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Inside Texas Football
The Day After LIVE (11/24): Texas v Kentucky, SEC Standings, What's Next
good morning all happy Sunday to you and thank you for joining us I'm here with coach and mr. Evan Vith who's joining us for the very first time he is the sports editor at the Daily Texan and an inside Texas contributor so welcome Evan thank you so much for being here I I can see that you've got a ceiling fan on in the background which will not attract any of our viewers so that's that's good to know the camera situations really messed up here I'm sorry about this guys okay fair enough fair enough coach you were just telling me you got a chance to go through the rewatch I'd love to get your initial thoughts oh man um so the music park right rollercoaster you know thought it out smooth and going up the hill then dropped off the cliff of like oh what are we doing here they had some loops some twists and turns but in the end the ride ended some various moves right because they were able to lean on that defense line and just kind of finished the game take away all the fourth quarter pretty much run the ball not even running different plays like we're just running at you at this time counter trap power it was working right and able to finish the game I love to see that because I think everybody's been banging the table saying I want to see a running game I want to see let's be able to run at people and just you know lean on people right and to do that versus a defense line like Kentucky yesterday to end the game was really like something special to see and so yeah that's what I thought about the game it was uh you know he kept you on the edge of the sea special segment third quarter oh my gosh yeah well I mean we netted uh 250 yards on the ground which is outstanding uh in for as far as that it's concerned what so Evan now I know that you sound like you smoke a carton of Marlboro Reds every morning but you were at the game and that's why your voice is a little off is that right I was I had my own senior night that was my last home game as a fan and so you know I take my fandom seriously when I'm in the stadium and then after I'll I'll keep myself to be a journalist but um yeah I I enjoy the cheering and the and the you know the fourth the third Divos as they would say in the stands so that's why it sounds like I've been a uh eight 15 years chain smoker and so what would so walk us through a little bit tell us about your senior night how was it for you what what was the what was the vibe in the stadium yeah you know I was so surprised at how great this or not was at least from the alumni side the uh fans took of the students took a little bit to get into the stadium but that's you know it's the holiday break but um it was very emotional when the players were coming out at that uh at those entrances especially like John A. Barron I think was the one that really got a lot of fans it was the loudest cheer and um obviously Quinn Ewers was just it's it's he's a divided character I think the fan the students especially really connect with him uh for me you know I experienced that 2021 season as a fan my first season being a Texas fan and just the difference between that Hudson card Casey Thompson year and Quinn Ewers was huge for me so um I really just took it all in I think it's the longest I've ever stayed at the stadium after the game just because I didn't want to leave it was gonna be my last time at TKR that section so I was getting a little emotional even which is rare for me at a sporting event yeah it was well it was emotional for me as well probably for very different reasons but thankfully that's why we have Xanax and Lexapro to get through these emotional rides so coach let's go through this a little bit like you said we really so we rushed the ball 47 times yeah right again when we you consider our passing game that was a we our past attempts were around 31 so this was a run heavy game considering uh certainly Sark plays really balanced most of the time even though it may feel like it's a heavy runner a heavy pass game he's generally right around the 49 50% range in each play call so you know with that again it was a simplicity in the run game I think that was surprising for everyone and let's just talk a little bit I want to bring this up so you guys can see because especially in the big play area on the rushing side let's just come down here for a second so a big play just for the folks playing at home especially in the rushing area because anything over 10 yards and we had seven of those seven big plays for a total of a hundred and thirteen yards the biggest being 21 yards and that was the the blue run on the outside yeah just curious coach what are you seeing in that run game what is it what does it portend as we go into the final game of the regular season in college station just looking at the run game yesterday I thought Sark uses so many different formations so many emotions like you really have to be key you really have to key in on your on your identity you know identify as a defensive player linebacker upfront or even safety at third level so you just can't come downhill because Sark started kind of hitting him with a lot of motion a lot of crossovers and so crossing routes and so they had to kind of be patient and you saw those guys kind of get frustrated for Kentucky and then they stopped playing as disciplined you start seeing lanes wide open where office lamin didn't even have a person to block like it was wide open right and so Sark just