Longhorn Weekly w/Coach Sark #texaslonghorns #texasfootball #secfootball #sec #stevesarkisian #texas

[Music] welcome to a brand new season of Longhorn weekly with Coach Sark I'm Craig way glad to be with you and a lot of Longhorn fans excited to be here at Pluckers the west campus location here in Austin so glad to uh get this whole thing rolling again you you gave a u i don't know if you realize this you kind of gave an impassioned uh Speech yesterday or day before yesterday at the news conferences about uh what college football means to you and how excited you get for the whole thing first of all I can't believe this is year four this is how fast this has gone you know um that's wild to me but um I I do and I think you know this enough about me like I love college football and I love all that college football entails um the way campuses and communities come together most notably here in Austin and and UT and and LongHorn nation and what that's like on game day and for us as coaches and and for our players like these guys work so hard we got home from New Orleans and they had about a week and we got back to work and it was Winter conditioning program and it was 6: a.m. we're in we're in DKR and we're running we're lifting and then we get into spring practice and we go through all that they get a little time off in the month of May and then June July August in the middle of this heat they're grinding for what six seven opportunities a year to play at home in DKR and so we we don't we don't take that for lightly we don't take that lightly and I I surely don't like I I just think that what we're able to do um as coaches for a profession um and what our our players are able to do as student athletes and to play football for the University of Texas and to represent the burnt orange is is something that we don't take slly so we try to take in all the things that that come along with it and um I I I'm not going to go through everything I said yesterday about going from the pregame meal to bivo walk and the popcorn and all the stuff but man it it just gives me chills because we're we're we're so blessed we're so fortunate to get to do what we get to do with the understanding that you always have Higher Goals than where you are at the end of the season and it'll be that way until you win a national title because you've reached the highest go even with that in mind do you like the Trek where you where your staff has the program in its entirety in going into year four I I'm I'm I'm super just um proud I think first of all of the culture that we've built um you know I was talking a lot about that I think on Monday at the press conference as well you know so many times when you take over a team and you didn't recruit the majority of the players and and you're you're trying to get the Buy in and you're trying to find leadership uh an authentic leadership guys that actually do it the right way not just the guys that say what they're going to do and you find one or two or three guys and then year two you find maybe a handful more um but going into year four I mean I I'm looking at just these guys on this you know on the depth chart here and Kelvin Banks Hayden Connor Jake Majors DJ Campbell cam Williams Gunner Helm just those six guys right off the top they've been with me at minimum three years each so it when you talk about the culture this is what they've grown up in not to mention a Quinn um or or a Jaden blue or a Trey Weisner and then you you go on the defensive side of the ball uh a Vernon Bron and Alfred Collins those guys have been here for four years with me Baron cell four years with us uh Anthony Hill going into year two David Benda four years with us J Baron four years with us jayen Gilbo three years with us so now all of a sudden you've got a group of guys who they they don't even know different and and they were joking about it with me yesterday the players were that they start speaking like me and they don't even know they're doing it and they're saying man you sound like Sark like like because I think just think now it's coming out of them in a way that is is so organic and so natural not to mention I think we've got a really talented roster um I I love the continuity of our staff the fact that our coordinators have been here now for four years with us um but the culture to me is probably the most important ingredient this uh this question was not asked of the many we have and we'll get to other but but uh it it sounds like one that would be asked here I've been told there are different players in that locker room who do a pretty good impersonation of you oh gosh have you have you heard this and and and who does the best I I I really don't know I I hear the onliners kind of fly sporadically at practice or in in a team meeting and whatnot I'm sure they got me down pat pretty good I mean four years in I mean I have them down pretty good too so bet do we we can you know we can definitely do a contest and and you know I I can probably get the other one you know both way I imagine so the in terms of the offseason work you talked about how hard they worked um I know you worked really hard your staff worked really hard you worked really hard on your on your own physique physically and the workout stuff talk about that I think it's important you know I need to be sharp on game day too and you start to assess this journey that we're about to go on um and we're