OTF live: Steve Sarkisian at TD Club of Houston

Jeff Howe and myself are at the Omni Hotel in Houston where Steve Sarkisian will meet with the media at 11:30’ish. 

We will post notes here 

“Effective” spring for the team 

Feels like team has come together sooner than expected 

Sark is going through why the Longhorns aren't a finished product, but...

"We're not shy in saying that we think we've got a really good football team," he said.

The Longhorns have their work cut out of them, but Sark, "there's nowhere I'd rather be with these expectations."

Sark's first question was about the CFP. As he's said before, he'd rather be at four teams than 24 teams in the CFP.

5 minutes ago, Gerry Hamilton said:

Feels like team has come together sooner than expected 

NOW THIS is the best quote I think we could ask for.

Sark is breaking down why the NFL playoffs work and the CFP doesn't. It's more equitable and balanced in the NFL, but that's not the case in college football.

Yes, that includes admissions and academic requirements.

4 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Sark is going through why the Longhorns aren't a finished product, but...

"We're not shy in saying that we think we've got a really good football team," he said.

He hasn’t shied away from mentioning how much talent there is on this team.

Sark said they guys who had offseason surgery haven't had any setbacks. Everybody is on the projected timeline to return.

Jonah Williams should be ready to go by training camp, Sark said. He's a work in progress, but he'll be able to do some things this summer.

Just now, Jeff Howe said:

Sark said they guys who had offseason surgery haven't had any setbacks. Everybody is on the projected timeline to return.

The group of guys who missed time in spring practice or were limited will be ready to go when summer conditioning, Sark said.

On the non-conference schedule, Sark mentioned Indiana isn't playing a Power Four opponent, whereas Texas is playing two quality G5 opponents and Ohio State.

Sark wasn't knocking Indiana, but this is what he's talking about when he mentions how, from one conference to another, scheduling isn't equitable. 

"We're going to have to live with some of those growing pains early in the season," Sark said regarding playing younger guys earlier in the season to make sure they're more prepared in November and December.

Sark believes there isn't an SEC team paying under $30 million for their roster.

Sark saw a roster valuation of what Texas is supposedly (or presumably) paying players. He said it's "about $10 million off."

Sark on the $30 million mark: "I would venture that the Big Ten schools aren't far off."

Sark: "Everybody's getting creative with ways to pay their players — some more legitimate than others, and that's OK."

Sark: "If you're in the SEC, you're doing everything in your power to build a great roster."

I was hoping we'd get more team-centric questions, but everybody seems to want to ask Sark about the CFP and NIL/revenue sharing.

On future non-conference scheduling, Sark said it'll take getting clarity on where college football is going in the 18-24 months before the Longhorns make their next move.

"There's nothing I can do the next two years," he said. "Beyond that, what the NCAA decides to do and what the SEC decides to do, we'll go from there."

Jermaine Bishop "is a fantastic football player," Sark said.

Sark praised Bishop's football IQ before saying that Bishop will get some work with the secondary this summer.

Sark said Bishop is a great player who has the right mental approach to football to potentially handle being a two-way player.

9 minutes ago, Jeff Howe said:

Jonah Williams should be ready to go by training camp, Sark said. He's a work in progress, but he'll be able to do some things this summer.

Good sign. Would love to see an impactful Jonah this fall