Steve Sarkisian arrived in Austin as head coach in January of 2021 and immediately went to work retooling the roster into an SEC image, and that meant large humans on the lines of scrimmage and speedy playmakers at the skill positions.

The proof is in the burnt orange pudding. Sark’s Longhorns won the Big 12 championship and enter the 2023 College Football Playoffs with the sixth most-talented roster in the nation, per 247Sports. The only team with a more talented roster in the CFP, at least on paper, is Alabama – a team Texas beat on the road in Week 2. Texas signed the fifth-best class in 2022, Sarkisian’s first full cycle, and the third-best class last cycle. The current class ranks fifth in the country. If the rankings hold, Texas is one of four teams to sign a top five class in each of the last three cycles alongside Alabama, Ohio State, and Georgia.

Texas also took advantage of the players Sarkisian inherited. The starting left tackle, Christian Jones, is the last remaining player on the 40 Acres from the 2018 class. T’Vondre Sweat, Jordan Whittington, and David Gbenda remain from the 2019 cycle. There are four players from the 2020 class who started against Oklahoma State in the Big 12 title game, including former three-star prospects Jake Majors (center) and Jaylan Ford (LB). Jahdae Barron and Jerrin Thompson are also holdovers from the 2020 class. That’s seven total starters who were on the roster when Sarkisian took over. And that doesn't include guys like Alfred Collins and Kitan Crawford. 

The current Texas starting lineup is a solid mixture of inherited and added players. The 2021 class accounts for five starters – JT Sanders, Xavier Worthy, Hayden Conner, Byron Murphy, and Barryn Sorrell. The 2022 cycle has also produced five starters for this team. DJ Campbell, Kelvin Banks, Terrence Brooks, and Ethan Burke from the high school ranks. The team added Quinn Ewers – a Texas native – from the transfer portal. 

The true freshman class of 2023 is also paying early dividends. Three of the 25 signees are already playing regularly with the starters – Anthony Hill (LB), C.J. Baxter (RB), Malik Muhammad (DB). Safety Derek Williams was playing starter snaps but will miss the first half of the Washington game as he serves the rest of his suspension for a targeting call during the Big 12 championship. 

Last three signing classes:

The starting lineup is not just a mixture of upperclassmen that Sark inherited with underclassmen he recruited. The group is also an eclectic mix of raw talent. Six of Texas’ projected starters were five-star talents. Seven were ranked as four-star prospects. Seven more were listed as three-star players. And starting safety Michael Taffe was a walk-on without a 247 ranking.

Each of Texas' six skill position players, including quarterback, was at least a four-star talent. The current starter at QB, RB, TE, LT, and RG were five-star players. The only three-star starters on offense are on the offensive line - LG, C, RT. Defensively, the same story is true, illustrating that development along the trenches takes a few years for most prospects. Four of the five members of the secondary were four-star prospects. One of two linebackers is five-star true freshman Anthony Hill. The other five players in the box for the Longhorns are comprised of four three-star players and former four-star Byron Murphy.

Sarkisian was deliberate in how assembled the roster. He famously couldn’t hold a true spring game in his first semester on campus because the roster lacked enough able-bodied offensive linemen. He signed seven offensive linemen in 2022 and five more in 2023. He added eight defensive linemen in 2022 and three in 2023. Of the 53 players he recruited out of high school, 23 played offensive or defensive line. Seven of the 21 players who signed Wednesday as part of the 2024 cycle play in the trenches. He used the portal to supplement numbers at wide receiver, linebacker, and in the secondary. He's only signed one lineman through the portal, and that was Trill Carter in 2023. 

The third-year head coach of the Longhorns also stayed local. Twenty of the 28 players he signed in 2022 were Texans. Fifteen of the 25 last year were from the Lone Star State. Of the 22 currently committed in the 2024 cycle, 12 are from inside the borders. That’s 56 percent. Not bad for a national brand like Texas. Three of the seven transfers playing meaningful minutes for this year’s squad were former Texas high school football players. 

Texas is in position to win a national championship for the first time since 2009 because Sarkisian reworked the roster into his liking. The Longhorns now look more like Alabama and Georgia – big up front and fast outside. Those are the rosters that win championships. And those are the types of rosters equipped to withstand the SEC schedule.