Sarkisian Tells Touchdown Club Texas Is Built for the Challenge Ahead
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Updated: May 22, 2026
University of Texas head football coach Steve Sarkisian used his annual appearance before the Touchdown Club of Houston as both a look back and a look forward, praising the resilience of last year’s Longhorn team while making it clear that the standard in Austin has not changed.
Texas is chasing championships.
Speaking to a room full of Longhorn supporters, Sarkisian said the luncheon has become something of an annual kickoff point for him as the program transitions from one season to the next.
May, he joked, is one of the longest months of the year for a head coach. Players have gone home after the semester. Assistant coaches are on the road recruiting. That leaves Sarkisian back in the office, already watching Ohio State film and looking for ways to improve.
“I’m just trying to win every game,” he said.
Looking Back at a Resilient Season
Sarkisian began by recapping the previous season, one that started with enormous expectations and quickly became a test of character.
Texas entered the year with national championship expectations. But after an early loss at Ohio State and a difficult SEC road loss at Florida, Sarkisian said the mood around the program changed dramatically.
“The sky was falling,” he said.
He specifically pointed to the criticism faced by quarterback Arch Manning after the early struggles, including national stories labeling him one of the biggest disappointments in college football. Sarkisian said what impressed him most was not just Manning’s physical toughness, but his mental toughness.
Rather than wilt under the pressure, Manning earned the respect of his teammates and helped lead the Longhorns back.
Texas went 7-1 from that point forward, and Sarkisian said he remains proud of what that team accomplished. He noted that the Longhorns became the first college football team since 2019 to beat three top-10 opponents in the regular season. The program also posted its 32nd 10-win season, marking the first time Texas had put together that kind of sustained run since the Colt McCoy-era teams of 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Sarkisian also emphasized the historical importance of the past few seasons. Over the last three years, Texas has won 35 games. Over the last two years, the Longhorns have beaten 10 ranked opponents, more than any other program in the country, according to Sarkisian. He also said Texas owns the best SEC record over the last two seasons at 13-3 and has produced 29 NFL Draft picks over the past four years, tied with Georgia and Ohio State for the most in the country.
But for Sarkisian, those numbers are not enough.
“We came here to compete for and win championships,” he said.
Texas did not make the SEC Championship Game or the College Football Playoff last season. Sarkisian said the response was simple: the program went back to work.
Building a More Explosive Team
One of the biggest offseason points of emphasis is offensive explosiveness.
Sarkisian said Texas must create more explosive plays in every phase of the offense, including the run game, passing game and screen game. He pointed to additions and returning players who can help Texas become more dangerous with the ball in its hands.
He said the Longhorns needed to bring in more explosive playmakers and retain key pieces who could have moved on. That includes keeping important players from entering the NFL Draft, adding transfers and continuing to build around the roster already in place.
On defense, Sarkisian said Texas must create more havoc, produce more sacks and generate more turnovers. He called the return of Pete Kwiatkowski as defensive coordinator a major piece of that effort.
He was also blunt about one major area that has to improve: penalties.
Texas, he said, cannot afford the avoidable mistakes that cost teams critical downs and possessions.
“You can’t have false starts. You can’t jump offsides when the ball is on fourth down on the road at a critical moment. You can’t hit people late,” Sarkisian said.
He acknowledged that some penalties come with playing aggressive football. Holding calls and pass interference calls will happen. But pre-snap penalties, late hits, illegal formations and avoidable mistakes are controllable.
“That’s on me,” he said. “I did not do a good enough job of that.”
Sarkisian pointed out that Texas finished fourth nationally in turnover margin, which he called the most important statistic tied to winning and losing. But he said the Longhorns were near the bottom nationally in penalties, and that number has to be cut at least in half.
Culture Became an Offseason Priority
Sarkisian spent a significant portion of his remarks discussing culture.
He praised the academic performance of the program, noting that the team grade-point average has steadily improved since he arrived in Austin. According to Sarkisian, the Longhorns recently posted a 3.316 team GPA, which he called an all-time high for the program.
He also made a point to distinguish Texas from programs that rely heavily on online-only coursework. Sarkisian said the majority of Texas players attend classes in person, which he believes is part of their growth and development.
But he was also candid about where he believes he made a mistake last year.
Because Texas had so many new faces on the roster, Sarkisian said he assumed the culture would form the way it had in previous years. Instead, by waiting until summer to really begin emphasizing culture, he found himself trying to break habits that had already formed.
