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AUSTIN, Texas – Texas football head coach Steve Sarkisian has been selected as a semifinalist for the George Munger College Coach of the Year Award, the Maxwell Football Club announced Wednesday. This is the second consecutive season that Sarkisian has been named a semifinalist for this award. Sarkisian was also selected as a finalist for this honor during the 2023 season.
Sarkisian led the Longhorns to an 11-2 record, an appearance in the SEC Championship Game, and a second straight College Football Playoff appearance. Texas has posted back-to-back 11-plus win seasons for the first time since 2008-09 and is one win away from becoming the fifth 12-win season in program history (2005, 2008, 2009, 2023). It has become. The Horns have won 11 straight road games, the longest active streak by an FBS team. Since the start of the 2023 season, Texas is 23-4 with just four losses against AP League Top 12 opponents. In Texas State’s last 30 games, the Longhorns are 25-5 with just five losses against AP Top 12 opponents.
Under Coach Sarkisian, the Texas offense ranks 13th in the FBS in passing offense (281 ypg), 15th in team pass efficiency (154.92), 16th in pass completion percentage (66.3 percent) and 18th in total offense (445.4). ypg), ranked 25th. Scoring offense (33.6 ppg). The Texas offense has rushed for over 100 yards in 11 of 13 games, with three different Longhorn running backs each recording at least one 100-yard effort. Through 13 games, the Texas offense is averaging 6.2 yards per play. UT is averaging 164.4 yards on the ground per game, 4.5 yards per carry, and 21 rushing scores. The Longhorns scored on 34 passing touchdowns.
Junior left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was a unanimous first-team All-America selection, becoming the first Longhorn to win both the Outland Trophy and the Lombardi Trophy in the same season. Last season, the Longhorns won the Outland Trophy for the second straight year and fifth time overall, with defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat earning the honor. The University of Texas is the first school to win back-to-back Outland Trophies since Nebraska won three in a row from 1981-83, but UT has won back-to-back Outland Trophies on both sides of the ball. This is the only program that has done so.
Junior QB Quinn Ewers Ewers was a second-team All-SEC performer and Manning Award finalist, completing 233 of 352 passes (66.2 percent) for 2,665 yards and 25 touchdowns in 11 games. He averaged 242.27 yards as a starter. Ewers, a finalist for the Manning Award, ranks 17th in the FBS in passing touchdowns (17), completion percentage (66.2 percent), completions per game (21.18) and points per game (14.4). It is ranked 23rd. Ewers has a passing touchdown record in 24 consecutive games. This is the longest active streak by an FBS quarterback and the second longest streak in program history behind Colt McCoy’s program record of 29 games. The Southlake, Texas product ranks third and fourth in the program’s record books in passing touchdowns (61) and passing yards (8,321).
The Longhorns boast one of the most elite and dominant defenses in the nation in 2024. Texas leads the FBS in turnovers gained (28) and passing yards gained (143.1 ypg). Additionally, UT ranks second in the FBS in scoring defense (12.5 points) and team pass efficiency defense (95.19 points) and third in intercepted passes (19) and total defense (249.5 points). . The Horns also rank fifth nationally in first down defense (196), sixth in third down conversion rate defense (30.6 percent), seventh in red zone defense (71.4 percent), and 12th in team tackles for loss (7.3). He ranks 15th in rushing. The Longhorns have allowed just four passing touchdowns through 13 games, tied for the fewest in the FBS and tied for a program record. Fewest passing touchdowns given up in a season (1972). UT closed out the regular season by shutting out its opponents in the first half in three of its past four games (all were conference opponents).
Senior defensive back Jahday Barron received first-team All-America nod and became the program’s third Jim Thorpe Award recipient this season. Barron is one of the most versatile defensive backs in the nation, consistently playing multiple positions in Texas’ defensive backfield while providing leadership as a fifth-year veteran. The Austin, Texas, native led the Longhorns in interceptions (5) and pass breakups (9) through 13 games, totaling 47 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 quarterback rush, Recorded one forced fumble. Barron paces the SEC in total interceptions this season and ranks third in the FBS.
Earlier this season, Sarkisian was also named to the Dodd Trophy and Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year watch lists.
The finalists will be announced on December 24th, and the 2024 George Munger Prize winner will be announced on Thursday, January 9th, 2025.
The formal presentation of the George Munger Coach of the Year Award will be held on Friday, March 14, 2025 at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. Maxwell Football Club will also present other national awards from high school to the pros at this event.
2024 George Munger Prize Semi-Finalists
Kenny Dillingham – Arizona
Jeff Monken – Army
Spencer Danielson – Boise State
Kalani Sitake – BYU
Dabo Swinney – Clemson
Deion Sanders – Colorado
Kirby Smart – Georgia
Curt Cignetti – Indiana
Matt Campbell – Iowa State University
Marcus Freeman – Notre Dame
Tim Albin – Ohio State
Ryan Day – Ohio State
Dan Lanning – Oregon
James Franklin – Pennsylvania State University
Rhett Lashley – SMU
Shane Beamer – South Carolina
Josh Heupel – Tennessee
Steve Sarkisian – Texas
Texas earned the No. 3 spot in the CFP voting and the No. 5 overall seed, making it to the College Football Playoff for the second time in as many years. The Horns will face No. 13/13/16 Clemson in the first round of the CFP on Saturday, Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. CT inside Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The fight will be broadcast via call on TNT by Dave Pash (commentary), Dusty Dvoracek (color analyst), Taylor McGregor (reporter) and Laura Rutledge (reporter). The first-round winner will advance to the CFP quarterfinals of the 57th Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl to face Big 12 champion and No. 4 seed Arizona State at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on January 1, 2025 at noon in Connecticut. do. Atlanta. The game will be broadcast on the ABC/ESPN platform.