kicking off Saturday August 31st at 2:30 in Austin Texas and if all all things considering might not be that bad yeah right we're hearing it might we might get a little bit of it might be like 91 or 92 um which a week ago was 107 so we we'll take it um but the fact of it is is that's a long day that's a long game that's a lot of sun exposure um but I need to to be sharp I need to be sharp offensively I need to be sharp you know leading our team and making those critical decisions and so then you think about August 31st and and you know the goal is to be playing January 20th that's a long journey as well and so I I think one thing that just doing some real study in this offseason is about our own well-being as coaches I I saw a quote from Shawn McVey talking about back in the day as a young coach used to be like it was cool not to sleep right but then you start to learn value of sleep and how much better your brain works and how much better your your body operates now we all go home and we go sleep in our own beds rather than you know sleeping in the office and things of that nature and and with technology now we're able to do that technology we're so much more versed in the amount of people that we get to have so all those things led into I just want to be the best version of myself for our team for our players um so that I I can put them in the best position to have success so it's dark when you get here in the morning it's dark when you go home at night how much sleep would you say you get on an average night I know it can't be a I'm guessing it's about five and a half okay on average maybe six on average in season there's nights that vary there's some there's some maybe a little shorter than that but I catch up later in the week right okay all and you feel rested enough I feel great get I really do but I also think eating right and exercising has helped me with that um you know what you do during during the day I think affects the quality of sleep that you get it's not just going to sleep it's getting that quality sleep um but I'm just one of those people that doesn't need it a lot uh I know others people on our staff they need that sleep and we get on a flight next week we're going to fly to Michigan and I'll have guys on our staff being knocked out for three hours and and and I won't I won't sleep one week that's just me I I don't have to sleep that way um and we're going to get to folks questions here but jean their number one fan we're going to lead off with because this kind of dovetails into this when we get in uh before the break here because of it being 2:30 and the possibility of it being a really hot day are there hydration uh you might say priorities that have to go in order for the players and the staff yeah you know really what happens is our recovery and our hydration process started today right after practice at about 11:00 a.m. that that process got underway it's you know it's one thing to want to hydrate the day of the game but that hydration process has to be at minimum 48 hours in advance of the game to really start it um and and we know the guys on our team that are you know excessive sweaters um and and we we're proactive with those guys with IVs and different things even before we go on the field some guys we have to IV even at halftime um predicated on the amount of fluids that they're losing and maybe it's a guy who was a backup and somebody got injured and got thrown into action and wasn't his body wasn't wasn't really you know accustomed to that to that extreme uh exposure to to have to perform so our our medical staff does a great job um and and but we promote that hydration really starting today not only hydration but recovery and body recovery all right uh coming up on the program obviously we're going to get to uh questions here we'll talk about this football team we have a special guest tonight how about soon to be longor Hall of Honor member Alex Okafor will join us tonight let's get to some of your questions Josh from Virginia wanting to know uh how good did it feel having 11 players selected in the NFL draft and uh is there any opportunity for you to see any of those guys play live well first of all it was awesome um you know you got to remember in year one we had zero players drafted um and then we had five the next year and then we had 11 last year and quite frankly that's a credit to those guys for the that they put in I think it's also a credit to our coaching staff for the development of the the players I think it's a credit to our strength and conditioning staff for the physical development um but hopefully for me that becomes the norm you know that I've said this I said this early on that when you hover around about 10 players a year drafted you're probably one of the elite programs in the country and you can look at Alabama's run with Coach Sabin you can look at what what Georgia's been doing here for the last how many of years Kirby's been there that's about the norm you know you know give or take plus or minus two or three players on average there's probably about 10 players a year and I got asked this question Monday I wouldn't be surprised if it's right around that number again after this year's team if if we do it the right way so uh it's awesome uh I love it for them I love it that players can come into our program and we can put them in position to fulfill their dreams it's kind of tough to see them play uh