Cliques had developed. Entitlement had crept in. The team culture had formed organically without his fingerprints on it.
“I dropped the ball last year,” Sarkisian said.
This year, he said, Texas began working on culture immediately in January. The result, he believes, is a team that is already closer now than last year’s team was at any point during the season.
He credited returning leaders such as Arch Manning, Trevor Goosby, Ryan Wingo, Colin Simmons and others for setting the tone. He also praised the transfer additions for buying into a team-first mentality.
Sarkisian said several players could have stayed where they were and positioned themselves well individually, but they came to Texas because they wanted to compete for championships.
“They understand that with team success comes individual accolades,” he said.
Toughest Schedule in America
Sarkisian did not downplay the difficulty of the road ahead.
He said Texas will play what he believes is the toughest schedule in the country, including eight teams ranked in the top 20. Five of those ranked opponents will be away from Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
That road includes trips to difficult environments such as Kyle Field, Death Valley, Neyland Stadium and other SEC venues.
Because of that, Sarkisian said this team must be connected, accountable and unified.
“If you don’t think we need to be a cohesive team that has connectivity and love for one another, we’re missing the bar,” he said.
He also said the new football practice facility opening this summer will be a major benefit to the program. He thanked those who helped make it possible and said the move from the old indoor bubble to the new facility was much needed.
“Better Than It’s Ever Been Done Before”
Sarkisian said he recently went back and reviewed notes from his first team meeting after being hired at Texas. In that meeting, he told the players the goal was to do it better than it had ever been done before at the University of Texas.
He acknowledged how lofty that sounds, given the history of the program and the legends who came before him, from Darrell Royal and Mack Brown to Vince Young, Ricky Williams, Earl Campbell and others.
But that, he said, remains the mission.
Texas must meet the existing standard, exceed it and create a new one.
“We don’t take a backseat to anybody,” Sarkisian said.
College Football’s Uneven Playing Field
Sarkisian also addressed the current state of college football, saying the sport is more popular than ever while also more uneven than ever.
He pointed to the massive television audience for Texas’ Citrus Bowl appearance, saying 9.7 million people watched the game. Sarkisian said people tune in to watch Texas whether they love the Longhorns or hate them.
But he also said there are major inequalities across the sport.
Programs are not paying the same amount for rosters. They are not paying the same amount for coaching staffs. They are not playing equally difficult schedules. Academic standards are not the same everywhere. Transfer admission requirements are not the same everywhere.
At Texas, Sarkisian said, transfer credits can be a hurdle because the university generally accepts only a portion of a player’s previous credits toward a degree. Other schools, he suggested, may accept far more, making the transfer path easier.
Still, he said Texas has plenty to sell: the University of Texas brand, the city of Austin, the state of Texas, the education, the alumni network and the opportunity to play for championships.
“The standard hasn’t changed,” he said.
Sarkisian Says He Is Staying at Texas
Sarkisian also addressed reports from last season suggesting he might leave for the NFL.
He said this will be his sixth year at the University of Texas, making it the longest stop of his coaching career.
“I could not be more excited and grateful for that,” he said.
He thanked UT leadership for trusting him with the program and then made his position clear.
“I will retire at the University of Texas,” Sarkisian said.
When Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale asked what Texas needs to make a championship run, Sarkisian listed three things.
First, Texas must stay healthy, especially at key positions such as quarterback. Second, the Longhorns must win on the road. Third, they must be at their best in critical moments, especially in tight games.
“Championship teams find ways to win games,” he said.
Sarkisian also discussed future non-conference scheduling, including upcoming games against Ohio State and Michigan. He said players love those marquee matchups, but he also has a responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the University of Texas as the college football landscape continues to change.
For now, Texas will host Ohio State at DKR this season and Michigan the following year, along with the challenge of a loaded SEC schedule.
“We better buckle up,” Sarkisian said. “It’s going to be very challenging.”
A Confident Message to Longhorn Fans
Sarkisian closed his remarks with a confident but realistic message.
Texas has momentum. The program is recruiting at a high level. The roster is talented. The culture, he believes, is stronger than it was a year ago. The standard remains championships.
But the road will not be easy.
With the toughest schedule in America, a demanding SEC grind and national expectations surrounding the program, Sarkisian knows the Longhorns will have to earn everything.
That is exactly what he believes Texas is built to do.
Chris Doelle
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