Sarkisian says comms could be cut with Trump attending game

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas coach Steve Sarkisian knows what to expect when President Donald Trump attends Saturday's game at Tennessee.

Apart from the extra security measures, Sarkisian is anticipating problems communicating with his team.

"The one thing that you have to be aware of when the president goes to any game is that anytime he enters the stadium, leaves the stadium or changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication," Sarkisian said during a videoconference Thursday. "So they cut your headsets. They cut the headsets to coaches. They cut headsets for coach-to-player communication. So you have to have a plan for that, if and when it happens, and you get no warning. It just gets cut out."

The SEC showdown between the top-ranked Longhorns and the No. 14 Vols will be Texas quarterback Arch Manning's first game at Neyland Stadium, where his uncle Peyton starred for Tennessee.

Trump's attendance will add another layer of intrigue, something Sarkisian has previous experience with. He was Alabama's offensive coordinator when Trump attended a game against LSU during the president's first term in 2019.

"You have to have a plan to adjust if and when he comes in the middle of the first quarter, leaves in the fourth quarter, or decides he's got to use the restroom, whatever that looks like," Sarkisian said. "You've got to be prepared to have no communication for a short amount of time."

Trump was also in attendance at last season's College Football Playoff National Championship game between Indiana and Miami.

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti told ESPN's Pete Thamel that the headsets in the national title game went out around the 6:45 mark of the fourth quarter, which included Miami scoring on a fly sweep to Malachi Toney with 6:37 remaining.

"We couldn't hear [on the TD], then it came back," Cignetti said. "It came back before kickoff. We both had communication from that point on."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.