do so many things that I think that their eyes kind of got dirty what we call it and coaching we got dirty eyes and they really couldn't they don't understand what they were seeing what was coming at him and that's of that they got tired and we just kind of just leaned on them on on from that point on but just those explosive runs I thought Kentucky just had bad eyes they didn't realize they didn't read their keys very well they didn't know what was coming this because Sark threw so much at him throughout the game and then after that kind of just saw just understanding of the run game from our from our standpoint we knew who we were attacking on their side and so just kind of became dominant at that point one thing that always always say is the team makes cowards up with all and kind of saw Kentucky get kind of a tee those guys are hands on their heels breathing hard I saw Kevin Banks say hey we got tired too but it didn't affect us as much right we had to finish the game so you had him in tally over fatigues I had we're gonna finish his game and so that was one thing that stood out as well Evan what a this was you've been following Texas now for a while this this season in particular I think is very unique in the sense that this is the this is where the expectations have actually met up with the talent I think we've always had the expectations that's never really been a problem of our expectations of winning the national championship every year but now now there's some talent to match that and I'm curious at someone that's been following this team in your time what separates this team from some of the other teams you've seen at your time in the 40 acres yeah well I will say that separation of the expectations and the talent it almost was the opposite last year where in 2023 Texas said I think the number was 10 players drafted and by the time that it was finished people were saying well you know Blake player was kind of getting carried by worthy Whittington and they were still only not a preseason top 10 ranked team well whereas this year yeah it feels like this is a top five talent they're being ranked as a top five team in the CFP in the preseason things like that I think where you see the biggest difference is in the secondary I think it's impossible to ignore what Jada Barron's been doing this was even kind of an off game for him for a guy who's kind of gunning for the Thor but Makuba at pick that he had was absurd I saw someone on Twitter make this point to Lonnie McDonald's probably the fifth or sixth most talented player on the secondary and he had one of the most impressive picks I've seen in a Texas uniform that was just a great play that he had out there and he's some of the I'm probably irrationally high on I think his ceiling with his athletic profile is just so so high as the year goes on and going into next year but I just think this team is able to clamp up on receivers brown key for Kentucky are probably the two best players on offense and they were kind of non-factors they they had a few explosives that I think Texas is going to look at in the film room but apart from that I didn't see a single receiver dominate the game really take over for the big passing place and again those are passing plays over 15 yards both Texas and Kentucky had six now Kentucky gained 167 yards on those passing plays two of them for over 40 yards which is not something we've seen from this secondary and I and I think you could argue on the look back there they seemed to me at least coach those were some very rare busted coverages from that secondary and I'm curious what you thought on that yeah but the first time I saw a little bit of miscommunication or kind of just I would say with Jadae he got kind of greedy like peeking inside a little bit like cuz he wants to make a play he's like I'm gonna go steal this door for what right and the guy kind of ran by me cup of three the other was the other two honestly I thought miscommunication right between Johanna McDonald and Manny Muhammad who's gonna take who the other one was cover three many kind of got it stuck in the backfield didn't see the deep cross it coming across right so you know you got deep third you got to get back but he just didn't read it right because most people haven't been able to even get the ball off three or four seconds and hold on to the ball that long and so he got kind of caught just looking in the backfield and the deep cross it kind of got open so little things like that just happen when you don't expect it right because you've been so good all year you never really had had a cover that long and I think sometimes it's like it just a reminder hey don't get caught peeking in the backfield still do your job right and for the most part they did that but just minor miscues yesterday and as a coach how how are we fixing those is that just a couple couple conversations maybe a little heated in the film room or just a film room like hey what were you seeing here what were you thinking first you want to understand the mind and what the kid is thinking right and say okay this is what you're thinking great well you know you can't do that because you want to know if he knew he made the mistake and what mistake he actually made that way you know how to correct it and coach it but for the most part like I said you got a season pull of film of him doing it right hey just can't get back to the fundamentals right let's do our job let's not focus on doing everybody else job and trying to do do certain things let's just do our job right just kind of a