Well, this is awkward.
Texas defensive back Derek Williams announced Tuesday that he’s withdrawing his name from the transfer portal and will return to Austin for the 2026 season. That’s a solid win for the Longhorns, but it also opens the door to a whole lot of irony when you line it up with something Steve Sarkisian said not all that long ago.
In a resurfaced clip from his appearance on The Pivot podcast, Sark made it crystal clear how he felt about players entering the portal. “The moment you go into the transfer portal from the University of Texas, you are no longer coming back,” he said. Not “usually,” not “it depends.” Just flat-out: if you leave, you’re gone. Then then he doubled down, saying, “I think a lot of schools let kids go and test the waters then come back, we’re not playing that game.”
Except… they are.
That soundbite didn’t age well at all. Williams is officially back in the building, and Texas is taking him with open arms. No lectures, no hard line, no sticking to the principle. Just a good player being welcomed back after thinking about a change of scenery.
Now look, on the surface, there’s nothing wrong with what Texas is doing. They’re keeping talent on the roster. Derek Williams is a former high-end recruit and showed flashes in the secondary this season. You don’t want to lose guys like that if you don’t have to, but it makes Sark’s whole stance from that podcast clip feel like a speech for the cameras. Something that sounded great on set but doesn’t hold up when real-life decisions start happening.
This isn’t a criticism of taking Williams back. It’s just hilarious to watch how fast things can shift when there’s no camera rolling and the press quotes are in the rearview. The tough-guy portal talk evaporates, and suddenly the same coach is doing exactly what he said he wouldn’t.
It’s the perfect example of how fluid college football is right now. Even the coaches drawing lines in the sand are jumping over them when it makes sense for the roster. Sark talked big about the portal once. Today, the move tells the real story.
