It's a good talking point to the THSCA, but I watched the entire talk he gave on youtube a bit ago. There were some other things said. The question was about this year's class, and how only ten of the 21 commitments are from the state of Texas. Sarkisian did a great job of answering the question, but the clear message in the entire Q&A was that Texas unapologetically was going to go after the best talent across the country. He acknowledged that agents have diminished the role of Texas high school coaches in the process, but he challenged coaches not to just give up their role as advisors and mentors. He challenged them to man up and be a part of the process rather than throwing up their collective hands and saying, "what can you do? It's all about the agents now."
He talked about how it's not just about Texas keeping the best players in the state. There were a lot of instate programs players could go to. Then he pointed out that many of the best players in the state were leaving for programs outside of Texas. He had the standard "if I could recruit my entire team from the state of Texas I would" line, but the clear message is that's not the world we live in. He refused to get defensive about it, which is exactly right.
The truth is this recruiting season is a sea change from how Texas has always gone about its business. I doubt we ever see 80% of UT's draft picks to the NFL being instate kids ever again in my lifetime. Sarkisian has made a clear investment in going after the best players wherever they are, with an emphasis on the southeast and California. It's not just the NIL dollars spent. Or the commitments. Or even the visits, although all of those are a huge part of it. The coaches are investing their time and resources in travelling all over the country - not just to see specific kids, but to build connections in the high school for players in the current recruiting class, as well as who might be someone to look for in future classes. That's when you know Texas is serious about this. They're not just putting a sack of money in front of the player. They're going out and cultivating relationships because they want people to know they're in it for the long haul. That's how you help protect your program from bad seeds that poison the locker room and/or force your hand where you have to pull the lever to the trap door to get them out of Austin.