Sarkisian, Napier Offer Insights on Teams' Preparations

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Coming off a bye week, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns (7-1, 3-1 Southeastern Conference) are sizing up their next opponent, the Florida Gators (4-4, 2-3), ahead of a Nov. 9 conference contest at noon EST at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian shared some updates and thoughts about playing the Gators. While that was going on, Florida head coach Billy Napier addressed quarterback DJ Lagway's status.

"You could HEAR us at practice today!" Sarkisian said at his weekly press conference in Austin Inside Texas reported. "The guys intent, energy, their focus was really good."

Sarkisian Praises Ewers

Longhorns quarterback Quinn Ewers picked up his game when Texas defeated Vanderbilt (6-3, 3-2) 27-24. Yet Ewers has shown signs of not always being comfortable in the pocket recently. Sarkisian said that he thought Ewers had a good week of practice.

"He looks fresh, he looks healthy," he said. "He's really delivering the ball well. I like his base that he's operating with. I thought he was really intentional with his feet, with his base, against Vanderbilt."

Some college football watchers might want to read tea leaves about a possible quarterback controversy between Ewers and Arch Manning. Sarkisian has not bought into the frenzy, making it abundantly clear that Ewers is QB1 at Texas. Against Vanderbilt, Ewers went 27-of-37 passing for 288 yards and 3 touchdowns against the then-No. 25 Commodores.

Sarkisian, whose lone loss this season was to the then-No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs in Austin, talked up the play of defensive back Jahdae Barron.

"I think Jahdae (Barron) has made himself a ton of money this year by coming back," he said. "I think he's continually matured off the field, as well as what his leadership has been on the field. He's shown the versatility that he can play multiple positions."

This season, Barron has started all eight games. He leads the Longhorns with 3 interceptions and 6 pass break-ups. Barron has 29 total tackles (17 solo), 9 passes defended and 1 fumble recovery. In the Vanderbilt victory on Oct. 26, he had 3 tackles (2 solo) and 1 pass break-up.

Wide receiver Isaiah Bond and defensive back Andrew Mukuba spent time on the practice field, Sarkisian said. He added that both players "look very good."

Napier Offers Lagway Update

On Florida, Sarkisian said that the Gators "will be one of if not the best-looking team(s) in our conference."

Napier only had good things to say about the Longhorns.

"Texas is a very talented roster, I think from top to bottom at every position," Napier said on Monday in Gainesville, Fla., according to On Texas Football. But the Gators coach and the Florida faithful have been holding their collective breath about the health of talented quarterback DJ Lagway.

Lagway exited the team's Nov. 2 34-20 loss against Georgia after suffering a left hamstring injury. Napier said he believes there's a good chance that Lagway might return to the starting lineup on Nov. 9.

"We do think that the injury is less significant than we anticipated," he said, Gators Wire reported. "We do think there's a pathway for recovery and a return, and we did find that out yesterday (Nov. 3) evening. So, a lot of good on that front. And he's been doing well so far this morning, so we have not completely ruled him out, and I think a lot of that will be to be determined as we move our way through the week."

Lagway, a freshman from Willis, Texas, has 1,071 yards passing on 56-of-92 passing attempts. He has totaled 6 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season. Lagway also has a 63.1 quarterback rating. He took over after Florida starting QB Graham Mertz suffered a season-ending torn ACL. Freshman QB Aidan Warner took Lagway's place in the lineup.

In his comments to the media, Napier did not come out and name Warner as his starter against Texas. But, if Lagway cannot go, then the Gators' offense probably falls into the hands of Warner and his teammates. The situation will be worth watching as the week goes on for Florida.