Sundays are usually pretty busy for us even on a bye-week because you know we may recruit you know Thursday Friday Saturday maybe take a little downtime Sunday we're back in the office getting ready for the next opponent so it's a little bit difficult maybe and then when the playoffs roll around now our playoffs are going till about when the NFL playoffs are going so it's pretty tough I know You' like if it works out whenever possible for you to get out on a Thursday to see a high school game I do I I like doing that I I I like going to ball games I like seeing guys play live and in person um I love the pageantry High School football too I I just think that the energy that the communities provide um for their for their schools for their teams is is really incredible and there's no place better in the country than than Texas High School Football which by the way takes care of Kevin's question when he asked what's your favorite Texas high school football program I don't think you're going to single out one are you yeah I don't I don't think that wouldn't be fair you getting me in trouble with that one but uh there's a bunch of them and it's not really about classification right I mean I I've gone I I one of the best games I ever went to was I believe a 1A game was it 11 man or six-man it was 11 man 2A it might have been 2A there had have been 12,000 people there it was a playoff game it was incredible and so I I just I just think that that that the the the support that high school football has in this state is is unbelievable I'm going to get you to come with me to a six-man game sometime I would love that yeah cuz it's your kind of offense you know one of the greatest running backs in college football history came from six-man football Jack Pary well that and he played ran salom well of course that's right yeah that's exactly right and Jack of course became a great linebacker afterwards John uh with a question here and uh I got a kick out of listening to you on the uh SEC coaches teleconference conference call it really was a throwback for me to the old days uh the old conference calls Big 12 did it for a while Southwest Conference as well and he asked if you were looking forward to say the renewal of old rivalries like with Texas A&M and Arkansas uh you know kind of like as he said in the days from the old Southwest Conference I am you know so many people have made so much out of conference realignment and how dare we change conferences and and how we we're losing these rivalries and and I get it there's some schools that I'm sure have lost some Rivals rivalries along the way in conference realignment we're not we gain two back you know and and so the fact that we're we're going into a season where I mean when was the last time we got to play OU Arkansas and A&M in the same season um I I I think is awesome like that's that that there's so much history here at this place in those games the fact that we brought those back I think you I I could be more excited about it the answer to your question is 2008 by the way yeah but that was one AR nonconference but as conference opponents the last time it happened was 199 W yeah about that it's been a long long time and not one of those games is here this year yeah that's folks have asked me a lot about your schedule let's talk about this for a minute you know uh they said well you know they uh they go to ant Arbor and it's a it's a big game and and and you got that and then they said but other than that what about the away schedule and I said what about it all of their rival games are away from Austin Oklahoma is what it is it's in Dallas and then in fville and in College Station those and the only only other SEC road trip is Nashville to take on vanderbel now we've got some pretty meaty home games with the likes of Georgia and Florida here among others but uh that's it's a different vibe isn't it it is it is different and and I think that's one thing that you really have to embrace um going into the Southeastern Conference and then ours is kind of double that the road the road venues are difficult um and and we learned that firsthand in year one when we went to Arkansas and and we got we we walked out our tail between our legs a little bit so um we got to perform better than we did that night and I think I think we will we're much more equipped to do that but when you go on the road in this conference it's difficult you go on the road in this conference to play a rivalry game it's that much more difficult and and we have two of those true Road games not to mention the the Red River rivalry in Dallas so uh definitely challenging uh opportunities for us but I think ones we're looking forward to our team is we're built a little bit different now for those moments uh here's boy this is uh times four this is Kaylee Lonnie christien and Isabella where are they I know that it's over there so they toward that end they're asking do do there's much change in the way of how you coach how your coaching staff coaches now being in the SEC philosophically it doesn't change you know how we how we go about our business the the daily regiment how we prepare our team that that doesn't change now schematically it can change right the SEC those those rosters are built a little bit differently um you know for for example in in the Big 12 there was a big kind of Rage in that uh three safety defense that Iowa State kind of made kind of famous