Texas football notes: Visit from Kyle Shanahan could help offense, says Steve Sarkisian

When San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan visited Austin last week to help out with the Texas football program’s annual coaching clinic, the 2003 UT graduate did more than dole out some coaching tips and catch up with old friend and current Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian.

Shanahan also huddled with the Texas coaching staff to discuss how the 49ers coach uses versatile players such as Deebo Samuel and Christian McCaffrey, two of the NFL’s elite playmakers who are equally adept at lining up in the backfield or splitting out wide.

“I think he does a great job of utilizing the personnel that he has,” Sarkisian told reporters Thursday. “Deebo is a prime example, with the versatility he provides and then how (Kyle) utilizes him in ways to get him the ball.”

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Sarkisian has been paying particularly close attention this spring considering the options he has at running back despite the departure of Bijan Robinson and Roschon Johnson, who are both prepping for the NFL draft. Jonathon Brooks and Keilan Robinson have been limited this spring by injuries, but still are in line for lots of snaps come fall camp, and Jaydon Blue and freshman CJ Baxter have impressed while getting extended work this spring.

In addition, Savion Red remains an intriguing project after Sarkisian and his staff moved him from receiver to running back to fortify the backfield and get the most out of Red’s unique skill set.

Red, a 5-foot-10, 215-pounder who will be a sophomore in the fall, did a little bit of everything at Grand Prairie High School while starring in football and basketball. He ran for more than 1,400 yards, had almost 800 yards receiving and threw for almost 800 yards while accounting for 40 offensive touchdowns in three seasons.

With Red's similar body type and skill set to a certain San Francisco receiver, the Texas coaches hope he could produce a few Deebo-like moments for Texas — although any comparisons between a second-year college player with six career receptions and an NFL Pro Bowler are more about schemes than skill.

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“We have Savion, and we have some other guys kind of similar in those traits, too,” Sarkisian said. “We're always trying to find ways to get better, so it was great to have Kyle in town. We got a chance to visit quite a bit.”

Sarkisian has known Shanahan almost since Shanahan graduated from Texas in 2003 and began his climb up the coaching ladder. Their career paths even crossed in 2017, when Sarkisian replaced Shanahan as the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons.

“Kyle and I, we've known each other for a long time,” Sarkisian said. “And I think there's mutual respect for what we do offensively. I think systematically, we're very similar, (even though) obviously, the NFL game and the college game are a little bit different. So I always have studied Kyle, and, in my opinion, he’s one of the best in our industry at what he does.”

Sarkisian ‘seeing growth’ with Quinn Ewers

With spring football halfway over, Sarkisian touched on several topics this week in his third meeting with the media this spring. No UT press conference is complete now without a question about Quinn Ewers, prized freshman Arch Manning and the other quarterbacks, and Sarkisian continued to praise Ewers’ development.

“I think you're seeing growth,” Sarkisian said. “I think he just looks like a guy who's in Year Two and is growing into Year Two. I don't expect him to be perfect right now. I mean, we challenge him every day, and the defense is challenging the offense every day, and we're putting new things in. That can be challenging for a quarterback because there's some newness to what we're doing.

"But at the end of the day, I just think his comfort level, but also, I think it’s his intent, right? I mean, he was very intentional this offseason of getting himself in a really good space physically and mentally. And I think he's showing that throughout the first eight practices.”

Defensive lineman Alfred Collins ‘taking another step’

Alfred Collins has all the tangibles a coach wants in a defensive lineman. The former All-Central Texas star from Cedar Creek in Bastrop County stands 6-5 and weighs 315 pounds while retaining the sleek frame of a power forward, which he played in high school.

After racking up 65 tackles, 10½ tackles for a loss and 4½ sacks through his first three seasons, could Collins take a leap toward stardom his senior season? Sarkisian is optimistic, especially after the first two weeks of spring ball.

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“I think Alfred has taken another step,” Sarkisian said. “We talked a lot about Alfred a year ago, about how it wasn't about the talent, (but) it was about the consistency in his play. And when Alfred plays that way, which he's doing right now, where he's consistent at the point of attack, he can use his length, he has great athleticism, he can close on the ball. And when he plays really violent, like he's doing right now, he's a real problem. And I think that we've seen that here the first half of spring from him.”

Depth continues to impressive on offensive line

The offensive line looks like a strength considering that all five starters return for a team that was 20th-best in the nation in scoring, averaging 34.5 points a game, and No. 35 in yards per game (429.5). Texas has signed 12 offensive linemen in its past two recruiting classes, bolstering a unit that has produced only two NFL draft picks over the past 14 years — Sam Cosmi in 2021 and Connor Williams in 2018.

“Just from a sheer numbers perspective, I definitely feel more comfortable there,” Sarkisian said. “I think it is a talented group. They're obviously big, you know, but the one thing that they're going through is the growing pains of being young players and learning the fundamentals of techniques to go along with the scheme and then trying to block good players on the other side of the ball.”

The absence of injured guard Cole Hutson this spring has even been beneficial, said Sarkisian, since it’s allowed young players such as Malik Agbo, Andre Cojoe, Connor Stroh and Payton Kirkland to get valuable playing time with the starters.

"With Cole being out this spring, it's created some opportunities for some other players,” Sarkisian said.

Traditional spring game on schedule

That renewed depth on the offensive line and few injuries this spring should produce a more traditional spring game April 15 at Royal-Memorial Stadium, Sarkisian said. A year ago, Texas did little more than run through a standard practice before a few thousand fans because of a wave of injuries to the offensive line and several other positions. Texas is relatively healthy now, he said.

“It does allow us hopefully here in a couple of weeks when we do play the spring game to have a true game,” he said. “I think everybody would prefer that. Let the guys go compete and keep score and all that kind of good stuff. So right now, that's what the signs are pointing to, but I always hold reservation, you know, because you never know what can happen over the next two weeks. You know, knock on wood, we may stay healthy, and we continue to get players back to where we can have a fun day on the 15th.”

Sarkisian praises elite effort by Texas men's basketball

After a busy week of scrimmages and coaches’ clinics, Sarkisian flew to Kansas City, Mo., on Sunday to watch the Texas men’s basketball team compete in the Elite Eight against Miami. The NCAA Tournament game, which Miami won 88-81, “was a great opportunity to watch the run that our basketball team went on and watch the energy and the passion,” Sarkisian said.

He also congratulated Rodney Terry, the Texas men’s basketball coach whose interim tag was removed Monday.

"A heck of a season those guys had, and I’m fired up for Coach Terry and the opportunity he got now to be the true head coach moving forward," he said. "I’m so excited for him.

“They got faced with adversity on and off the court. The veteran leadership they had, I thought, really shone through, and I thought that that was something definitely to take away from their season this year. As we like to say around here, that player-led mentality. You could feel that even in that game when things weren't great, late. You could feel the veteran presence.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football notes: Visit from 49ers' Shanahan could help offense