/BCS championship game to LSU) 2002: Miami (12-1, Big East champions, lost the Fiesta Bowl/BCS championship game to Ohio State) 2001: Florida (10-2, didn’t make the SEC championship game, Orange Bowl champions) 2000: Nebraska (10-2, didn’t make Big 12 championship game, Alamo Bowl champions) *1999: Florida State (12-0, ACC champions, BCS national champions) 1998: Ohio State (11-1, Big Ten co-champions, Sugar Bowl champions) View full news story

The focus and hunger this program has shown over the last two years is why I don't worry about Texas having what it takes to live up to expectations.

Steve Sarkisian is scheduled to meet with reporters after Texas concludes practice on Monday. He’s probably going to be asked about the Longhorns being the No. 1-ranked team in the Associated Press Top 25 for the first time in school history. History suggests Sarkisian will step in front of the cameras with his response ready to go. “I don't really care about the rankings, truth be told,” he said last month in San Antonio at the Texas High School Coaches Association Coaching School and Convention. Sarkisian was answering a question regarding SEC Media Days, which ended with the media picking Texas as the preseason favorite to win the conference championship. Still, Sarkisian didn’t wax poetic on the Longhorns' chances of getting to Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium for the second year in a row and taking care of unfinished business on Dec. 6. “I've sat up here and said the rankings don't matter when we weren't ranked very highly,” he said. “I don't think that's going to change if we're ranked higher.” No matter what anyone thinks of preseason rankings, the Longhorns (1,552 total points based on poll votes, including 25 first-place votes) edging out fellow College Football Playoff semifinalist Penn State (1,547 points and 23 first-place votes) and reigning national champion Ohio State (1,472 points and 11 first-place votes) should be taken as a two-fold sign of respect from the college football world. First, it’s a sign of respect for what the current regime has achieved since the 2023 recruiting class, one headlined by Anthony Hill Jr. and Arch Manning, arrived on campus. Over the last two seasons, Sarkisian’s program has made back-to-back CFP semifinal trips, ended the longest drought in program history without a conference championship (14 years) and racked up 25 victories. Furthermore, it’s respect for a roster chock-full of former blue-chip recruits with arguably more talent, fewer holes and a higher number of future NFL draft picks than any in the country. Even though ESPN’s Bill Connelly ranked Texas No. 103 when he unveiled his returning production percentage rankings in February, the Longhorns’ (No. 5 in Connelly’s post-spring SP+ rankings, of which returning production is a piece of the formula) inexperience could be minimized. Almost all of the players with extra eligibility stemming from the pandemic-impacted 2020 season have cycled through college football, which should result in younger, less-experienced rosters across the board. If there were a season in which a lack of experience at key positions might not be a detriment, it could be this one. That, along with Manning’s first season to be QB1 from the jump, might best explain Texas coming out on top of the closest preseason AP vote since 1998, when five points separated No. 1 Ohio State (1,668 points and 30 first-place votes) and No. 2 Florida State (1,663 points and 22 first-place votes). “They're great for the fans and they're great for the popularity of our sport,” Sarkisian said of preseason rankings last month. “It keeps the conversation of college football [at] the forefront of people's minds and the media and things of that nature. "I think that's awesome for our sport, and the fact that we're talking about Week 1 matchups and all of those things, but, in reality, they don't matter," he added. "What we do on the field, the way we perform, is going to be, ultimately, what dictates how our season goes." Nevertheless, the rubber will meet the road in 19 days, when the Longhorns travel to the Horseshoe to meet the Buckeyes in a rematch of last season’s heartbreaking Cotton Bowl loss. To Sarkisian’s point about marquee Week 1 battles, Ohio State’s No. 3 ranking means the Aug. 30 showdown in Columbus is tied with a clash between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Florida State on Sept. 2, 2017, for pitting the highest-ranked teams against each other in a season opener since the first preseason poll was released in 1950. Anyone invested in Longhorn football should take pride in Texas, which went into the 2024 campaign ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25, garnering a top-five preseason ranking for the second consecutive season. Sarkisian joining Darrell Royal (1960-65 and 1967-71) and Mack Brown (2001-03, 2005-07 and 2009-10) as the only coaches in program history to do so is another sign that the Longhorns are on the cusp of a historic run. That should be celebrated by the burnt orange faithful, even if it doesn’t resonate within the walls of the Moncrief Complex. Internally, nobody takes for granted what Texas has accomplished over the last two seasons. Still, the Longhorns are focused on doing whatever it takes to get over the hump and claim the program's first national championship in 20 years. "The coaches do a great job reminding us that this is our main goal, but we have to do the work every single day to reach the goal," linebacker Liona Lefau said after a recent camp practice. "We can't skip any steps. We can't skip any days. We've got to stack days. "[Sarkisian] called it 'the summit,'" he added. "Right now, we're at the bottom, trying to work our way up to the national championship." View full news story

