Round 2 - Charlie Strong talks 2015 (article)

[Matt Cotcher]

 
submitted Today, 10:33 PM in Texas Longhorns Football By Matt Cotcher   

 @mlcotcher
 
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.”

With apologies to Charles Dickens, in mid-July hope abounds at colleges across the country. Teams are unburdened with the reality of their roster. At the other end of the spectrum, there are teams glued to a rear view mirror that reflects a losing record, 59 yards of total offense in their previous game, the spectre of eight turnovers in their final two games, and two net yards rushing in a bowl game.

Such juxtaposition is how year two of the Charlie Strong era starts. At Big 12 media days in Dallas, depending on who was talking, Texas is poised to return to championship caliber football, or is headed for a second consecutive losing season.

In his opening remarks, Strong vacillated between hope and despair, “Last year 6‑7 is not good enough. It will never be good enough at the University of Texas. We know we lost a lot of players on defense, returned a lot on offense, but we have to improve as a coaching staff. We have to do a better job of coaching. But we've also got to get our players to go play and go compete and go compete week in and week out.”

Strong spent an inordinate amount of time deftly dodging questions about the Longhorns’ quarterbacks. First, he reminded everyone how important it is to surround any signal caller with quality players. After all, football is the consummate team sport and a stout offensive line and a big season from Johnathan Gray would boost either Tyrone Swoopes’ or Jerrod Heard’s play.

In fact, Strong said he met with his senior running back to talk about the coaching staff’s expectations for him, “Now with him [Gray] being the guy, you expect big things for him. And I told him that…we'd like to see J. Gray go out and just have a big year.”

There has been a justifiable focus on offense since Texas' inept showing against Arkansas in the Texas Bowl. The Horns have two new offensive assistant coaches and are set to unveil a new scheme utilizing more spread-based concepts designed to take advantage of the strengths of the roster.

Jay Norvell is one of the two new assistants on offense. Norvell is charged with coaching a wide receiver group that lacked explosive plays in 2014. Strong mentioned needing Daje Johnson and Marcus Johnson to finish their careers with a flourish and provide the offense a needed spark, “Those guys need to step up and become playmakers. We have to develop playmakers at that position.”

Being a defensive-minded coach, Strong quickly shifted back to the troubling forecast for the upcoming season, saying, “You look at us on defense, we lost six key starters there. So we're going to have to play really well on defense. That's where it all starts at.”
 


Like Dickens, Strong was sure to blend in a solid dose of positivity throughout the day. Referencing a senior class that has never experienced a double digit win season at Texas, Strong said, “They want to show that what it's all about and what the university is all about and just how they want to go out and compete.”One of those seniors, center Taylor Doyle, expanded on those comments, “We're very excited to get back out there. We hold ourselves accountable for what happened last season, and we know there are a lot of things we can do to improve our play as a unit and as individuals. All of us know that we have something prove and that we need to play better football. That's been extremely motivating this summer.”

Another senior, cornerback Duke Thomas, echoed Doyle and Strong, “There is definitely motivation not being where we're supposed to be. We understand where our standard is, and falling short of that is pushing us to up our game and get to where we're supposed to be.”

Thomas went on to explain why he’s optimistic that things will improve, “I feel like coming into this season is definitely different. Team camaraderie, team chemistry has definitely been growing much more than I've ever experienced in my years on the 40 acres. This next season is going to be really exciting.”

In addition to the seniors, Strong also set expectations that the incoming freshman class would contribute to turning the plight of the program. Newcomers Malik Jefferson (LB) and Connor Williams (OL) both drew praise from Strong for the jobs they’ve done as early enrollees.

The schedule will not make it easy for UT to have the quick turnaround talked about by Doyle and Thomas. The front half of the slate is loaded with pitfalls including the season opener in South Bend against Notre Dame.

The Longhorns could arguably lose five of their first seven games. Doing so would undoubtedly cause some fans to lose faith in the coaching staff, and would put the team’s fragile psyche in a bind.

“It's all about us just performing well as a team in all phases,” said Strong. Sounds simple enough, right?

The team reports on August 6 and starts practice the next day. Whether the season unfolds as the best of times or the worst of times is unknown. Like a good Dickens novel, the season is sure to be a page-turner. 

 

[Sirhornsalot]

Excellent read, Matt. Thank you!

 

[Matt Cotcher]

Excellent read, Matt. Thank you!

Thanks, SHA. Glad you enjoyed it!

 

[Coleman Feeley]

Several of the young OT's need to grow up in a hurry.

 

[Juan]

— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011



2. Texas Longhorns (3.50)
 
A month of groceries, gas, cable/Internet and bar money or Texas-Notre Dame? These games ain't cheap.
Texas is another team with only three non-conference games, and ND is also one of them -- but UT has to face the Irish in South Bend. While lots of folks will roll their eyes at Rice, the Owls are 18-9 in the past two seasons with only Baylor having a better record during that span among FBS programs from Texas. The other game is against an explosive Cal team that has 17 starters back, led by rising star QB Jared Goff.