Texas Football: 4 biggest standouts Sarkisian praised in training camp

After the second fall scrimmage last weekend and a little over two weeks of practice, Texas football and head coach Steve Sarkisian have wrapped up training camp. Texas began fall camp on Aug. 2, exactly one month before the regular season opener on Sep. 2 at home at DKR against the Rice Owls.

The final major event of fall camp took place last weekend when the Longhorns scrimmaged on Aug. 19. The Aug. 19 scrimmage was the second of two scrimmages that took place in the last two weekends for the Longhorns.

Texas had plenty of positives emerge from training camp, namely that this team avoided major injuries. The Longhorns suffered two season-ending injuries last year in fall camp to redshirt sophomore receiver Isaiah Neyor and senior interior offensive lineman Junior Angilau.

Outside of the obvious that the Longhorns avoided major injuries, Texas also saw young players step up in a big way on both sides of the ball.

Texas will now look to this weekend for game prep. Sark and the Longhorns will hold a walkthrough on Aug. 26 to get the depth chart set and prepare for the Rice game.

Texas football standouts Steve Sarkisian praised in his post-fall camp press conference this week

Sark wrapped up spring ball during his Aug. 21 press conference. He talked about the goals for the season, standouts from camp, and what Texas still has to work on in practice this fall. Here’s a look at four standouts noted by Sark from fall camp in his press conference on Aug. 21.

Malik Muhammad, CB

One of the most impressive showings among young defensive backs for the Longhorns in training camp was from true freshman cornerback Malik Muhammad. The former high-four-star recruit out of South Oak Cliff High School received a ton of praise as a consistent standout throughout fall practice and in the two scrimmages for the Longhorns.

We mentioned Muhammad among the players who stood out in the last two scrimmages the last couple of weekends. In the first fall scrimmage two weekends ago, Muhammad recorded a pick-six and a forced fumble.

He followed that up with another solid performance in the second and final fall scrimmage last weekend with another forced fumble.

For his performance in the first fall scrimmage, Sark gave Muhammad the nod among the true freshmen that showed out that weekend. Sark also recognized hybrid safety Jelani McDonald, linebacker Anthony Hill Jr., safety Derek Willimas, and running back Tre Wisner among the true freshmen that caught his attention in the first fall scrimmage.

In his Aug. 21 press conference, Sark mentioned Muhammad among the players doing a nice job tackling in fall camp. The two true freshmen defenders he recognized for sure-tackling in training camp were Muhammad and linebacker Liona Lefau.