{"id":414923,"date":"2026-08-23T23:00:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T23:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/414923\/"},"modified":"2026-08-23T23:00:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T23:00:40","slug":"sarks-takeaways-from-second-scrimmage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/414923\/","title":{"rendered":"Sark’s takeaways from second scrimmage"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUSTIN (KXAN) \u2014 Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian described the Longhorns\u2019 second scrimmage of fall camp as \u201cgood and bad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The good came primarily from his defense. The bad? An offensive performance Sarkisian called \u201ctoo sloppy\u201d with the season opener now just two weeks away.<\/p>\n

Texas ran roughly 120 plays Saturday in temperatures that reached triple digits on the field. The Longhorns came out of the scrimmage without any injuries, but Sarkisian saw plenty his team still needs to clean up before facing Texas State on Sept. 5.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought defensively they really showed up ready to go today,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cI thought the defense came ready to go today. I think they created four turnovers. I think they created plenty of third-and-longs. I think they rushed the passer. They were sticky in coverage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The defensive performance came after Sarkisian felt the offense had gotten the better of the defense over the previous two practices.<\/p>\n

Arch Manning and the offense<\/p>\n

\"\"AUSTIN, TX \u2013 APRIL 18: Quarterback Arch Manning #16 of the Texas Longhorns on the field during the Texas Longhorns Football Fan Day on April 18, 2026, at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, TX. (Photo by David Buono\/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The offense still produced some explosive plays Saturday, including touchdown catches from Ryan Wingo, Emmett Mosley and Jermaine Bishop, but the overall execution didn\u2019t meet Sarkisian\u2019s standard.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\tCam Coleman details decision to leave Auburn for Texas\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI thought offensively it was too sloppy for my liking,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cI feel like we should be better, more efficient from an offensive perspective.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarkisian saw some of that inconsistency from quarterback Arch Manning. He said Manning started the scrimmage inefficiently before finishing strong with touchdown passes to Wingo and Mosley in a competitive period.<\/p>\n

Sarkisian also believes Manning\u2019s performance reflected where the Longhorns are collectively after nearly three weeks of fall camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can feel a little physical fatigue and maybe a little mental fatigue,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cI felt a little bit of that from Arch today, and that\u2019s not uncommon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarkisian addresses Smith\u2019s dismissal<\/p>\n

One position undergoing change on a defense that impressed Saturday is linebacker.<\/p>\n

Sarkisian confirmed Ty\u2019Anthony Smith was dismissed from the program<\/a> for \u201cconduct detrimental to the team.\u201d Smith was expected to play a significant role in the Longhorns\u2019 linebacker rotation this season.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a quality player, but I have to think about the team first,\u201d Sarkisian said.<\/p>\n

Smith\u2019s departure creates another opportunity in a linebacker room led by Rasheem Biles and Florida State transfer Justin Cryer. Sarkisian also pointed to Brad Spence\u2019s experience and versatility, along with the development of Texas\u2019 younger linebackers.<\/p>\n

\"\"Florida State linebacker Justin Cryer (28) celebrates during an NCAA football game against Kent State, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2025, in Tallahassee, Fla. (AP Photo\/Gary McCullough)<\/p>\n

Kosi Okpala was one of those young players who stood out Saturday, recording an interception that Sarkisian said likely would have been returned for a touchdown.<\/p>\n

But Cryer\u2019s emergence has particularly impressed Sarkisian throughout fall camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy is squeezing every ounce of juice that he can out of this opportunity to be at Texas,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cIt\u2019s greatly appreciated, and I think it serves as a great model for a lot of the other transfers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sarkisian praised Cryer\u2019s approach in meetings, walkthroughs and practice, along with his ability to communicate defensive coordinator Will Muschamp\u2019s system.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis guy didn\u2019t wait and feel it out to like, \u2018Where do I fit in?\u2019 He\u2019s gone for it,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cAnd I think he\u2019s reaping the benefits of it. He\u2019s playing at a high level for us right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Run game remains point of emphasis<\/p>\n

Establishing the run remains another point of emphasis for Texas as the Longhorns move closer to the regular season.<\/p>\n

\t
\n\t\tNew faces headline Texas\u2019 running back room in 2026\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarkisian has been encouraged by the progress throughout fall camp, particularly with the intent and physicality Texas has shown up front.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019re running the ball well,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cRegardless of who\u2019s been in there, there\u2019s been real intent with our ability to run the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"AUSTIN, TEXAS \u2013 APRIL 18: Running back Hollywood Smothers #2 of the Texas Longhorns runs for yardage during the Texas Spring Football Game at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on April 18, 2026 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Scott Wachter\/Getty Images for ONIT)<\/p>\n

The next step is carrying that consistency from practice into scrimmage settings. Sarkisian felt there were areas Texas executed well throughout the week that didn\u2019t translate Saturday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to consistently do that throughout the scrimmage,\u201d Sarkisian said. \u201cThere were things that we had done well throughout this week, and then coming into the scrimmage today, we didn\u2019t do as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shifting into mock game week <\/p>\n

With the second scrimmage complete, Texas will now shift into a mock game week as classes begin Monday. The Longhorns will practice exclusively in the morning and follow a schedule similar to what they\u2019ll use during the regular season before holding a mock game Saturday.<\/p>\n

For Sarkisian, the focus now turns toward getting his team physically and mentally refreshed \u2014 and turning the flashes Texas has shown throughout fall camp into a more complete performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe game\u2019s going to be here in two weeks,\u201d Sarkisian said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"AUSTIN (KXAN) \u2014 Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian described the Longhorns\u2019 second scrimmage of fall camp as \u201cgood…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414924,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133],"class_list":["post-414923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=414923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414924"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}