and then a lot of people copycatted that defense as of last season that defense was nowhere in the SEC it was a different style a little more NFL driven type defense and so systematically we have to adjust but how we go about our business we kind of we have our own Regiment of what we do good question ladies thank you very much hatat with a question wanting to know is there a game on the schedule that excites you the most I have a feeling I know the answer to this Colorado State Saturday 2:30 if you're not there it's your fault can't wait it's been a long time coming we're fired up for it you were on uh program I believe it was Dan Patrick's show and he asked you would you have any difficulty in getting your guys to zero in on Colorado state with that trip to an arbor the following week and then you went on The Talk about you know conditioning to the Heat and getting ready for this and you got to be ready ready for the opener and not to wag a finger or point a finger at Florida State but that question came up to your players did did it catch everybody's attention and I guess the the lesson is any given Saturday in college football things can happen well I I think now more than ever in college football um for a variety of reasons and you can throw nil as part of that but there's much more parody in college football today than there was 5 10 15 years ago and part of that parody is you look at Colorado State's roster they they've got quality players and they've got an elite wide receiver they've good quarterback that clearly coach norell pointed out other schools were trying to get them to transfer and they were able to keep them there on the roster and then they added a few transfers from from some good programs as well so inevitably whether it's a Georgia Tech or a Colorado State or whomever like you have to play good football right and and I I was looking at something today at I I can't remember who who threw out the odds to make the college football playoff right UTSA has as good of odds to make the college football playoff as a team that's that's in the top 10 preseason polls of going to this year in this year's college football so you you don't know like everybody has good players right now and and I think part of that like I said there's some nil I think there's coaching there's development I think there's there 's a lot of factors that are going into this right now so we got to play good football Saturday I know that much I I I'm not I'm not really the scoreboard will be the scoreboard but I'm more concerned about the style and the way we play the game Saturday uh question from Scott who says in this age when polls matter uh how important are style wins I remember going uh to uh the national championship the year and and said uh you know the whole thing about style points it it probably doesn't mean as much as it used to especially with the 12 team playoff but it didn't hurt no I you know I think inevitably we just want to play well and you know something like one of the more one of the drives last year that I was most proud of of our guys was at the end of the Texas Tech game and I think the score at the time was like 50 to7 and our twos were in that game and really borderline some threes on our depth chart and the drive they they got that ball inside of our own 10 and they drove that football and we ran it the majority of the time but Arch had some really critical third down conversion passes Trey Weisner was running the ball I'm watching young offensive linemen knock guys off the football like I it doesn't matter if our ones or twos or threes on there I want to see our guys play good football and and so I'm not so consumed with what does it look like on a scoreboard when ESPN pops it up there and know Texas one whatever I'm more concerned about the manner in which we play the game and so again I get excited for that stuff as I do for how our guys are playing in the first quarter too because that's a body of work of who we are as a program would you say that you were as excited about that drive as you were about the drive to close out the game in Tuscaloosa I would I I would take the drive in Tuscaloosa a little bit more what was that 7:14 on the clock yeah uh that was incredible uh and to do that in that building that that was a that was a special moment no doubt about it Sarah asking uh the question do you have or is it gone through your mind what an ultimate Stadium walk-in song would be man I I don't know you're pretty fired up on Saturdays anyway I am I am so I mean if you were hearing I actually have to listen to some music that that brings me back down I I listen to I know oddly enough but I listen to some Hawaiian music there for a while there you go cuz I just want to feel like I'm on a beach somewhere really calm um cuz I can I can get cranked up pretty quickly as as some may have seen before so I try to I try to try to remain pretty calm all right this this question I think you can probably answer pretty quickly from Pat and Herold who want to know which staff member is the best golfer in the off season in the off which which staff member is the best golfer AJ mil really hands down said that quickly huh hands down AJ mil can play golf long hitter all everything really he can play I mean I think he probably could have had a future in the game and decided to to Chase the Dream of playing football and coaching football but he can play how's