Shout-out to Blaine Irby! Good dude.

Jones. Jeremy Jones.

I can't lie, I thought the first post in this thread would be, "... wear a helmet!"

The fourth and final Longhorn who met with the media before Saturday's scrimmage was cornerback Malik Muhammad. Here are a few things he said on select players, including his first thoughts on Duane Akina. On his first impression of Duane Akina: “I don't want to call it old because that sounds kind of bad, but to be that age and still have that juice and still run around at practice — do the flying eagle around the field — and just have that energy. The first impression was great.” On what Graceson Littleton has shown throughout camp: “Physical, plays with high, fanatical effort. He's smart, is about his business and he's just consistent, on and off the field… [Littleton came in] ready to play. Ready to take on whatever he had to take on, whether it’s special teams, whether it’s on defense… He came in with the right mindset, for sure.” On Jaylon Guilbeau's transition from STAR to cornerback: “He's adjusted to corner well, because at [STAR], it's more into the box, more short yardage, but out at corner, you have more space. You have to think, you have to know whether you're in the boundary or the field, so you've got to know how to play. In the boundary, you have to play tighter because it's more quick throws. Into the field, you've got more space, more time to break.” On what stands out about Warren Roberson: “He's a monster at corner. Great technique, explosive, physical at the point of attack and he just plays hard with fanatical effort.”

Like the quotes I posted from Thursday's media availability with DJ Campbell and Quintrevion Wisner, linebacker Liona Lefau spoke highly of a few Longhorns when asked about them individually. On Trey Moore’s transition from EDGE to linebacker: “That's not a hard transition at all, especially the level that we play at. He's been doing a great job. He's a very smart player. He learned the playbook pretty fast. Now he’s just [working on] little movements and transitions here and there, like dropping into coverage and all of those things. He's doing a good job of getting extra work in to learn how to do that at a high level. I think he's doing a great job.” On Ty’Anthony Smith's growth at linebacker: “I'm thankful for Ty because he's pushing us every single day, bringing the right energy, bringing the right juice. Every time he makes a play. He plays very physical, very violent.” On what to expect from Brad Spence: “A very physical and violent player. He's exciting to watch.” On what he’s seen from CJ Baxter: “He's picking up where he left [off]. They're pushing him in slowly. They don't want to rush him in and push him past the [limit], but he's doing a great job picking up where he left off.” On competing against Jack Endries in practice: “As a linebacker, we play a lot of coverage on him and he blocks down on us, and a thing that stands out the most is his effort every play. He gives good effort in the run game and the pass game. He wants to do that stuff. There's not a lot of tight ends who want to block and run routes. He's good at doing both as well. It's a good challenge for us and we're happy we got him because he pushes us every single day.”

