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Craig Way Visits with Steve Sarkisian at 2026 SEC Football Kickoff Media Days · The Craig Way Show

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Given that you've been in this long enough to where
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: very little, if anything surprises you anymore. Is it nevertheless
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: intriguing that a year ago everybody's asking you about Art
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: getting ready to be the starter and coming off playing
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: in the conference championship to this year first question out
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: of the box is about an offensive lineman trying to
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: go through the legal system to get a fifth year.
• 0:21
  Speaker 2: You know, it's funny. I think that that's just fitting
• 0:24
  Speaker 2: in the state of college athletics and college football right now,
• 0:28
  Speaker 2: the fact that my first question out of the box
• 0:31
  Speaker 2: is about a temporary restraining order for Cole Hudson to
• 0:37
  Speaker 2: try to get a fifth year to play for US
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: one more season. But that's where we're at. That's where
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: we're at today, And so was it surprising, yes, But
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: in the same breath, no, because that's just where we're at.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Like I, you know, as I'm prepping for today, you know,
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: obviously make a lot of notes, and you want to
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: talk about our team and the season and our staff
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: and the support we have and all the great things.
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: And in my mind I'm thinking, I'm checking with John Bianco.
• 1:06
  Speaker 2: I'm like, hey, I need answers to this new bill.
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: I need answers to Commissioner Sankee talking about the potential breakaway.
• 1:14
  Speaker 2: I need answers to Cole Hudson and this lawsuit, Like,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: think about that. You know, we're going into a season.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: We're forty four days away from our opener, and I'm
• 1:22
  Speaker 2: worried about lawsuits and a bill at Congress and all
• 1:27
  Speaker 2: sorts of stuff that really doesn't matter to what we're
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: going to do this fall.
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: Does it make it any more challenging for you and
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: the staff to keep everybody on task and all that,
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: given that there's all this other outside stuff. There's outside
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: stuff every year, but there seems to be more and
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: more every year.
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: It's I don't think so, you know. I think that
• 1:45
  Speaker 2: starts with me, Like like any organization, you know, I
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: think when the leader has an approach and a mindset
• 1:51
  Speaker 2: to the way they go about their business, I think
• 1:53
  Speaker 2: it's still easier for everybody else to follow suit. I
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: am not a big complainer. I'm not a big worrier
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: about things that are out of I control. I control
• 2:01
  Speaker 2: what I can control. I try to be where my
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: feed are, and I try to focus on our people
• 2:06
  Speaker 2: and our building, whether it's staff, players, coaching, staff, whatever,
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: that looks like and so you know, this is as
• 2:12
  Speaker 2: the as they you know, coach Spurrier said, this is
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: talking season and and this is the time for all
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: of that stuff. I think when we when we fast
• 2:21
  Speaker 2: forward here about a week and a half, two weeks,
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: when training camp begins, I think a lot of the
• 2:25
  Speaker 2: focus is going to shift back to football. And but
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: you know, this is the time. It's talking season, and
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: and everybody's writing their articles and doing their podcasts and
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: their radio shows and their TV shows and and they're
• 2:37
  Speaker 2: looking for content, right, and so that's understandable, but it's
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: it's not as difficult for me. Like I like being
• 2:44
  Speaker 2: with our players. I like talking to our players. I
• 2:46
  Speaker 2: like find out their interests, what they're doing with, what
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: they got going on and and understanding Kevin el Tipe,
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: he's a really good chairman of the board. He's an attorney.
• 2:56
  Speaker 2: He's going he's gonna know what he's doing. Jim Davis,
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: new new president, he's an attorney, knows that he's doing CDC.
• 3:03
  Speaker 2: One of the smarter people I've ever been around might
• 3:06
  Speaker 2: be an attorney in the kangaroo court. You know, I
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: don't know somewhere in there, but at the end of
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: the day, like, we've got great leaders that are gonna
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: worry about that stuff. When the time comes they want
• 3:15
  Speaker 2: my opinion, they'll ask.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: What has impressed you most about what you've learned and
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: seen from your guys in the offseason, in the run
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: up to building up right before the start of fall camp.