refocus thing if honestly what is the what's the sense on campus Evan I mean how you know we we here deal with the the internet which is generally a very rational place to have conversations I'm just curious what what it's like on campus what's the what's the feeling on campus this season yeah I think there's a little bit more kind of going back to your first point about the expectations versus talent there's a little bit more expectation of like this is this has to be a team that has to blow out teams that aren't you know eight and two or Georgia level that's just not how college football works you know I think people were a little upset about the Arkansas game I've got group chats and I'm in with students I'm hearing the people buzzing around on campus and I don't think a 10 or a winning by 10 in Arkansas is a bad win maybe the committee might see it that way but it seems like a little more nuanced to take for the fans is that that Texas has to be beating teams by a lot more than they are and that just goes to show how far Texas has come but I think it's a little bit almost privileged like hey this Texas team were top three we have to be beating all these teams really aggressively and it's you can't have anything that's going on against Kentucky via problem don't watch other teams go watch what Georgia was doing against UMass in that first half this is just how college ball works these aren't professional players yet and I think Spencer's like I think I was going back to that word a little too privileged with this team that they've got constructed but everyone is really happy with what Sork's been doing I think even though when yours is again a polarizing figure for fans I think generally that the students especially the ones who have been here for a while are appreciative of what he's been doing and think he's he is the QB one of the team going forward which which he will be your coach and I are of a certain vintage where we remember those Mac Brown 10 win seasons and if we did admittedly took it for granted I mean it was one of those things you just assumed it was so consistent that everybody just you know they did they took it for granted and you know going to the chat here and I want to give some some thanks to Patrick Paige or Patrick Paige for checking in on us but yeah I mean look we are 10 in one what a what a day to be alive right we're coming into this thing we're actually going to be playing some meaningful football the day after Thanksgiving and let's talk about that a little bit this is how meaningful it is y'all Georgia is in the SEC Championship game that is decided they are going in as a second seed the winner of Texas and Texan a A&M will punch their ticket to that game this could not have higher stakes this means everything not only in the state of Texas but in the SEC writ large and I am very excited about it it is it's a great time to to be a Texas fan it's fun to have things mean things now where it's not just hey can we can we beat this one team and then hang hang our hat on one victory now we are we're actually playing games that matter and I'm curious coach what we can we can transfer now over a little bit to talking about A&M what are what are some things just at that 30,000 foot view what are some things about A&M that scare you their ability to actually get pressure on the quarterback scares me when they're really locked in and focused and playing with detail they can be really good especially that front four and it just brings so many different looks and pressures on defense that hey you know if we don't have a healthy quarterback who can move on one leg I can hear avoid that rush right and so that scares me from a 30,000 foot view other than that it's just the ability of Marcia Reed to make off-script plays oh we saw the quarterback from Kentucky yesterday kind of really I'm not seeing you game playing against him because you know he was gonna play but he was able to get outside the pocket and make a throw a couple throws well Marcia Reed can do the exact same thing right most people look at it oh we stopped a lot of dual career quarterbacks but myself can actually throw off the run just like the Kentucky quarterback could yesterday so they're just a few things honestly and then there's special teams because they have great special things they have great ball position field positions they do great great job and field position which we don't that concerns me because special teams has been a all kind of a our sore thumb you know so to speak this year and they do a great job with field position so that kind of worries me a little bit any thoughts from you having on that yeah I agree completely on especially the special teams point which I'd love to talk about later in this episode with coach about that I do think that pass rush is what scares me the most the two shamars and Nick Skowerton three players are gonna be playing in the NFL next year and they are gonna have all that that big 12 or sorry 12th man crowd behind them we're not in the big 12 anymore during this game I think the run defense protects the A&M is so that doesn't get talked about enough they've got those big bodies that's something that coach Alco really prioritizes and I think Texas has to show that they can do what they did in that fourth quarter again as always to open up the pass game which Texas didn't need to do in that in that drive 15 straight runs and then like you said Marcel Reed off off off script I do think of Mario Daniels is starting to become a little underrated it's unfortunate that Lady on