Steve Sarkisian says Donald Trump's presence will affect in-game communication for Texas, Tennessee

Coaches may briefly lose on-field contact with with players throughout the game

Sep 24, 2026 at 1:26 pm ET • 1 min read

With President Donald Trump in attendance for Saturday's showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 14 Tennessee, heightened security will have an affect on fans attending the game, but his presence may also be felt after kickoff.

Tennessee has already announced that the Neyland Stadium gates will open at 9 a.m. ET to accomodate added security measures with both "College GameDay" and Trump rolling into the facility prior to kickoff. On Thursday, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian revealed  a lesser-known impact the president's presence will have on the game.

"Anytime the President changes locations within the stadium, they cut all communication," Sarkisian said, per 247Sorts. "They cut your headsets in terms of coach to player communication. So you have to plan for that."

Sarkisian has experience dealing with that because he was on Alabama's staff when Trump attended the highly anticipated matchup against LSU in Tuscaloosa in 2019.

There's no way to know exactly how much of an impact it will have on the game, but when the headset communications shut off, it may favor Texas. The Longhorns have the more experienced quarterback in Arch Manning, and the Volunteers are still breaking in a new defense under first-year coordinator Jim Knowles.

On the other side of the ball, Tennessee quarterback Faizon Brandon is a freshman making his first SEC start, and the Longhorns' defense has plenty of experience at key positions.

There were already so many outside factors that could serve as a distraction heading into this game -- not the least of which is a Manning visiting Neyland Stadium as an opponnet -- but this adds yet another layer of complexity to a compelling SEC showdown at high noon.