DALLAS – Texas was the talk of SEC media days for two days before the Longhorns arrived in Dallas on Wednesday. Head coach Steve Sarkisian brought quarterback Quinn Ewers, left tackle Kelvin Banks, and defensive back Jahdae Barron to Day 3 of SEC media days for a press junket that might be as exhausting and stressful as an actual football game. 

The Horns broke through in 2023 with a 12-win season that included a Big 12 championship and a trip to the College Football Playoffs. Texas won the last Southwest Conference championship a year prior to winning the initial Big 12 championship almost three decades ago. Sark & Co. hope to pull the same double by winning the SEC championship in 2024. They’ll be predicted to finish second behind Georgia when the media poll is released on Friday. 

With those expectations in their first foray into the best conference in college football, the Longhorns were the bell of the ball at the Omni. Here are the biggest takeaways from Wednesday’s press conferences. 

A shift in culture from coach-led to player-led unlocked the Longhorns' potential 

Sarkisian inherited a broken locker room and a mismanaged roster when he arrived in Texas. He’s talked in the past about teaching this team how to work, and how to win. The coaching staff had to do the heavy lifting early on, but his Horns are now a player-led squad built with self-starters. 

He called his team focused, and even obsessed, with getting back to the College Football Playoff. He didn’t need to force his team back into the weight room. He didn’t worry about a hangover from the Big 12 championships season of last year. His team returned from the break after the Sugar Bowl loss to Washington hungrier than before. 

“When I took the job, I don't know if I could have said that," Sarkisian said about the internal motivation by his players. "It was almost like kind of prodding cattle to make sure that what they were doing day in and day out to get them to that point. Now we've got a team full of hungry players. It's a competitive, competitive roster, and I love that about them because in this conference you've got to have depth.”

Texas didn’t just join the SEC to participate, the Horns expect to win 

Nick Saban may have left the SEC as a head coach, but his presence looms large. From his new seat in the media, Saban has hovered over SEC media days. He’s provided soundbites and nearly every coach has spent a minute or two of their time paying respects. Sarkisian was no different. After all, Saban saved his career. Maybe even his life. 

Saban made waves early in SEC media days when he said, “They’re not going to run the SEC,” in reference to Texas pushing around the Big 12 in the boardroom. Sarkisian joked that he’d need to talk to Saban about that statement while stating that his team is ready to compete on the field. 

“We're going to go attack this thing,” Sarkisian said about Year 1 in the SEC. “We've got a ton of respect for this conference and the teams in this conference, but we're going to go attack it and try to win a conference championship because that's why we're at the University of Texas.”

The players downplayed the hype of joining the SEC. Banks said he didn’t think much about the change until after the last season in the Big 12. Barron shared similar thoughts.

“At the end of the day, football is football,” he said. “You know, the grass and the yardage, it’s not going to change. The field is the same length, two end zones. We respect our opponents, but we don’t fear them.” 

Everyone is excited for renewed rivalries with Texas A&M, Arkansas 

Texas will play conference games against Texas A&M and Arkansas in the same season for the first time since the 1990s. The Longhorns know what it is like to play at Arkansas because most starters on the team were there when Texas lost to the Hogs in 2021. The Texas A&M game is new for this generation, however. Texas is a bit of an outlier with conference realignment because the Horns are adding rivalries rather than losing them. 

“We're looking forward to renewing rivalries with Texas A&M and with Arkansas,” Sarkisian said. “We're one of the few schools with realignment that has benefitted from realignment that we've gotten some rivalries back, and so we're looking forward to those things, as well.” 

Ewers grew up a Texas fan dreaming of playing against the Aggies. He remembers where he was when Justin Tucker made the game-winner in College Station in the last meeting, and he sure knows where he’ll be this year – starting at quarterback. He was young when the game went away, but he’s surrounded by enough burnt orange fanatics to be reminded regularly. 

“My dad thinks the A&M game was bigger than the Red River Rivalry,” Ewers said. “I’m excited to have that game back.” 

QUICK HITTERS 

• Sarkisian expects the wide receiver rotation to be deeper in 2024 because of the improved depth. He believes the room is seven players deep with Isaiah Bond, Matthew Golden, Silas Bolden, Johntay Cook, Deandre Moore, Ryan Niblett, and true freshman Ryan Wingo. 
• Barron will wear No. 7 this year in honor of former Longhorn and Thorpe Award winner Michael Huff. 
• Ewers said guys with 25 or more starts in college tend to do better in the NFL and he wanted to reach that benchmark before starting his professional career.