Texas' Steve Sarkisian to lean on Alabama experience during SEC transition, but says Longhorns will do what 'best suits us'

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. — Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is focused on the Big 12 as he attends meetings this week alongside the league's other nine coaches. The Big 12, like other leagues holding their spring gatherings, is addressing several major items impacting the future of college sports.

«For us, at the end of the day, we're in the Big 12,» Sarkisian said. «It's important to know the direction of the conference and direction of college football and where we are going on a lot of these topics.… We're in the Big 12, so we need to know the direction of where the conference is going right now.»

But Sarkisian also is mindful of Texas' upcoming transition to the SEC, and what it will take to succeed in a new league. Both Texas and Oklahoma will remain in the Big 12 until 2025 unless the schools negotiate an earlier exit to the SEC.

Sarkisian spent part of three seasons in the league on the Alabama coaching staff under Nick Saban, winning a national title as offensive coordinator in 2020.

Although his time at Alabama will inform him before the SEC move, he said Texas will remain its own distinct program.

«There's a lot of great aspects of [Alabama] that I think we can take with us, but naturally, we have to do the things I'm comfortable doing and doing it the way that best suits us,» Sarkisian said. «There's great coaches in the SEC, there's really good players, there's big people, there's fast people. We've got to assemble a really good staff, which I think we've done. We've got to recruit on a really high level, which I think that we've shown that we can do. And then ultimately get those players big enough, faster and stronger.»

Sarkisian noted the SEC's success in last week's NFL draft, as it led all conferences with 65