Moss went down for A&M but the tomorrow Daniels guy has been really cooking this last few weeks I think last like three weeks he's been one of their best performers and I'd love to know coach what you think about his run game because he's not quite the big bruising pack that they thought they would have when both of their top guys went down but he seems much more elusive and it seems to be kind of doing the little things that you hope are running back to us getting those extra one two yards that is making the A&M offense more successful yeah look he's a smaller back sometimes he kind of has behind a line you really can't see him you ever see those little guys I'm not saying he's not do small but he's a smaller guy kind of has behind a line didn't he squirts out of nowhere I was like man where'd he go how do you even make how do you even get through that but he runs the extremely extremely hard he keeps he has a well good he has pretty good balance so he does go down very easy but he has behind a big office line they kind of kind of squirts through but we caught a song last night run through some people but he runs extremely hard so he's gonna be a guy kind of and watch because if you give him a crease he can hit it and he got the home he has a home run home run for an ability to take off and go to distance but I think he's a volume runner he gets better as he goes and the more confidence and more confidence and more steadiness of the run games they trust him especially if you kind of want kind of watch more celery right a little bit he can hit the crease and kind of hurt you but he's a volume runner so I think over time he gets better and better throughout the game versus early on I want to I want to bring something again but this is this is for our friends to get us who's here a lot and we do appreciate that so to get us to saying LC got mad at me early in the season for saying this was a down year for the field each team has its flaws and the playoffs is a perfect format for this season in particular I don't get mad at anybody seek at us I don't I made you feel that way I'm really sorry but the truth of the matter is you were you and I were probably saying the same thing the SEC sure is probably in a down year but I think the parity of it is what makes it so so good now I disagree with Greg Sankey in saying that it's a parity issue and and maybe you were right that see Gaddis that this is just a down year but I think when we start to narrow the rosters the rosters get smaller the transfer portal opens up NIL gets codified I think more parity is going to happen I don't I don't think it's actually going to to get any any weaker in that regard but I your point is well taken I definitely think that this year is a great year for the playoff but as as Justin has pointed out time and time again there will still be teams upset do you know what if Texas doesn't win next weekend they very well could be one of those teams that's upset and I think that is that is the truth of the matter as we go through all of this is that there is a lot of uncertainty if a if a loss happens in the in the game next week and that's why Texas this is a must win there's no two ways about it we talked about it at the round table on Friday the playoffs started this last weekend against Kentucky we are we are in a we are in a one one and done situation we we have to win every game that we're playing let's talk a little bit coach did you get a chance to watch any of the other games this weekend I watched a little bit especially the late the later games right so I watch my concludes Alabama in Oklahoma and then Arben and then right I watched those two games mainly yesterday because it's kind of out but what exciting games was not expecting I don't know what happened in Norman but my guy that was no strange to see right I think for a lot of people was shocked and then those guys started to feel I don't yeah okay I think Aaron mentioned that kind of lessons the robbery a little bit come on what are we doing man storm in the field really well I have I have the great privilege of being on a an OU text chat just because I graduated from high school in Oklahoma and one of the guys put in there that Oklahoma is the team who Alabama which I thought was very great she's the low run Alabama it's good they understand what they've got going on over there which I think is really really great I'll give them that environment maybe it's just Tony Romo being there on the sideline they were after that that Billy or I was in a bowman or bow and one of the one of the POWs whichever one of them had that great take that place was rocking I guess I guess the team who the products came in they got there they got their sound boards or whatever the what how do let's say again a lot of people are justifiably look this entire week is gonna be dedicated to A&M so I have no problem focusing on that but let's talk a little bit about the Texas defense they have been they've just been balling all week and it's all year and I think it's a really amazing thing to look at so let's just look at some of just even just the cumulative going in here we held in spite of those big plays we talked about I want to focus on this the average rush yard for Kentucky was under a yard yeah I want to I want that to sink in a little bit because look at these big plays you come over to the big plays they had three yards or three runs rather for over 10 yards and 40 yards gained rushing yet their average was still under one yard that is a pretty dominant performance coach yeah definitely