As the recruits continued to pour in for the Texas Longhorns on Early National Signing Day, head coach Steve Sarkisian took a minute to talk about his recruiting process, which has continued to be wildly successful.
Just a year ago, Sarkisian and his staff landed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country. This year, they're on track to get yet another top-10 class and a top-5 class in the SEC standings.
However, while talent is important to building a successful football program, especially at the level Texas expects to play, it isn't the biggest priority on Sarkisian's checklist.
Sarkisian likes talent but but loves character
While talking about the Horns' ability to continuously bring in top-tier prospects from all across the country, Sarkisian let everyone know that talent isn't always the most important thing to look for in a young athlete.
"We never sacrifice character for talent, because we could probably accumulate a ton of four and five players, but if they don't fit our culture, now that culture is going to start to deteriorate, so we're very conscientious of the people that we're recruiting as much as the football player that we're recruiting," Sarkisian said.
Yes, Sarkisian may have just landed the No. 3 quarterback in the class of 2026, the No. 4 EDGE, the No. 1 linebacker, and a plethora of other highly talented players, but he also knows that they will mesh well with the players that are already part of the program.
"I think that's something when you're looking at this class, there's some really high-level people on the sheet of paper that I'm looking at," he continued.
Finding a balance of talent and high morals is crucial in this day and age of college football, and so far, it seems like Sarkisian is doing a pretty dang good job of that.