Urban Meyer Has Clear Advice for Steve Sarkisian as Texas Eyes National Championship Run

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Cami Griffin | Last updated Jul 3, 2025 3:03 PM ET

Urban Meyer was a well-respected college coach, most notably serving as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes for seven seasons. After a brief stint in the NFL, Meyer now serves as a college football analyst for Fox Sports.

Meyer knows a thing or two about what it takes to make a national championship run as he has won three national titles with two different programs (Florida, Ohio State). Do the Texas Longhorns have what it takes to compete at that level in 2025?

The Herd with Colin Cowherd released an episode with Meyer on Wednesday and Texas' expectations were a key topic of discussion. Meyer has been a long-time advocate of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, but he specifically noted the importance of the Longhorns having a great defense in order to bring home a championship.

"I'm going to state the obvious first. He's an elite offensive coach. He was in the NFL. He was in college as an assistant, as a head coach. They're always going to be spectacular in offense," Meyer began.

"But a lot like Lincoln Riley is that you have to grow as a head coach. You don't get championships for offense. That's not how this game works. You get championships for great defense, not turning the ball over, and efficient offense."

Fortunately the Longhorns will enter the 2025 college football season with one of the top defensive units in the country. PFF recently ranked Texas with the No. 1 secondary and No. 1 linebacker room in the nation. Texas' defense will be led by All-American's Anthony Hill Jr. and Michael Taaffe this season.

It's clear Sarkisian has stressed the importance of having a solid defense and he has consistently improved that side of the ball over the last few years, something Meyer has specifically noticed.

"And I think he's grown into the position. He's still relatively young even though he's had some great jobs. So I view him as one of the top coaches in the country and that's why I got Texas as well. I haven't picked him for sure yet, but I'm still studying it, but I think most people have them preseason number one with a returning quarterback. "

Texas will kick off the season against Ohio State on Aug. 30.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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