I know you probably may add in some of the sacks into those until the rush yards of course yeah towards special towards the end but for the most part like this defense is just planned and they've done it all year they just play together it's team defense they cover for each other you can see a guy get in the wrong gap in years past the linebacker would take the same gap the wrong gap with the defense line but they're covering for each other defense line of place to be gap my bags like to see gap like it's just plan on a strength you're playing together you can tell they watch them together they trust one another they love each other and they're playing defense like that I'm not calling them two thousand Baltimore Ravens but I'm saying they play in jail together on and off the field you can kind of tell everything translate from all to feel practice to the games right and these guys love each other they're playing like that and they're playing with their hair on fire man they're just flying to the football making plays they're excited this is week but 14 yep into the season and they're playing like they're fresh like it's week one still right and so when you see that you see the passion and love for the game translate to the field the way they're playing and I think that's why you get results like this Evan can you talk a little bit about being around the team this year what if what have you noticed just in terms of the I mean just let's be honest what are the vibes what are the vibes that's a great question I think obviously I want to reference when you talk about vibes the last year's team because it felt like that that Jay went that Xavier were at nine Mitchell there's almost the receiver group that was really upholding that culture that suits our region was was really pointing out I think now it's these back half players it's Anthony Hill it's David Bend us Johnny Baron Michael Taff Mookie Monday we like to call it because it's always such a great personality when you do those Monday availabilities it seems like that back half apart from the communication errors in the passing game a little bit like you said was Muhammad McDonald it seems like they're really communicating at the highest level they've ever been at the University of Texas I feel like this team is just understanding where they need to be what really struck me was that when those few rushes I think when I looked at the pure Russian yards that per attempt was about 3.7 3.8 which is still fantastic all right and the ones where they were were beating Texas where Kentucky was was getting the runs getting those 10 yard chip runs it felt like that Kentucky was blocking well at that other day Kentucky is an SEC team they're recruiting and getting transfer transfer portal players that are four stars that are that are really solid players and I didn't think there were times where Texas was missing assignments when they were hitting the wrong gap of the linebackers were doing the wrong thing there were times where I just felt like the pulling guard got to train more before more could get his hand on the guy and suddenly it's an eight yard game so I think it's really helping that and then obviously everyone loves his pass rush how could you not love the pass rush of this team after this game I'd love to hear coach's thoughts on on calling Simmons specifically because I could get six pressures on the game two sacks he'll had a great stat line so Ralph had he rates that like more is really coming into his own and I think that's just that's probably the group that's really really been as advertised I guess to be the word I'm looking for we thought it would be better coming in it was said that more and simmers are gonna revolutionize it and I think as we fit week 14 that's what's happened yeah look at Divas line if you never know who's gonna make the play right that's what's so special any given rep play series one can take over it's Colin Simmons it's Trey Moore Africa and Barren Sarrell you know Ethan Burke like you just never know Jermaine Ola even stepped up yesterday again it's like okay like those guys they just want it I call it heart and just attitude man you just want it more than the other guy and they're just performing we knew Colin Simmons what he was coming in you know you never expected freshman take over like he's doing but we knew he was special right and off that she's quick first step but he has a plan every time he rushes to pass him it's not I'm just rushing blindly I'm just gonna do this move like he actually sets guys up at a young age that's very very impressive I thought Ben Sarrell I think Ben Sarrell has even stepped up his patch rush game he's been always been solid run stop in defense then always assignment sound but now you see the patch rush and see the counter moves it's like okay Baron even Trey Moore he was brought in to do this right and everybody's like oh he's not getting back to the beginning of the season but he was fun to win in the sound now these turn that's what John is like who do you focus on on a D line stop like okay we got to slow this guy down who do you focus on because any given moment anybody can take over him that's just the beauty of it man I love to see it I think the other thing too that and one of the things that doesn't get the maybe the recognition that it deserves because it's a little bit hard to see and maybe a little bit boring is just the discipline on that defensive line they're holding the edge they're they're not playing hero ball they're doing their job and I think when we talked