Steve Sarkisian addresses critical concerns over Longhorns' defensive line

Steve Sarkisian knows football games are won at the line of scrimmage. Hence, his focus is on having the best offensive and defensive lines. While much of his recruiting emphasis has been on the offensive line, Sarkisian acknowledged the importance of the defensive line, too.

Speaking Tuesday at a press conference in Houston, the coach said he didn't spend as much time recruiting defensive linemen when he got to Austin because he inherited a great unit.

"I think a lot of the time, the offensive line got the attention of this," the coach said (8:00). "You win games at the line of scrimmage, you win championships at the line of scrimmage, and when I always used to talk about big humans, you know, again, the offensive line got a lot of that attention because we felt like that was the immediate need to ramp up that recruiting but really on the defensive side of the ball we were fortunate.

"When we got here that, that room had some really good players in it. You know, all six of those guys that have gotten drafted in the last three years we inherited ... The rest of those guys were on the roster."

Over the last three years, players like Keondre Coburn, T'Vondre Sweat, Byron Murphy II, Alfred Collins, and Vernon Broughton have all ended up drafted. Murphy was the highest, the No. 16 pick in 2024.

This brought to the forefront another problem for Sarkisian. He's now in the market for defensive linemen as his successful front has been depleted via the NFL draft or the transfer portal.

"We are trying to fill needs, and for a variety of reasons, we've had a real attrition at the defensive line spot," the coach added. "Like I said, for a variety of reasons, certain players aren't here anymore, and you have to get your numbers right.

"When you think, where my mind is at, I'm thinking 16, 17 games again and having the right amount of depth in the defensive front is critical for us to play the style of football that we want to play." (9:20)

What does Steve Sarkisian hope for Arch Manning's third season?

Speaking at the same press conference, Steve Sarkisian was asked what he hoped for Arch Manning's first season as the Longhorns' starter.

""Here's what I hope," Sarkisian said on Monday. "I hope he's got a really hard decision to make around January 21. That means we played a long time.

"That means he played a really good season. And that means he's trying to figure out do I want one more year in the burnt orange or is it time to go to the NFL. I hope it's a really hard decision. I hope it's not a no-brainer to come back to school."

Those are high hopes, expecting that a junior with only one full season as a starter on his resume. But who knows, we might be about to witness a season for the ages.