Longhorns Steve Sarkisian 'On A Mission' For Big 12 Conference Title

The Longhorns enter 2023 in win-now mode before departing for the SEC this summer.

If one were to return to the spring semester on campus at Texas, the conversations they would hear surrounding the Longhorns football program would be about the 2023 season and nothing else. 

There'd be zero chatter on the program's impending move to the Southeastern Conference in 2024, along with Oklahoma. Talks on making the College Football Playoff would remain silent. All the attention would be on Week 1's matchup against Rice. 

Ok, maybe there's some buzz on the Longhorns' road trip to Bryant-Denny Stadium in Week 2 against Alabama, but the message was clear throughout spring that Texas isn't looking toward the future. Its sights are set on the present. 

The message remains the same as the Longhorns begin fall camp Wednesday in preparation for their showdown against the Owls on Sept. 2 at Royal-Memorial Stadium. While Big 12 programs are hell-bent on ending the Longhorns' time in the conference with defeats, the locker room is following a similar mantra. 

"This team is on a mission, they've taken this mindset of being on a mission. They've kind of adopted the John Wick mentality," Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said Tuesday. "I think that they've kind of assumed this mentality of, 'Embrace the hate.' We get it. We're the University of Texas, we get it. This is our last year in the Big 12. We can sit there and be a punching bag, or we can go attack the people that we're going to play." 

The Longhorns, the preseason favorite to win the Big 12 for the first time since 2009, believe 2023 is their year. A culmination of retooling and trial and error has led to a light at the end of the tunnel that leads to a December weekend at AT&T Stadium. 

Perhaps more, but the program is only focused on returning to Jerry World one last time before having to make conference title trips to Atlanta, Ga. 

Texas should feel confident. Nine offensive starters return after finishing top 25 in scoring (34.5 points per game) a season ago. Quinn Ewers is set to return for his second season at quarterback and looks to be hitting his stride at the proper moment. 

Sarkisian said last season was a growing period for the highly-touted passer. Throughout the spring, he's gotten a better grasp of the offense and has built a rapport with his arsenal. 

"He's in a great frame of mind that this feels like his team," Sarkisian said of Ewers. "He leads that way. You can hear how he talks to the team that way. 

"When he’s ahead of schedule and he knows where to go with the ball, he’s a fantastic player. I’m very confident in the space he’s gotten himself into heading into training camp." 

Ewers, who won Big 12 Newcomer of the Year, is only one piece of the offensive puzzle. He won't be the lone reason for the Longhorns' rise or eventual downfall, either. Expectations are for veteran targets like Xavier Worthy, Jordan Whittington and tight end Ja'Tavion Sander to reach new heights in what could be their final years on campus. 

Sarkisian mentioned that former Wyoming receiver Isaiah Neyor should be "full go" for the start of practice after missing last season with a torn ACL. At running back, Texas has a plethora of options, though the third-year coach isn't ready to name a starter entering practice.

Sarkisian mentioned that while the Longhorns have exponential goals, they can't look too far ahead because "they haven't done it yet." On paper, it's hard to imagine a dozen rosters or so more equipped to run the table and compete for a national title. 

Then again, games are won are Saturdays will proper play designs and pristine execution. Players in the locker room can embrace the "hunt or be hunted" method, but their on-field action will be the only determining factor in the season's outcome. 

"We can't afford those lulls where we can play really good offensive football and then struggle for three drives in a row where we don't operate the way we're capable of operating," Sarkisian said. 

"What stands in the way is us and until we prove that, that's what's in the way." 

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