one of the big things coming into this season was the cohesion between the front and the back half the defense right can we can we actually get those two lined up properly and working in cohesion and this this to me is the result of that when you want to see a defense where the line is working with the secondary and allowing those line backers to to raise a little hell I think you're you're seeing the fruits of that and and some of that's Nansen some of that's PK obviously we've got we've got the defensive line coaches are killing it so it's a it's a really great opportunity to see what this can look like and should be the metric moving forward on what is a successful and cohesive defense one of the questions that guys before we get to you guys have some great stuff going on in the chat and I want to get to that but before we do I would love to hear from our sponsors so if any of you out there are driving an 18-wheeler I want you to listen to this video is brought to you by Andre the lawyer if you're injured trust the team that secured millions for their clients and help thousands of Texans with their injury case car wrecks slip and falls 18-wheeler accidents on the job injuries and wrongful deaths don't let insurance tell you what your claim is worth hire Andre the lawyer to fight for you principal offices in Dallas but they serve Texans throughout the state so don't wait and call Andre the lawyer today at 214-444-8808 that's 214-444-8808 the contact information is in the debate all right boys this is a personal question now I know Evan you're not you're not an indigenous Texas person so this this might be some some a little bit of manufacturing but I but I hope you feel it by now do you have a do you have a specific hatred do you hate OU more than A&M where do you where does your hate really lie Evan I think if we're talking about pure hate it's it has to be OU for me because that's what I came into it really is hard as someone you know I grew up a Michigan fan actually which is I think some people might know this about me so my original hate growing up was Ohio State that was that was a team that rivalry weekend came around that's what I was thinking about and you know the the rivalry ended when I was eight years old so I didn't even have a chair yeah to understand it so you know that's that's how that's how young we are in college these days so I enter college and I knew about Texas I wanted to be a fan as soon as I'm committed to the school but at first year I get Caleb Williams and I'm just like wow I hate this guy's cuts this this is the worst person he's from DC and he did that to the school I was going to this is terrible and then I went to my first console game as a soft more and it's ever since it's just been I couldn't get away from a from OU being the team I hate most but I will say when it comes to individual run ins A&M has some of the most awful fans about just trash talking about nothing just not it's it's not about like a game that's been won you know they might be as involved like you try talking about that it's just the most random stuff that I just could not care about it coach do you have a strong feeling one way or the other on this huh it used to be it was equal hatred honestly growing up honestly and then the Bob through Mike Brown air baby hey oh you a little more just getting blown out it's just something about it I had a little you right and I used to whenever A&M OU would play each other I was like man who do I really want the win right but I always wanted A&M to get our leg back or you beating us but this robbery has just so much it's different it's different especially with being gone for so many years now it's back all the trash talk on and off the you know all the field and different sports going back and forth I'm really looking forward to seeing it this time was not so much hate it's just so much like I want to get in the ring with this guy type to feel like I can't wait to get in the ring with this guy and just inflict some pain on him just to show them that you are a little brother and you belong here and we are here let's get it understood it worth that it's not hate is about putting people in that place and getting the respect that we deserve that we're the big brother and you know you're a little brother that's pretty much what it is you know like I said I moved to Oklahoma my freshman year in high school so I it's not like I was it's spent a lifetime there and I got out of Oklahoma as quick as I could but if there's definitely yeah there's definitely a a sense of a personal feeling when it comes to OU but the thing about A&M that to me is just so unique is the atmosphere amongst the families in Texas those that have the quote house divided the people that really feel passionately one way or the other about this and I think two things are true about both of those teams I think college football is much better when OU is good and I think college football is superior when Texas plays Texas A&M and I think that is those are two factors that I'm so happy that we have now in our universe that we can move forward with I'm glad I'm glad we've got young people like Evan who can start to experience just some of the total ineptitude that you're going to hear from that side of the house and it's going to be a really really nice time so I one of the questions that came up because this is a player not unlike Quinn who has been sometimes maligned in a very different way and that's Sidir Mitchell and he's starting to get some reps coach so I want to talk a little bit about Sidir