How the Longhorns are progressing without a spring football game

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- The Longhorns' 2024 season lasted 132 days, ultimately encouraging Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian to scrap the spring game. But was it worth it?

Sarkisian has a handful of reasons for the decision. One of them being the development of incoming players, both high school and college.

"So many new faces," Sarkisian said. "Twenty-seven guys that just finished practice, 10 with us for the first time ... it's a different era of college football."

Sarkisian proved that he's not the only coach dealing with a large number of new faces. "Just talking to (Georgia head coach) Kirby (Smart) on the phone, he had 31 in spring. Twenty-three high school kids and eight in the transfers." Sarkisian added.

With five practices remaining in spring camp, the Longhorns still have the option to add more pieces from the transfer portal, which will open from April 16-25.

"We talk a lot about having the ability to adapt," he said. "I think we'd be doing these guys a disservice of just rolling the ball out there and expecting them to play good."

That doesn't mean the 27 fresh faces will be at the most important pieces to the Longhorns success. Sarkisian and his staff managed to return 15 of the 22 starters from last season's team that made a run to the college football playoff semifinals.

As the new and old faces work through the offseason, April 26 will be used as fan day at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium. All fans are welcomed to events running from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. instead of the traditional spring game.