How March Madness Inspired Texas Longhorns Coach Steve Sarkisian

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian is taking inspiration from Dawn Staley and the South Carolina Gamecocks' national title win

Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley cuts the net after / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

AUSTIN - The Texas Longhorns came up just short of playing for a national title last season, falling in heartbreaker to the Washington Huskies in the College Football Playoff semi-finals at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.

Following that loss, 11 of their top players elected to enter the NFL Draft, leaving the Longhorns with gaping holes at multiple key positions.

Fortunately for the Horns, they were able to fill those holes both through the transfer portal and recruiting, and are once again expected to be in the thick of the national title race.

And with those goals still in place, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian is drawing inspiration from both the men's and women's NCAA March Madness tournaments, in which both champions - South Carolina's Dawn Staley and UCONN's Dan Hurley faced a similar challenge heading into this season.

Apr 7, 2024; Cleveland, OH, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley cuts the net after / Ken Blaze-USA TODAY Sports

"I think what coach [Dawn] Staley has done has been very impressive... She had a whole new team this year and they went out and won every game. And last year they lose in the semis, they couldn't get it done," Sarkisian said. "So very impressed with what she's been able to do. Very impressed by what coach Hurley has been able to do. Same thing. I think he lost three or four NBA players off of last year's team."

But it is not just what Staley and Hurley have accomplished that is inspiring Sarkisian.

It is also the way they coach their players night in and night out with effort and demand, but also love and respect - something Sarkisian also works hard to do each and every day.

"One thing that is very clear in both of them... they coach hard," Sarkisian said. "There's not for a second you watch their interaction with their players where they're not coaching them hard and they're demanding of their players. But you can also feel the love coming from them with their players. And two, they're both very confident, and their teams play very confidently because there is a belief that's been instilled in them."

Sarkisian will try to replicate the success of the Huskies and Gamecocks heading into next fall.

And heading into the SEC, the Longhorns will need every edge they can get if they want to compete for a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Perhaps learning from Staley and Hurley will be just that.