Steve Sarkisian Credits His Players For Giving Him Confidence

Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian revealed that he gains trust in his team by witnessing the trust they have in themselves.

Sep 7, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian and Texas players celebrate their win over Michigan at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images / Junfu Han-USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

It wouldn't be out of line to say that the amount of confidence within a football team can be accredited to the direct relationship that a head coach has with his players. A leader who believes in their team is able to instill that same energy when it's time to hit the field, and as Texas enters its third year under head coach Steve Sarkisian, the confidence radiating from this year's Longhorns has been especially noticeable.

Between the culture that Sarkisian has established, the leadership presented by veterans and underclassmen alike and the connections built between all the coaches and their players, the growth of faith in one another has multiplied, and it has already begun to show just two games into the season.

During the team's media availability on Monday, Sarkisian said that the achievements being made on the field actually stem from the trust between the guys themselves, something he witnesses every day. This inevitably has given Sarkisian the necessary trust in them to get the job done every Saturday.

Sep 7, 2024; Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers (3) celebrates after defeating the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images / Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

"I'll say this, I get confidence from them, and what gives me confidence is the way they prepare, the way they practice," Sarkisian said. "I get confidence in the way they talk to one another, the way they interact with one another. I get confidence from the way they interact with me, before and after meetings or on the practice field. That gives me the confidence to know we're in a good frame of mind. And if I feel like they're in a good frame of mind, I'm in a really good frame of mind."

But Sarkisian also mentioned that he wants the correlation between confidence and performance to also come from him and his coaching style. He said his ability to get his players to understand his critiques during practice has allowed them to execute the smaller details ahead of game day, an aspect that stands as another pillar of trust.

"I want them to get confidence for me, like I want them to know I believe in them," Sarkisian said. "And so I think it is a two-way street, but I think you've got to play this, this game with with supreme confidence and belief in what you're trying to do."

Aside from the dominant wins against Colorado State and Michigan thus far proving Sarkisian's product of confidence, starting junior quarterback Quinn Ewers solidified the effect of his head coach's belief in the team during Monday's press conference as well.

"I think it just goes back to our culture and what we believe, and what Coach Sark and all these guys that have been on Coach Sark's team for the past three, four years, have built. I feel like we've done a good job of following what he says, fully buying in, believing what we're what we're fully capable of," Ewers said.

Texas looks to bring that mentality into every matchup this season, especially with conference play looming in the distance and will try to create another high-scoring win against UTSA this Saturday using that cycle of confidence.