Take a look at Alabama’s offense in the national championship game — it should be Texas’ future

Alabama offensive coordinator Steve Sarkisian works his payers through drills during an NCAA college fall camp fan-day college football scrimmage, Saturday, Aug. 3, 2019, at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

by: Andrew Schnitker

Posted: Jan 11, 2021 / 06:10 PM CST

Updated: Jan 11, 2021 / 06:10 PM CST

MIAMI (KXAN) — Steve Sarkisian’s final order of business, before taking hold of the Texas Longhorns football program, is calling an offensive game plan to beat Ohio State’s defense and win the national championship with Alabama.

Texas fans won’t be specifically rooting for Alabama on Monday night, but they will be rooting for points from the Crimson Tide.

Alabama’s 2020 offense is playing at a historic level (better than 2019 LSU by efficiency metrics) with the Heisman Trophy winner and another Heisman Trophy finalist. As the offensive coordinator, Sarkisian has an assortment of five-star paints to construct a masterpiece of an offense.

It definitely won’t be an apples to apples comparison when you watch Alabama’s offense and try to visualize Texas’ future offense, but the scheme and philosophy will certainly be coming to Austin with Sarkisian.

Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith became the first wide receiver to win the national award since Michigan’s Desmond Howard in 1991. Smith led the nation in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns, which makes sense as he won the award for college football’s best player. As impressive as Smith’s numbers are, Sarkisian’s ability to scheme Smith open even when opposing defenses keyed in on him.

Smith racked up eight games with more than 100 yards this season. Sarkisian used crossing routes to put Smith in soft spots of the field, resulting in explosive plays and touchdowns in every game this season.

Sarkisian and quarterback Mac Jones have become quite the combination. Sarkisian uses play-action and zone read concepts to set Jones up for success. The results made Jones a Heisman Trophy finalist, ranking second in the country in passing yards.

The Alabama offense, led by the next Longhorns head coach, ranks first in the country in Bill Connelly’s SP+ efficiency metrics, improving over its No. 2 ranking in 2019. Alabama also ranks first in Football Outsiders F+ ratings and offensive success rate.

Sarkisian is getting another chance as a head coach with the Longhorns. Based off his success at Alabama, he’s earned it.