High School

Steve Sarkisian takes helicopter to Texas high school football game

Galveston Ball 5-star Jonah Williams put on show in front of Texas Longhorns football coach; UT commit records interception, 95-yard kick return TD

Andy Buhler

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian leaves the field after the 35-13 win over Mississippi State at Texas Memorial Stadium.
Texas coach Steve Sarkisian leaves the field after the 35-13 win over Mississippi State at Texas Memorial Stadium. / Aaron E. Martinez/USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images

Texas Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian can now say he's done something Charles Barkley has vowed never again to do.

Sarkisian, UT's head football coach, showed up by helicopter to Galveston, Texas to catch Ball High School 5-star safety Jonah Williams play a home game against Port Arthur Memorial on Friday night.

Coach Sark announced his presence in the Houston area and showed footage of him taking off in a helicopter with a caption reading "Big day in H-Town!"

He popped up 50-some miles Southeast in the port city of Galveston and Williams didn't just put on a show in the Tornadoes' 41-10 win.

He also broke the fourth wall ande acknowledged Sarkisian while doing so.

He returned a kickoff 95 yards for touchdown, then pointed at the Texas coach after intercepting a pass inside the red zone later in the first half.

Sarkisian was photographed on the sidelines by Gerry Hamilton (X: @GHamiltonOTF) with Texas defensive back Jaylon Guilbeau, who starred at Port Arthur Memorial.

Texas, the No. 2 ranked team in the country, is on a bye week ahead of its Red River Rivalry showdown with No. 12 Oklahoma on Oct. 12.

Williams, the nation's No. 1 rated safety and SBLive's No. 2 player in Texas, committed to Texas in late August, becoming a prized member of the Longhorns' 2025 recruiting class, which is ranked No. 6 nationally (247 Sports).

He joined Sachse wide receiver Kaliq Lockett, the nation's No. wideout, Skyline (Texas) 4-star linebacker Elijah Barnes, Dekaney 4-star tight end Nick Townsend and a loaded top-to-bottom class of Texas high school football prospects verbally committed to the state's premier college program.

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-- Andy Buhler | andy@scorebooklive.com | @sblivetx

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Andy Buhler
ANDY BUHLER

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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