“Something really special!” » The Texas Longhorns are more than just SEC ready

FOX College Football senior analyst Joel Klatt can’t back the skeptics of Texas Longhorns football and Steve Sarkisian moving to the SEC.

“(Sarkisian) is very comfortable in his own skin,” Klatt said. “He’s very authentic to who he is right now and what he wants to do in Texas. That manifests itself in very strong recruiting and a culture within the building that is vibrant and authentic. I think the players understand that he cares about them, and in return, I think at least I felt, when I was in this program, that they care about him.

Texas’ 2024 recruiting class ranked fifth on 247Sports with two five-star recruits, 14 four-stars and six three-star recruits.

Not to mention, a superb transfer roster filled with difference makers at key positions of need.

“I couldn’t be more optimistic about Texas football right now,” Klatt said. “Because I’ve known Steve for a long time and when I sit with him now, I feel something really special.”

Many SEC fans don’t believe Texas is ready to move to a football-dominated conference with powerhouses like Georgia and Alabama, but Klatt disagrees.

“I don’t think that sentiment holds water, like zero water,” he said. “I mean, they just beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and that’s not a down Alabama team. That’s an Alabama team that made the (College Football Playoff), for God’s sake. They beat Nick Saban’s Alabama team on the road. You can’t be more SEC ready than that, you just can’t.

It’s not just about last season getting that confidence back, it’s also about who comes into the program and who continues to progress through it.

“They’ll have one of the best offensive lines in the country,” Klatt said. “That’s what you have to have in the SEC, but they also have one of the most talented cores in the country, and that’s what you have to have. They’ll have a quarterback who will be among the top three in Heisman Trophy chances to start the year. That’s what you need to have.”

The 2024 Texas football season begins against Colorado State on August 31. His SEC debut against Mississippi State came nearly a month later on September 28.

“Texas is not just SEC ready and I think that’s just an overblown concept,” Klatt said. “They are ready for the national championship.”