“He comes from Nick Saban coaching tree”: CFB insider spills Steve Sarkisian’s strategy to reload with talents like Arch Manning
Steve Sarkisian is one of the many high-profile talents that legendary coach Nick Saban has discovered and nurtured during an illustrious career spanning over 50 years. His tenure at Alabama in 2016 and 2019 proved significant in the overall development of his head coaching nuances. Even today, Sarkisian credits Saban for the learnings he grasped during his brief time at Tuscaloosa. CFB insider Anwar Richardson believes this experience has made coaches like Sarkisian prepare for the worst.
They are not contained; they are always recruiting and finding ways to build their roster. Something that Richardson claims is the secret recipe behind Texas’s success over the years.
“He comes from that Nick Saban coaching tree, which is you lose guys in your place guys. And you know, that’s where he’s trying to get this program to be, where it’s not just we lost guys and now you’re falling off a cliff,” Richardson said to Paul Finebaum on Tuesday. “That’s what happened with Texas. For many years, they would lose a guy here and there, and you just wonder to yourself, can they survive? But they went heavy in their transfer portal.”
About 14 players from the program left for the NFL this year, but the void doesn’t seem to be there as the Texas Longhorns coach has already filled the spots with players like Arch Manning, top transfers and high school recruits from across the country.
“They got a bunch of defensive tackles out the portal, so they’ve kind of feel like they’re stacked at that position. They’ve got a guy by the name of Colin Simmons on the edge, who’s probably one of the best guys that’s going to be on this defense. They’ve got Anthony Hill, another former five star, at linebacker. They really, really good and loaded at the defensive back position.
“You know, you lose a guy like Kelvin banks in the first round. Use a guy like cam Williams, he gets drafted. You know, what do they do? They got a good dive at the left tackle position by the name of Trevor grusby, who looked very good when he was out there,” he added.
Steve Sarkisian made a major recruitment move this week
Even before the 2025 season begins, Texas has begun its recruitment for the 2027 cycle. Per reports, they have offered four-star prospect Kenton Dopson, who is also a hard commit to the Miami Hurricanes. The cornerback is currently ranked No. 8 in the entire country by 247 Sports and stands at No. 60 overall in his class.
This is the level at which the Longhorns are building their roster with prolonged ambitions. Hence, missing players to the draft or transfer portal doesn’t harm Texas much compared to other programs
