Joel Klatt Thinks Texas Has The Talent To Succeed, Even With A Tough Slate of Games

Steve Sarkisian is the new reason for hope at Texas, but does the coach have the roster talent to make a difference in Year One? Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt sure seems to think so.

And Klatt thinks so, despite a brutal upcoming schedule for the Longhorns.

“I think Texas could be really good,” Klatt said on the Fox CFB’s Number One Show. “This is not the year you want that low key, tough, non-conference schedule because here’s what a schedule like that does — it puts an immense amount of pressure on the coaching staff and the players because everyone thinks, based off of brands, that they should just walk through those games.

“So even if they struggle and when, people are going to be like, ‘What’s wrong with Texas?’ When you and I know that those are actually decently tough games, in particular for a guy in his first year.“

The Longhorns open the season Sept. 4 vs. Louisiana, then visit Arkansas in the SEC the following week. After that, it’s a whole lot of Big 12 games — always a tall task to try to tackle.

But again, Klatt said Sarkisian has plenty with which to work, making the Longhorns a team to watch.

“They’ve got a great staff, they’re recruiting very well and they’re very talented,” Klatt continued. “It’s not like (former coach Tom Herman) left the cupboard bare. They’ve recruited very well, they just didn’t get a lot out of their overall talent base.

“If you look at their overall talent base, it was I believe in the Top 4 in the country last year. Georgia was the top talent base in the country and (the Longhorns) were in the Top 4. That’s still there, so Steve’s going to have the ability to succeed.”

• Full Texas football schedule