From Thursday's media availability, here are some player-specific thoughts from the junior running back: On how Arch Manning has looked in camp: “That's my dog — [number] 16. Arch looks real good. He's doing a better job also of being a vocal leader, whether it's to the defense or the offense. He's definitely stepped up and he's playing a major role. He knows what's at stake whenever it comes to him being in that backfield, so he's doing a great job of tapping into everybody. Whether it's a young guy or older guy, he's tapping into everybody.” On what a healthy CJ Baxter will bring to the backfield: “I’m glad my brother is back. We came in together, so there's nothing like being able to play with the running back that you came into college with. He went down last year, so that kind of tilted things, but just being able to have him back in the room with us and me and him attacking defenses like we're about to, it's going to be crazy. That's what he brings." On seeing some of himself in true freshman Rickey Stewart: “The thing I could give Ricky, though, for my freshman year, he's faster than me. I can't cap. Ricky's got some speed. But the thing I like most about Ricky — he's good with adversity. Not many freshmen you see come in and could face adversity and keep it going, but Ricky didn't shut down. He faced his adversity, came back and he's looking good right now. He's gaining weight, looking faster and he's keeping his head on right.” On what DJ Campbell means to the running game: “Coming in my freshman year, over these three years I've been here, being able to participate on this team with DJ, I can see the improvement — not only in him as a player, but him as a person when it comes to the facility and the culture we've got. DJ is definitely an O-lineman that we look to whenever we need that juice and that energy to get going in practice and game day. He's definitely a key factor to the way we run the ball… It takes a real dog to not have someone get him going. DJ could come out and even if he's not feeling it, he's still going to go because that's who he is. That's what we look for whenever it's time to run a ball — somebody that's always on go. That's what DJ does.”

These are a few quotes from Texas right guard DJ Campbell during Thursday's post-practice player availability, which was two days before the team's first camp scrimmage. On what stands out about right tackle Brandon Baker: “Probably his relentless effort. He reminds me a lot of Kevin Banks because KB was a technique freak. That reminds me of Brandon Baker as well. Whenever I see his game — that’s a technique freak right there. He's doing everything fundamentally right.” On the health of the running back room with CJ Baxter and Christian Clark back from injury: “I've just been seeing, like I said, the relentless effort from all of us. It's all gas, no breaks for everybody in that running back room, from Christian Clark to Tre Wiser... They're all going at each other. Having them all back and healthy, it's going to be exciting for us to watch.” On left guard Neto Umeozulu taking advantage of his opportunity to start: “It's been real fun, I'd say, because he's one of my tightest friends. Seeing him develop through the years, and now he's finally got his chance to showcase his talent, it's been fun.” On Cole Hutson taking over for Jake Majors at center: “I really don't see much difference from Jake and Cole. Cole has been doing a great job of stepping into that center position and actually leading us, just as if Jake [were].” On what he’s seen from true freshman tackle Nick Brooks: A real young guy coming in — got a lot of talent — that can really showcase early. As long as he keeps going, keeps [developing] with the offense, I'm pretty sure he'll be in early.”

That’s it for the availability. CJ and I will be live on YouTube in 10 or so minutes.

Mack said Littleton and Wardell Mack have stood out most at STAR. Jelani McDonald has also worked there.

Duane Akina is stressing to the current defensive backs to watch the goal reels he’s put together over the years of great Texas defensive backs. He wants the current crop to be inspired by guys who’ve been high draft picks and Pro Bowl players in the NFL.

“I have,” Muhammad said while chuckling when asked if he’s picked off Arch Manning in camp.

DeAndre Moore Jr. got singled out by Muhammad as a receiver who’s been hard to cover in camp.

Muhammad said Mark Orphey brings plenty of juice to the room. He’s helping bring guys out of their shells.

The 2023 recruits in the defensive back room are close, Muhammad said. It’s a connection those guys value.

Muhammad smiled big when reminded Texas held Jeremiah Smith to one catch for three yards in the Cotton Bowl. ”It was a team effort,” he said.

Muhammad on whether or not the he views the 2025 season as a contract year: “I don’t want to think too much about it… but I’ve got that in mind.”