your golf game H yeah I love it though but I don't take myself seriously I'm a football coach and I say this all the time I go I'll go golf with some donors or different things I'll say and I I may play one decent hole then I'll then I'll play a terrible hole whatever I say well here's the deal do you want a really good football coach or do you want a really good golfer cuz I've never met a really good football coach who was just a great golfer right that's true that's true I I'd rather be a really good football coach that likes to play golf but I'm probably not very good yeah there you go how about a nice Longhorn welcome for the allamerican here Alex okaf for the lifetime long run now it's one thing to point out that he was all state in high school at fluger it's another thing to point out that he was an All-American in a two-time first team all Big 12 selection it's another thing to point out that he had a very very storied career in the National Football League as well originally drafted in the fourth round by the Arizona Cardinals but played nine years in the NFL with the Cardinals the Saints and the Chiefs and has a Super Bowl ring but Alex Hoka for is the first politically elected official to appear on this program fluger School Board member Alexa for there can we keep the politics out of political scene I mean you know no it's it's good and I think that the thing that that came out about that when when you were you wanted to make a difference in your hometown and your home school district is that is that how you felt about it yeah that's exactly what it was so throughout my career when I was here at school or when I was in the league I always did a lot for my Elementary School Spring Hill Elementary right up north in plugerville Texas I did a lot I I hosted multiple Book Fairs I I started a reading program where I had my teammates from the Chiefs reading to the kids reading kids uh children's books to the kids through Zoom uh I spoken at anti-bullying uh seminars stuff like that so I've done a lot for the district in my schools so I just felt like I wanted to make a a bigger impact on a larger scale and I felt like this was the next step for me has it been all that you thought it would be it's been a and more a lot more it's a the learning curve is very steep but it's it's satisfying and this is this is what I signed up for hey first of all man can congratulations Hall honor thank you thank I mean there's some there's some big time names in this F now there is there is and I was I was talking to John about that and it was emotional when I got the call because there's so you witness so much greatness at Texas that it almost diminishes how you feel about yourself like you feel like you don't fit the bill and when I got that call I'm like wow they like I didn't think this was possible for me so it was it was very emotional in a full circle moment but I'm grateful and very thankful for it it's it's pretty incredible I was speaking to all the student athletes the other day when you I'm looking at how many other students athletes are you're looking at national champions you're looking at Olympians you're looking at gold medalists you know whether it's now or in the future you're looking at Super Bowl champions I mean it it's incredible what this athletic department has done obviously uh you know director's Cup champs again three last four years and it's every sport it's phenomenal what I want to hit you on a couple things was I'm a big culture guy like culture totally matters to what we do I wanted to speak to your time here with Coach Brown and what that culture was like in that locker room and what it was like playing for him yeah so the biggest thing about Coach Brown to me was he he preached family family family and when we got recruited he's like look if you commit to us you're part of the family now and you're going to be part of the family forever and he he treated the program like that like we were brothers on the team we we fought for each other we viewed Coach Brown as a father figure and that's why people really came to Texas and it's interesting you talk about culture now because I'm starting to see that all over again a little bit so the the other thing I wanted to shift you so you had that great culture in college and then you end up at the end of your career playing for in my opinion arguably one of the top two three four coaches in NFL history in Andy Reid yep and he finally got over the hump and got the Super Bowl and now it's like they can't stop getting these Super Bowl trophies but what is it about that guy you know what is it I've always admired him from afar we actually do have a really good relationship and we talk a lot of offensive football but what is it being in that team meeting room with him what is that like one thing is he my favorite saying from coach uh we call him big red but Andy Reid uh one of my favorite sayings from him before every game he breaks us down and says let your personality show and that just speaks volume about the type of program that he runs cuz obviously we got to know our exes and those got to prepare properly but on game day he's all about having fun and I think it it speaks volumes and shows when those guys play and he's got Xavier worthy in his rush I'm sure he talked to you about X yeah for sure for sure there's no doubt and what a great fit for that system and with his speed with Pat that's going to