Don’t blame the fear of tampering from other rivals. Don’t blame at injuries, and don’t blame a packed college football schedule that seems to get more crowded each season.
In his first offseason meeting with the media Monday at Royal-Memorial Stadium, Texas football coach Steve Sarkisian said the reasons for eliminating the Longhorns’ annual Orange-White spring game came down to some simple math.
Sarkisian and his staff have 22 freshmen and five new transfers to meld into a 2025 team with lots of new faces in lots of new places. Working within the constraints of a spring game at the expense of a standard practice doesn’t make sense for a team that needs as much practice time as it can get, Sarkisian said.
Spring football begins March 25, and Sarkisian emphasized how critical each workout can be, especially for a team that loses most of its starting offensive linemen, a three-year starter at quarterback in Quinn Ewers and some longtime defensive staples such as cornerback Jahdae Barron and edge Barryn Sorrell.
“We’re not having a spring game because I’ve got 27 new faces on my roster that I need to take time to develop,” Sarkisian said. “That development starts at the beginning of spring ball, where we’ve got to really build a foundation of understanding the whys of what we do, from how we practice to the drills that we do, to the foundational aspects of the offense, the defense, the special teams.
“The challenge for us as a coaching staff is to grow quickly. Because I do believe we have a talented football team, but we have some youth and we have some inexperience, and I’m really pressing upon everybody in our program — coaches and staff members included — to take the next step and to develop the leadership that’s needed on this team.”
So, no fear of any rivals watching the spring game on the SEC Network or spying from a rooftop of the Brazos Parking Garage along Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard?
Sarkisian brushed off the suggestion, especially since the planned fan fest that will take place instead of a spring game is scheduled for April 26, one day after the 10-day spring transfer window closes.
“To be clear, we’re not not having a spring game so people don’t tamper with our players,” he said. “They could go out and catch five touchdowns on that Saturday (and) they couldn’t go in the portal anyway. People are going to tamper with our players, whether we like it or not. That’s fine. Hopefully, we’ve built a culture they (the Texas players) believe in (and) they feel like this is the best place for them.”
Texas football: End of spring game part of trend
Regardless of the reasons, Texas joins a growing trend of college football teams cancelling their spring games. According to an ESPN article published Tuesday, 19 programs in one of the four power conferences have eliminated their spring game this year.
Nebraska’s Matt Rhule said he “dealt with a lot of people offering our players a lot of opportunities after” last year’s spring game, according to the ESPN article.
“The word ‘tampering’ doesn’t exist anymore, it’s just absolute free, open, common market,” Rhule said. “And so, I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world. I don’t want these guys all being able to watch our guys and say, ‘Wow, he looks like a pretty good player. Let’s go get him.’ ”
But Sarkisian said every situation is different. For example, Missouri cancelled its spring game because if stadium construction, and Tigers head coach Eli Drinkwitz said he may renew the event in the future.
“I don’t know the reasons for everybody else’s rationale,” said Sarkisian, whose team has played 30 games over the past two seasons while reaching two consecutive College Football Playoff semifinals. “I’ve heard the wear-and-tear aspect of it. I’ve heard the transfer portal and the tampering aspect of it.”
Sarkisian: Spring game latest in line of changes
But he also says the elimination of the spring game is just the latest significant change on the calendar. The traditional signing day in February has been relegated to a recruiting footnote, since most freshmen now sign in December and enroll in January for the spring semester. And the multiple transfer windows coincide with the NIL opportunities now available to college athletes.
“I think college football has evolved so much in the last three years,” Sarkisian said. “Things have changed, calendars have changed. I’m just not one to sit here with my head in the sand and say, ‘We’re going to keep doing it the way we’ve always done it.’ ”
Sarkisian said the trend of early-enrollees for freshmen played an especially critical role in his decision about the spring game.
“We’ve got 22 (freshmen) guys,” he told the gaggle of reporters Monday. “They’re trying to figure out college life. And then, no offense to you guys, you guys are going to write about the one guy who dropped two passes and couldn’t line up and all sudden he’s a bust. That’s not fair to him, you know? I’m just being mindful of everybody in our program, of what’s in the best interest for Texas football come the fall.”
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