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00:00Live from Radio Row, Sports Grid's coverage of Super Bowl 59 continues.
00:05Joe Lisi alongside Barron Sorrell of Texas, edge rusher, linebacker.
00:10Barron, just talk to me about the experience on Radio Row, and more importantly, the game on Sunday.
00:16Yeah, it's been a great experience just coming out here and doing this, and I'm very excited for the game on Sunday as well.
00:24Do you have a prediction, Philadelphia or Kansas City?
00:28I think Kansas City's going to pull it out. I don't have a certain score prediction, but something's telling me that Kansas City's going for this repeat.
00:36Can't go against Pat Mahomes, right? Big 12 type of guy back in the day.
00:40So, we'll see. Now, you had a great season at Texas. I know it didn't end the way you wanted, but a great season nonetheless.
00:46You make the college football playoff. Your defense really came around over the past couple of years.
00:51One of the most dominant in the SEC, especially in run support, right?
00:55Talk to me a little bit about your experience in Austin and your relationship with head coach Steve Sarkisian.
01:01Yeah, very blessed to go to the University of Texas in a great city, Austin, Texas.
01:07I mean, my college experience was second to none. I mean, I'm very appreciative for being out there and definitely appreciative of coming in.
01:14My freshman year, Coach Sark came in, and I feel like we just messed well very quickly just for the fact that he prioritized winning.
01:22We both just see eye to eye on that, and I'm very thankful to have a good coach like him.
01:26What was it in terms of the transition moving from the Big 12 to the SEC, right?
01:31You went toe-to-toe. A couple of years ago, your team knocked off Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
01:36That really set the stage for the college football playoff, the game against Washington.
01:40And then fast forward to this year, you just had a dynamic regular season.
01:45What was that like moving conferences, right, from the Big 12 to the SEC?
01:50Yeah, well, we left the Big 12 on a good note. I mean, we called it our farewell tour.
01:54And we definitely completed the mission there, and that set us up for the next season.
01:58But like you said, I mean, playing Tuscaloosa, going to Tuscaloosa, getting that win.
02:02And then the year before, my sophomore year, Alabama comes to Austin, Texas.
02:06So we definitely had the experience of playing these type of teams.
02:08But just knowing that it's going to be on a week-to-week basis and we needed to step it up.
02:13And I mean, obviously, we won the Big 12. We won the conference championship that year.
02:17But we knew that it was going to take more going into the SEC.
02:19Because, I mean, the competition is there week in and week out.
02:22And we experienced that this week. But we still got to the goal of making it to the conference championship.
02:27Didn't win and finish the way we wanted to.
02:30But making it there, realizing that a lot of other teams wasn't playing that week is definitely a blessing.
02:34And that just goes to the hard work and buy-in that we had from the guys.
02:37You're heading into the NFL draft in a couple of months, right?
02:40In terms of your play, your style, you're athletic, you're big, you can run sideline to sideline.
02:45Is there a specific player that you sort of believe that you can be like in terms of the next level?
02:51Yeah, I definitely think I'm my own player.
02:53And I think that's why I had the success I've been having up until this point.
02:56But I feel like you can definitely learn a lot of different things from a multitude of guys.
03:00And I feel like that's what I've been doing.
03:02I mean, I watch guys like Max Crosby. I watch guys like Miles Garrett.
03:06I watch a little bit of T.J. Watt. Kind of guys with similar body types.
03:09But I just try to take something and learn from each and every one of them.
03:12I have to ask you, because you went to Texas, right?
03:15Teammates Quinn Ewers, Arch Manning, right? You watched both of them play.
03:20Thoughts about both of those quarterbacks on the next level?
03:23Yeah, I mean, I've been fortunate to be around two very good quarterbacks.
03:27And I'm very excited for Quinn to see what he's going to do in this upcoming process of his life.
03:32But I'm also excited to see my boy Arch back in Austin.
03:36I mean, he's from New Orleans, so I know he's got that dog in him.
03:39And I feel like everybody's been surprised about the type of swag and stuff that he has.
03:42But, I mean, when you come from New Orleans, I just feel like it comes naturally.
03:46Watching him just go about the things the way he did these last couple of years,
03:51I'm very excited to see what he does with the program.
03:54Well, Austin does it right, right? Go big or go home. Everything is big, right?
03:58What is the experience like playing in Darryl Royal Stadium?
04:02To walk out, you know, hook them horns.
04:05What has that just encompassed for you as a former player of a great college?
04:11Yeah, man, it's definitely a blessing.
04:13I mean, the experiences that I had playing for the University of Texas is second to none.
04:18From the first time I went out there and saw the wave of orange, I mean, it's real.
04:25Like, Longhorn Nation and their support is real. And they also travel, too.
04:28So, I've been fortunate to play for one of the best college fan base in college football.
04:33I mean, every week they're showing out in the home stadium. I mean, it's unreal.
04:37I mean, I feel like we definitely have one of the best game day experiences in college football.
04:41But even when we're traveling, they're there.
04:43And Longhorn Nation is going to show up every time.
04:45And playing in DKR, I mean, it's hard to explain.
04:48But, I mean, just know on third downs and certain parts of the game,
04:52it's hard to hear somebody that's right next to you.
04:54Is there a moment that stands out for you over the past couple of seasons?
04:58Obviously, you've had some dynamic wins, dynamic performances.
05:03But is there one that stands out above the rest for you personally?
05:07Yeah, I mean, the best experience for me, I mean, is holding up that conference championships.
05:11That trophy, I mean, not a lot of people get to do that.
05:14And it was a long process and a journey that went into that.
05:18And we put a lot of work in.
05:20Obviously, leading these guys, getting them to buy into the culture.
05:23We have very good coaches.
05:24And just seeing it all turn out.
05:26And, I mean, we won at the end of the day.
05:29I mean, that's the goal.
05:31And obviously, everybody says it.
05:32But actually accomplishing it, standing up on that stage, holding that trophy up.
05:36I mean, it definitely was one of the best experiences of my life.
05:38The other thing that stands out when you go to Texas or you go to Oklahoma is that Red River rivalry, right?
05:45That's a step above, right?
05:47We talk about rivalries in college football.
05:50What does that mean to you?
05:52Man, I mean, it's very historic.
05:54There's a lot of great tradition behind that game and history behind that game.
05:58And I've been fortunate to play in that game four times.
06:01And it's been a blessing every time, man.
06:03I mean, you go out there and you get to compete on that type of stage.
06:07I mean, both fan bases are bringing it every single time.
06:10And the intensity is definitely there.
06:12The rivalry is definitely there.
06:14The hate is definitely there, for sure.
06:16You're an edge rusher, so you get to talk to some quarterbacks throughout the SEC.
06:21There's a couple there that have to be on the list that like to talk, right?
06:25Diego Pavia from Vanderbilt does a little talking, doesn't he?
06:29Yeah, yeah. He definitely was one of the guys that talked.
06:32He talks some smack, right?
06:34Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:35And that conference, I mean, I feel like every week you can name a list of guys.
06:39Not even just quarterbacks, but everybody's going at it and talking.
06:41But, I mean, that just brings out the competition in all of us.
06:44Well, great insight, great information. We'll be back after this.