he's he's making his reps he got his reps yesterday this is from Patrick Page if you guys are still on defense Sidir Mitchell making the most of his reps yesterday and the entire defensive front coming to show him love for blowing up that UK play that Kentucky play in the second quarter I'm glad that you pointed this out Patrick because as Drew as Drew Kelson was talking about in one of our lives I believe it was last week you know Sidir Mitchell's ceiling is entirely up to Sidir Mitchell does he does he stay in the program because the program has clearly not quit on him they are they are there for him this is this I believe this entire year I think he's this is going to be a make or break year for him not necessarily in terms of reps or even talent but him understanding the growth that is needed and what it what a development actually looks like but again I love that he's getting this love I know I know coach you're you're someone that's been been very positive on Sidir at least just in terms of his in terms of his skill set I'd love to hear your thoughts on that I love to do I've always been waiting for the light book come and kind of come on him get opportunities what he's doing when he does get opportunities is what I thought he could do right I'm glad that the coach that actually stuck by his side but he put in the work to actually stay here as well right show that you want to be here right and then we're pouring to you and give you opportunities and you kind of see a little opportunities come in these last few games he's got a chance to get in and show himself and so I think this is going to be such a positive reinforcement I look you're earning this right maybe he works even harder now to earn even more play on time and show what he can do but Sidir I mean he's a big buddy he's hard to move and when he's super motivated it's a slard to me you know he's gonna make plays like this and blow up and hold gaps and so he's everything we thought it could be like he's showing in spurts and in flashes but I think the more opportunity gets the more opportunity he earns let me not say get the more opportunity he earns I think he'll show more of the dominance that he can be and what he was brought in for and I think this is kind of transitioning kind of skyrocketing into the off-season right like hey I got opportunities I showed I showed him what I could do and he's gonna feel good about himself because he's earning it right you kind of feel different when you earn something and you want to work even harder and I think that's gonna transition him to the gal we thought it could be coming out of high school so I'm excited to see how he grows from this but I'm glad he's in the game now I'm doing what he does make no mistake about it Sidir Mitchell is a need on this team the the cupboard is not as full as we would want it to be after this season we we need Sidir to to make that leap so I think that the coaches are very smart in investing in him but I think it's also a demonstration of the culture that Sark is cultivated there that look we're not going to give up on you you know let's not forget Jay Witt was gonna quit football I mean I mean when you consider what that man did for this university and the fact that Sark and in and Whittington had that conversation and came back to play you know Sark is not somebody that's going to just quit on you straight out of the gate so I think I think that's a really important thing so coach you do have a question here from our patron saint Ryan Nelson he says coach how how portal how is portal recruiting going to work for the playoff teams and this is this is a great question Ryan because we've been talking about the schedule obviously we've got December 4th coming up that is obviously a massive day for signing but we've also got the championship games which are on December 7th so it is a very tight schedule for these folks now coach what are your thoughts on this do you do you have any insight into this this one yeah yeah no no look recruiting never stops high school portal JUCO it never stops every team is looking for next looking at next year's team on what they may need to replace they kind of know who they're gonna hey you should go into the portal or you know who they're expecting going to the portal right so you got to have replacements so recruiting never stops that support staff they're recruiting staff at Texas they're on PFF they're watching film of all the kids who may go into the who already end the transfer portal and then they have a database on the list right and these coaches have been looking at this film and scouting all season they're just being honest and so then you get the new names they're going to go into portal it's the same process you're just going to go to PFF watch all of us film see if he's a need and a fit do your evaluation start doing your research and say hey this kid's in the portal we can talk about him let's find out everything we can and then you recruit him like a recruit in high school kid right as soon as he's an important it's allowed for you to recruit him and talk to him and all those things you do so so you got all your homework done on him you know how he can play what it can do how he can help your team now you just got to find out the military evaluation part and find out what you know about the kid and so yeah it worked just like a rather team you're in a playoffs but you can still recruit just like you're recruiting a high school kid honestly and it never stops and it's been going on since maybe since August honestly