be incredible we mentioned you know Alex has has all these incredible accomplishments as a football player in a community man now you've become a broadcaster you're going to be part of of the pregame show the the local pregame show here in Austin on kbvo uh working with another lifetime Longhorn Dan Neil as part of that how about your thoughts on the broadcast industry yeah it's a it's a different perspective and I'm still trying to get used to that Dynamic uh as a player you view it a little differently and you you approach the game a little differently as a as a broadcast analyst you got to remember not everybody is up to speed in terms of their knowledge with the game so you kind of got to break it down at a digestible level now seen you on several of the local newscast it seems like everybody was pulling on you diagramming you're on the Whiteboard or on the computer and doing all that sort of stuff did did you like all that did that take some getting used to that was fun and I was talking to coach Sark about that during the break it is fun because whenever you're done playing you want to stay close to the sport if you're lucky and broadcasting allows me to do that so being able to draw plays being able to break down plays use the the Scribbler even if I don't need it I'm still circling people for no reason it's it's fun and I I enjoy it that's your kind of guy well the other thing he just said was he goes you know when you when you work in in broadcasting you get the the TV copy and this guy's ask me for the all 22 he that's what the coaches and players look like that's a whole different film he's like you think I can get an iPad I said we we'll get we'll work on that cuz it's the perspective is different is it not I mean it's totally different how we view it as opposed to maybe how a fan views it yeah and I agree with that when you watch the TV copy you're looking at more of the big play like you don't get to really get into the Nuance of the game from the TV copy when you get the the all 22 or the endzone copy you get to see everything you get to see the double teams you get to see you know the good stuff really what what excites you most about sark's program and the and and the steps forward that this football program has taken over the course of three years now headed into His Four Season yeah what what really excites me is I felt like this program has been built the right way Sark and I say that with the depth the depth is really starting to show itself um I noticed it last year but like this year to be able to lose as many draft picks as you guys lost and still be able to re retool and go into the go into this season as a top five team that speaks volume about the recruiting that speaks volume about the development and I'm excited where this program is at and for this season well I appreciate that that's something that we tried to do I I said this all along I didn't want to we didn't never want to be a one hit wonder one year we're good and then we fall off we want to be something that's sustainable for a long long time and it's like I was telling Craig earlier it's a credit to the coaches and identif find those guys it's a credit to our strength and conditioning staff and then and then building them up but it's a credit to the players cuz they have to be committed to it and I think that's when that culture kicks in right there's a standard here at the University of Texas that you guys set right that we're just trying to live up to every day um and I think that's the approach they have day in and day out all offseason long and now as we get ready for the season you know you mentioned something that Coach Brown had said I I remember another term that Coach Brown used to talk about that the players would talk about guys that were fifth year year seniors and even in the case of this team uh six-year senior to and that was the term old head and then by the time you got to your fourth year certainly a fifth year you'd be a an old head as well but there was a real value to it wasn't it in being not just because you were an upper classman and a senior but the advice you could give to some of the younger guys yeah and that that plays the key like these freshman coming in the guys that take them under their wings the guys that Mentor them that's who these guys are going to kind of their game after and they play an important role like I to this day I remember Sam Macho and Sergio Kendall those were the guys that kind of brought me up and taught me the way and I had to live up to that standard so I'm glad the program is in a place now where we got guys that these younger guys can look up to doing things the right way preparing for the game the right way and and you want your your leaders your veterans your guys to be in that role of of mentoring the younger guys there's no question I mean I I I'm just looking at this offensive line right we're returning these players but I know how talented Trevor guby is I know how talented Brandon Baker is or Andre Cojo or or Nate kibble or or you know but they're looking up at Kelvin Banks they're looking up at cam Williams they're looking at Hayden Connor they're looking at Jake Majors these guys know how to do it so as talented as these guys are they're learning how to do it and maybe they might be a little more physically gifted than the guys above them but the guys above them know how to do it imagine how good they'll