Steve Sarkisian Credits Unexpected Group for Raising Practice Intensity

Sarkisian expressed how impressed he has been by his scout players, particularly during this week’s practices.

“I thought the intensity was as high as it’s been all season, Tuesday and Wednesday, and I credit that to our scout team players,” Sarkisian said. “You think about a lot of these guys on scout team, they’re fighting for playing time. They want to play, and so that’s a lot of their opportunity to show us, you know, their ability to play.”

With a matchup against the UTEP Miners at home on Saturday, it’s possible that some of these scout team players could get on the field and potentially even play meaningful minutes. The Longhorns, favored by roughly 40 points ahead of the game, could exert dominance early in the game if they come out fast. 

As Texas prepares for several difficult battles this year, Sarkisian emphasized that learning to fight and play hard starts on the practice field for his players because of these scout players. 

“They raised the level of intensity, and that put a challenge on, you know, the first team offense, first team defense, to perform,” he said. “As that intensity rose, I think you could feel it on both sides of the ball. And we owe a ton to the guys that were working on scout team this week because I thought they gave an excellent look. It was highly competitive.”

This competitive nature could prove necessary, especially as the season moves forward and some of the players getting more in-game reps grow fatigued or have a harder time bring their best to each practice. 

With SEC play drawing nearer each day, Texas has two opportunities remaining to capitalize at home before getting on the road again to face the Florida Gators in Gainesville on Oct. 4.