so this is nothing new this is routine Evan this uh we talked about a little bit earlier this was also your senior night congratulations i'm i'm curious uh and i'd love to just get both of your opinions on this but i'll start with you Evan of the seniors that are leaving which which one has kind of made the most impact on you and your experience at Texas yeah i think um the first one is shot at Aaron just because he's he's the exemplary of the culture that certifications put in he's got played four different positions at Texas depending on what you call safety's um three three to four different positions and he's just been adaptable he's been coachable he's been someone that's been in the media in a positive way every single time he gets a mic tape to him so he's just a great guy and also a gunner helm is someone that i'm i'm personally gonna miss a lot he was a player that last year when i was covering the team for the daily texan i would tweet about a lot i'd almost it was almost like a bit with gunner helm because i was i was so high in his game and people were just kind of like this is just a blocking tight end this is someone who's just there to help out i'm like are you seeing what he does those few times he gets the ball in his hands he he has that fit in the mold of an nfl tight end that's why he's getting this um this hype his parents are very active on twitter they like my tweets as well so um i just think those those those two players are ones where it's going to feel weird watching Texas without them next year yeah absolutely coach anybody anybody out there and i think we should also throw in you know neither cam nor kelvin uh walked yesterday i understand that they're not true seniors but what are you thought when this coach um i was gonna actually say because i was trying to see who walked i didn't see makuba walk either right um maybe i missed it but uh looking at that like hmm okay but i'm sure kelvin thinks it's it's gone you guys for the top five pick um he kind of stove on with gunner helm though i i'm i'm president of gunner helm i'm band club uh side there um all year i feel like gunner could be exactly what he is now people gave me a little flag i thought he was a better overall tight end than jt standards that was just me i'm and a few other people that i know like you know gunner helm has a chance to really be that guy overall he can block he can run he can catch and now we know he can most people too right so um gunner helm was my guy but i'm also just happy to see people like uh david binda like who been up and down a depth track playing here sparingly a little bit special teams to see him kind of just take take off this season especially early on man it was good to see um him get so much playing time and get earn a trust of coaches but uh yeah there's so many guys man so many guys who've been here you know from 2021 season right who just you just happy to see those guys be on a winter team well no one last year but you know consistency of that of where the program was when they first got here i'm just so happy for every single one of those senior guys man it's just it's just special to see what now again i i was unfortunately didn't get to see the walk either but i did am i right in saying that tap went out there as well he did yeah yeah i mean to me that's that's one of the guys that also sticks out just to and this is more me yes-ending everything you guys are saying i think you know there's a player that i mean i have to say some of those some of those tackles last night uh it looked like taf was literally stood straight up when he hit them it was just like creating a wall for i mean he was bouncing off people it was kind of crazy but i i've really enjoyed watching him primarily just because of all the you know the internet i don't want to call it hate but there was definitely a lot of doubt and that you know look there's a guy that consistently earned his place on the field especially when you look in that secondary room so there's undeniable that that he deserves to be there and i was just really happy happy that he got to do that as well so we are we are about to go into yet another hate week this is a full week over at inside texas and we would love if you would join us over there be sure to like and subscribe to this i know we've got a lot of people over there on twitter please just jump on over here and like and subscribe it really does help us out as i've said this before we are trying to buy Ian Boyd a minivan so if we could just get any little help that that gives us a big bump and also check us out at inside texas.com we've got Evan over there riding with us now coaches certainly helping us out over there on the recruiting trailing and breaking down some x's and o's for us this is the week to join us so please join us at inside texas.com it is a maker break week for texas this is a this is a win and in and lose i don't know who knows who knows what's gonna happen so let's let's hope it let's hope it is uh something that that we all can be really really proud of so join us tomorrow morning we're going to have our live with texas homer and that's going to carry on all the way to thursday you'll have your morning lives we'll have our evening lives on monday and wednesday and all the deep dives and inside the program content that makes us inside texas we really appreciate you joining us today and we'll see you this week hook them everybody
Reactions to the Texas Longhorns final regular season home game. Where does Texas stand going into the final week of the season.