be when they start to figure that out too and that that's the whole problem process well I I think of another guy in that category that you're talking about David Benda with what with what he's done and what he gives back to his teammate without question I mean what an influence he has on an Anthony Hill or a leonga lafal or or a true freshman in Anthony Smith I even look on on the defensive side of the ball I look at a baron sell four years in now this guy had an incredible off season I think he's poised for for a great senior year but I look down here and I look at a true freshman in Colin Simmons and he knows what that looks like now he's sees the work ethic he sees the dedication he sees the attention to the details right it's not just go sack the quarterback right how do you play the counter how do you play the power how do you play the outside zone right how do you play that double team with with when there's two tight ends over you how so there's a lot that goes into it that I think a young player can learn from that older player and that was a role that you always cherished wasn't it being able to help the younger guys along yeah you have to it's it's your responsibility like Sark said it can't be a one hit wonder to maintain the level and the standard that we have it takes everyone and that means the leaders on the team it's their job to bring the young guys up with them and teach them the right way to approach the game I want to ask you about one other thing uh we talked about all the things that Alex is very heavily involved in another is the Leukemia Lymphoma Society a nam of the LLS board of directors in July you have the the the personal experience with this losing your mother Sonia to the acute miloy to leukemia back in 2020 I know not only does that hit home just the knowledge that you've learned about this disease and and and has drawn you into working against it yeah and yeah my mom passed away in 2020 it was unfortunate it was during covid so I wasn't able to be in the hospital with her we were doing she was going through her treatment and I just had to FaceTime her and stuff like that but long story short when she passed away I wanted to make a a real impact within that space to kind of let her to to let her Legacy live on a little bit and I dove in with Leukemia Lymphoma Society they gave me a platform to work they gave me all the resources I needed and we've been doing some great work for the past four years and this year they welcomed me on to the national board of directors which was an honor and I I don't take that lightly at all in a year of political divisiveness you sure you don't want to run for a higher office there's too much craziness right now I'm I'm going to stay out of that okay all right Alex o for with us we appreciate you coming by uh you were talking about Jay norell and what he's done and starting to build this program at Colorado State entering his third year as uh the head coach there how about your impressions I know you've known coach norval how about your impressions also what you see from his football team yeah a ton of respect for Coach norvel um you know followed his career for a long time he's been around some great coaches and what he did at Nevada and now what he's doing at Colorado State um you know definitely the expertise in the Air Raid Offense uh and their ability to throw the ball around the field quarterback's a really good player from Alo they got an All-American wide receiver in Tory Horton but the thing they have is a very veteran offense line and they've got they've got a an older group they they they pass protect really well they spread the field and then they they run it enough in there to challenge you but you got to deploy people the right way in the back end defensively a really veteran defense got two great safeties two two All Conference safeties uh veteran secondary um great schemes I will say this in all three phases they challenge you schematically offense defense and on special team so this is a heck of a challenge for Saturday when you look at a team when you first start to break it down with your coaches is the first place you go the offensive line well it's helpful cuz we don't play seven on seven right we we play 11 man football and and so much of the football that these guys grow up playing is seven on seven in the in the off season but you got to be able to be good up front if you're going to be a really good football team and the fact that they've got they've got this veteran offensive line poses some some issues for us uh you mentioned the quarterback braen fer Nicolosi uh w a state championship at Alo and um uh is is the guy who leads this this program now uh they say that he's made an awful lot of progress and went through like a lot of quarterbacks go through some growing pains with interceptions and things like that but a guy uh that that really has a great deal of confidence as he goes to the field well he really does and I think he's got great Rapport like I said with Tory Horton the white out I think the addition of Armani Woodfield the guy we recruited here transfer from Baylor is is helpful for them I think anytime you're in a system like he's been in now as he's grown up in it um you're just always better the next year right how much better was Quinn from year one to year two how much better do we expect him to be now going into year three in the system so I think