Texas Football: Longhorns spring practice could fully resume on Thursday

Newly hired Texas football head coach and former Alabama Crimson Tide offensive coordinator/the reigning Broyles Award winner Steve Sarkisian saw an abrupt halt to his first week of spring practice on campus last week. Texas started spring drills back on March 23, but couldn’t even get through two full days before positive COVID-19 tests reportedly in the running back and defensive line rooms put a halt to contact drills for the team.

It might not be too long, though, before Sark and the Longhorns are able to get back at it in spring drills starting next week. According to a report from Horns247 on March 28 (paid content), Texas could resume contact drills for the team this week across the board as soon as April 1 (which is Thursday). And there is a reported plan to have non-contact positional drills and potentially even some 7-on-7 work for the team in the days prior to April 1.

Texas needs every rep they can get in spring ball this year given the amount of roster attrition and the new look coaching staff having to get things set this offseason. Implementing new schemes yet again on both sides of the ball and getting new faces on the roster acquainted with the team are big looming tasks for Sark and his new staff.

The plan for Texas football in spring practice this week

On March 26, Texas did get walkthrough drills in for part of the team. And that is reportedly the hope again on March 29 for the players/coaches that did not have to quarantine through testing and contact tracing.

There is apparently no plan in place for Sark and the Longhorns to put in for an extension for spring football given the lost practice time last week due to the COVID-19 halt. Texas still has until April 24 to get practice time in. April 24 is the date set for the Longhorns spring football game, as they will return to Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in front of the fans in burnt orange.

Nonetheless, this will still be important for all of the new faces with this program among transfers and early enrollees to get the necessary amount of reps in spring drills. Even those that arrived on the Forty Acres last offseason did not get a full set of workouts/drills throughout spring practice and summer workouts in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Under the direction of the now former fourth-year Texas head coach Tom Herma, the Longhorns finished up last season with a record of 7-3 (5-3 Big 12). Sark was hired to replace Herman as the next Texas head coach back on Jan. 2.