From sidewalks to sidelines – Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian's cardio meditation major key for recent success
ESPN went to Texas to meet with the head coach to ask him about his daily tradition and how its impacted his time in Austin, Tex.
ESPN's Rece Davis traveled to the Lone Star State to talk with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian ahead of the beginning of fall camp. The 2025 season has the potential to be a special one for the Longhorns. Many are pegging Texas as preseason No. 1 and, oh by the way, Arch Manning is the new quarterback.
Despite all the outside noise, Sarkisian makes a point to take a walk every morning to clear the mechanism, gather his thoughts, and more.
"I had heart surgery at Alabama. Really, it was because my doctor said, 'hey, you can't do strenuous activities, but you but you need to be active'," Sarkisian said. "And then I got bored just walking around the field there. So I started getting out into Tuscaloosa. I started walking around Bryant Danny. I started bringing other coaches with me.
"Everybody talked about like meditation nowadays, right? I'd love to tell you, man, I meditate every morning. That's just not me," Sarkisian said. "I can't do it. But this is kind of therapeutic for me."
Steve Sarkisian may not be able to meditate, but he can use his morning cardio to make big-time game decisions.
"I've changed practice plans on these walks. I've decided guys who are going to start games on these walks. I've formulated play calls on third downs," Sarkisian said. "One in particular, we had a trick play up in the Big 12 championship game in 2023. I said, 'hey, the first third and two or less, we're calling it. I don't care where we're at on the field. That's what we're going to call'".
Davis also couldn't help but ask Sarkisian about his new quarterback. The Longhorns head man gave a very thoughtful answer about the type of person Arch is and how he became who he is today.
"I mean he's a super talented player, gets a lot of attention. What makes him suited to handle it? I do think there's something about the Mannings," Sarkisian said. "They have a very unique way of feeling normal."
"As big as the brand is, right, as big as they are, they have this unique way of getting into character when they need to be in character and stepping out of character when they don't need to be in character and and focus on what they need to do," Sarkisian said. "They're obviously very family oriented. This isn't about how many eyeballs they can get on me. This isn't about how many commercials can I do."
Once Steve Sarkisian found out just how long Arch Manning has been wanting to play quarterback at Texas, he admitted it "makes him feel good".
"There's a level of comfort in managing that. I think for them that makes me feel good that I see all the pictures and videos of him when he was a little kid wearing a Texas Longhorn jersey. So this guy's been dreaming about playing quarterback at Texas his whole life.
"On the flip side, from his teammates perspective from day one when he arrived, nobody cared what was the name on the back of the jersey and he didn't care. It was like, how do I be the best teammate that I can be? Whether it was for Quinners or Anthony Hill, offense, defense, whatever that looked like."
He also believes the future success for Manning will be thanks in large part to the work he's done since arriving on campus.
"The competitive spirit in him wanted to play more than he did and I appreciated that," Sarkisian said. "But in the end, his work ethic, his drive, the teammate that he wants to be, the sense of humor that he has, in essence, what works for him with us, too.
"They like seeing their quarterback on the big stage. We're a month away, you know, and here it is," Sarkisian said. "And so, I just want him to enjoy it. I really do. And and I hope the masses can let this guy enjoy it."