all that's helpful as well for him yeah and it's also interesting that the running back Justin Marshall is a red shirt freshman he did play last year he rushed for over 300 yards he only played three games right to right to the end but they really like him how uh difficult or challenging is it especially when this team does not have this particular team does not have a game on tape from 2024 it's your typical season opening challenge well I I think offensively we've got a decent idea schematically of who they are I I think what we learned a year ago uh against rice in the opener we got a whole different defense and so um you know and then you have to adjust on the Fly and what that looks like and so I think offensively we feel pretty good just in general what they're going to do they they believe in throwing the ball no there's not no secret there defensively is how they're deploying their people and then how we're going to adjust to put our players in a good position to have some success how do you also uh prepare as you mentioned rice did something completely different defensively uh knowing that that is always a possibility how do you prepare guys for that possibility that element that everything you're training and working for and game planning for may be completely different what you see when you get on the field well I think that's why you have to have rules in your plays your blocking schemes have to have rules is it a four down front a three down front is it a bare front what how do we block these plays and that's what training camp is for and then you trust your training and you fall back on that with whatever the look is that you get and then we try to call plays in games like this that are all-encompassing meaning it works versus a variety of coverages and Quinn knows his progression it works versus a variety of fronts it's not so specific for this defense we want this play because you really just don't know I mean we we have an idea but you don't know until the ball game begins when you get down to this point and here we are you know just uh a little over 48 hours away from kickoff um do you go through your mind about uh the no stone unturn thing is that is that a typical thing for a coach did did we did we cover everything we wanted to in this area or that area unfortunately yes that's exactly how I go about it I I'm one of those guys you know I I hear these coaches use this adage the hay is in the barn yeah the hay is never in the barn in monrie I can tell you that we're still shoveling man we're looking under every every every stone and and for you know the contingency planning never never ends and you just want to make sure like I never want our players to feel like they're deficient because of us and I always want to make sure I have an answer for them to a the why we're doing something and B if they do this we have an answer I may not give them everything before the game but at halftime I may have to adjust to get to something and it's not something that we're trying to come up with in 5 minutes is something that we may have came up with on a Thursday or a Friday if they do this this is what we're going to do you went through kind of a dress rehearsal thing the mock game thing about coming out uh how important was that now because of knowing what your guys are going to encounter when they walk into the stadium Saturday afternoon well I think it's most important for our new players um obviously the freshman and we we have enough transfers that it's going to be new for them and and DKR is a a beautiful building and then it's a but it's an intimidating place too if you've never really been in there and gone through pregame warm-ups and ran out of the smoke and the whole thing uh and we can't we can't replicate 104 or 5,000 people on a mock game but we can replicate a lot of those things from substitutions and different things that could happen and so and we can't replicate the heat whatever it looks like but we try our best so uh I think it was good for the guys just to find a little bit of the Rhythm and routine of what game day is like but nothing's like Saturday and real ball games and so this Saturday is going to be a lot of fun and that's when you inside to go back back to what we were talking about the top of the program get really revved up when you first walk into that Stadium I do that I don't you know when we when we show up we do the bivo walk and we come down and I love seeing the fans and if you're not there you're missing something that the biva walk is awesome but when we walk into the stadium everybody makes a right and goes up into Mon creef and goes to the locker room and gets changed I make a left and I go straight to the turf and I and I I go through a walk and routine myself because I want to be in the moment I want to be present I want to be where my feet are and that allows me to do that just kind of settle in and then I know it's time to go and you call your folks too I do call my parents I always FaceTime my parents right then and they they get all excited you know my mom tells me how good I look every Saturday so I I I think that's half the reason I call we'll look forward to it we'll bring you the game here on the long R radio network from learfield 1:30 pregame start time 2:30 kickoff for Coach sarc I'm Craig W thanks for joining us we'll see you at the stadium and then see you next week right here on Long Horn weekly