Texas coach Steve Sarkisian first floated the idea of revamping the spring practice schedule in December.

Talking about the changing recruiting calendar, the transfer portal and the extended season, he said, “I do think spring ball, at some point, is going to become a casualty of this.”

Horns247 reported Tuesday that Sarkisian is considering scrapping Texas’ annual Orange-White Spring Game and altering the schedule framework itself this spring.

The Longhorns are already coming off the longest season in school history. Texas started practice in early August 2024, played the first game on Aug. 30 and went all the way to the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 10. Had the Horns won that game, they would have played in the College Football Playoffs championship game on Jan. 20.

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Granted, the SEC built multiple off weeks into the schedule and, as linebacker Anthony Hill said during the CFP, “we signed up for this.” Still, Sarkisian is a firm believer in sports science, and he listens to the data produced from wear and tear on the athletes’ bodies.

Is the spring game necessary? No. It’s merely a glorified practice — usually the final practice of 15 sessions — wrapped in marketing for the fans. For the school, it’s a chance to have fans come to the stadium, feel good about their season ticket purchases and get excited about the upcoming season.

For coaches, the spring game is a pain. Texas’ spring game was broadcast on Longhorn Network for years, forcing coaches to assemble a plain-vanilla sheet of offensive plays that featured just enough to get fans excited but not enough to tip their hand of what’s coming in the fall.

Nebraska coach Matt Rhule just made waves for cancelling the Huskers’ spring game. Rhule said his players were contacted by other teams, enticing them to jump into the transfer portal after watching the spring game on TV.

“The word ‘tampering’ doesn't exist anymore,” Rhule told Nebraska reporters last weekend. “It’s just an absolute free, open common market. I don’t necessarily want to open up to the outside world and have people watch our guys and say, ‘He looks like a pretty good player. Let's go get him.’”

The Longhorns aren’t likely to have that problem. What starter is going to leave an SEC runner-up program that’ll be favored to get back to the College Football Playoffs in 2025? If that player did leave, the Horns shouldn’t want them anyway.

Sarkisian may simply want to limit what video is out there on new starting quarterback Arch Manning. The coaches could be changing the offense and don’t want to show their cards just yet.

On a bigger level, ditching the spring game and changing the spring schedule is more about protecting the players’ bodies than anything else, most likely.

Sarkisian suggested in December that colleges shift to the NFL’s offseason model of organized team activities, or OTAs.

In the NFL, OTAs typically have three phases — traditional offseason strength and conditioning, then practices without intrasquad scrimmaging and finally a mandatory minicamp in early June. During minicamp, players are allowed to wear helmets.

“And I'm not saying that's a bad thing, because I do think there's something to be said for phase one, phase two and phase three that the NFL utilizes in its off-season, coming out of free agency and the draft as they build the team,” Sarkisian said in December. “So I just think there's going to have to be a real overhaul that's ultimately going to have to take place.”

The Horns already have 22 incoming freshmen on campus as early enrollees. They all will participate in spring practice, whatever form that takes.

Sarkisian spent all last season thinking about the length of time his players spent playing football. If things go right, the Horns will do it all over again in 2025.

Sarkisian simply wants to preserve as much juice in the players’ bodies as he can.