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: The biggest thing is their ability to come together as
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: a team with so many new faces. You know that
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: this idea, with the amount of freshmen and transfers bigger
• 3:39
  Speaker 2: than we've ever had. I've been so impressed. This team
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: is closer than than you know, It's as closer, closer
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: than any team we've had. And that's a credit to
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: Arch and Colin and Trevor and Jilanie and Hero and
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: Brandon Baker and Ryan Wingo and all these guys ty
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: Anthony Smith who have been in the program I'm out
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: of high school. But it's also a credit to Rasheen Biles,
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: Boum Masco, cam Coleman, Raleik Brown, Hollywood Smothers, Michael Wassonis Melvins,
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  Speaker 2: and I their ability to come in and say, hey,
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: I'm gonna I'm gonna adjust to you and to that program.
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: Because this is what I chose to come and do.
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: And those guys and I'm know I'm leaving a few out,
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: but those guys have done a great job of believing
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: in the program and allowing those leaders to lead. And
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: then a credit to the freshman class. You know, I
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: think you know Da Bell, Jermaine Bishop, those guys have
• 4:36
  Speaker 2: been great leaders to say, hey, these guys know what
• 4:38
  Speaker 2: they're doing, We're gonna go follow suit. And so it's
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: it's created a locker room and a team that's very close.
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: Right now. We were just talking about on the plane,
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: you know, the play. You know, Arch was talking about it.
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: I mean, we did a scavenger hunt yesterday, a competitive
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: scavenger hunting. He's like, man, that was awesome, but it's
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: so much fun and Colin, he and Collins teams were
• 4:56
  Speaker 2: the ones at the end fighting over who won and
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: who like we've done that before, you know. And on
• 5:03
  Speaker 2: a Wednesday and it's one hundred degrees in Austin and
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: they're running around the forty acres and doing activities together.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: So's that's what excites me about this team, and that's
• 5:12
  Speaker 2: what makes this team really cool to me.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: Is that also a byproduct of what you've spoken about
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: in the past about moving forward the culture building earlier
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: then getting on well into the summer.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I think to your point. You know, we started
• 5:25
  Speaker 2: doing our culture building stuff in February this year, when
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: you know, traditionally we don't start that until June. By
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: doing that, I think that that did speed up the
• 5:34
  Speaker 2: process where we could do activities like this and the
• 5:37
  Speaker 2: players feel comfortable with one another to do it. They
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: weren't still learning and figuring each other out. They've already
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: gotten to know one another really well and in a
• 5:45
  Speaker 2: very intimate setting. And so I've been pleased with all
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: of that. You know. You know, I always say I
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: got asked this question earlier, like, you know, is this
• 5:54
  Speaker 2: your most talented roster? Arguably right, we'll find out. But
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: talent only gets you so far. You know, your ability
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: to play as a team, your ability to be your
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: best when your best is needed, how we respond to adversity,
• 6:06
  Speaker 2: the type of grit we have as a team, our
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: ability to respond when injuries occur. All those things are
• 6:11
  Speaker 2: what ultimately is going to define our season. Talent gets
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: us so far, but things like this, the culture, the
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: connectivity that our guys have, that's a great sign for us.
• 6:20
  Speaker 1: Final thing here, What will you look for as you
• 6:23
  Speaker 1: get into fall camp, right out of the gate, the
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: questions that might roll through your mind before everything gets
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: into the full meat and potatoes.
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: Well I think this, you know, I'm always the first
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: couple of days, I'm always looking at, you know, the
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: cramping of our players. If truthfully like it's hot, as
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: we know, we have to put our guys through the
• 6:43
  Speaker 2: grinder to get ready for a season. But being mindful
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: of our health and the cramping, We've gotten better every year,
• 6:51
  Speaker 2: and I'm always trying to find more ways to expose
• 6:54
  Speaker 2: them to the heat, but come out of those days
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: even healthier than we did in the previous year. So
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: that it's always something that I look at, you know,
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: I look at communication, you know, and and and do
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: I hear us at practice? Do I hear the communication
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: in the back end? We got a new defense, you know,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: how's Jelani and Grayson and Derek Williams and everybody talking
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: with one another. Our ability to adjust on the move
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: like it would be in game. You know, if we're
• 7:20
  Speaker 2: not handling a certain stunt by the defense, can the
• 7:23
  Speaker 2: offensive line make the adjustment mid practice? Because that's a
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: great sign for what the season could look forward to,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: you know, because we're going to see a bunch of
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: things in season that we didn't prepare for, and our
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: ability to adjust to those things is really important.
• 7:35
  Speaker 1: Always great to see you down here. Appreciate it.
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Thanks Greg Hook Them