Steve Sarkisian pulls inspiration from Hollywood to help struggling Texas player improve
Just like in ‘The Program,’ RB Jerrick Gibson has to carry a football all day long — or else
The movie is now 31 years old, but some lessons from “The Program” still ring true.
Like, hold on to the football, freshman.
“Today, Jerrick Gibson has got a football all day on the 40 Acres,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said.
Gibson had his first 100-yard performance Saturday against Florida but he also coughed it up in the fourth quarter of a 49-17 blowout. To reinforce the importance of ball security, Gibson had to carry a football to class all day Monday.
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Anybody who can knock it out and bring it back to the Texas coaches gets rewarded.
In the 1993 movie, running back Darnell Jefferson (Omar Epps) is recruited to the fictional ESU and wants to be a big-time player. But his fumble prompts the coach, played by James Caan, to force him to carry a football around all day. Chaos ensues during one class when a teammate knocks the ball out of Jefferson’s hands.
There’s no telling what kind of scenes are playing out on the Texas campus. But Gibson better not lose that ball, as Caan indicated, if he knows what’s good for him.
“It’s all that. And it’s the form of it, too,” Sarkisian said. “It’s not just carrying around like Walter Payton used to do it, you know, like a loaf of bread. I mean, it's, it's tucked up in here — his wrist above his elbow, its tight to his rib cage, he's got his claw on the ball. It's all those things. It's just trying to get some muscle memory.
“And it’s also just a mindset of the value of the ball, right? It's the most important thing in our program. And a lot of times him having that ball reminds everybody else in the organization of how important that ball is to us.”
Will he be checked?
Said Sarkisian: “Oh yeah, he'll be checked on.”
Gibson has quietly been gaining momentum under the surface for a Longhorns team that could use a dynamic runner. He rushed for 67 yards in the season opener against Colroado State and then had 75 two weeks later against UTSA.
The Horns then went to Jaydon Blue and Quintrevion Wisner in October. But Blue also had his own fumble issues, prompting Sarkisian to bench him against Mississippi State, and an injury.
Gibson didn’t have any carries against Georgia and Vanderbilt but finally got the call against Florida. He’ll likely get it more going forward — provided Gibson can hang on to the football.
The Longhorns have a middle-of-the-pack rushing attack when compared to other SEC teams. Texas is ninth in the league standings, averaging 164.1 yards per game. The passing game more than makes up for any shortcomings. Texas ranks ninth nationally in total offense (465.2 yards per game).
“We just have to keep working at it,” Sarkisian said. “You know, that’s all we can do as coaches, is you get what you emphasize. We've got to continue to emphasize it.”
