On Wednesday evening, Texas Head Coach Charlie Strong met with the media. The press conference was scheduled for 6:30pm and when 7:15 rolled around, reporters and TV crews were getting restless.
— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011
When Coach Strong arrived, he seemed totally relaxed compared to the coach that was the premiere attraction at Big 12 media days. Less than a month ago in Dallas, Coach Strong had to entertain folks and be part of the media circus. On Wednesday, he entered the conference room in Moncrief-Neuhaus athletic center and was in-charge, confident and at ease.
And why wouldn’t he be? He was there to talk about football. More accurately, he was there to talk about his guys.
While answering questions, Strong talked about the decision for coaches to move into Jester dormitory with the players, “Anytime you want to build a team you have to build togetherness. It’s about teamwork and working together and just getting guys together where they can find out who one another really is, because we don’t really get that opportunity. A lot of older guys don’t get a chance to know who the freshmen are, and now the freshmen can feel comfortable where they can walk into an upperclassman’s room and feel good about it.”
There you have it Texas fans – that is your football coach.
Strong can don a suit and put on a show for the cameras like he did at media days. But that’s not him….the football coach that walked in from practice with a spark in his eye and spoke about his team’s unity…that is Charlie Strong.
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Jaxon Shipley tweaked his hamstring at the very first practice of Fall camp. On Wednesday, Texas released a statement confirming Shipley’s pulled hamstring and said that there is no official timetable for his return.
After dismissing receivers Kendall Sanders and Montrell Meander from the team, the depth at wideout was already meager. Add Shipley’s absence and suddenly Texas is without three of it’s top four receivers. The injury and suspensions have accelerated August 30 (when Texas plays their first game) from “weeks away” to “just around the corner”.
But here’s the catch – Texas should beat UNT in their opening game with or without Jaxon Shipley. Two and a half weeks of practice plus the easiest game the Horns play in the first half of the season gives Shipley and the coaches plenty of time to let the hamstring heal completely. Hamstring injuries are notoriously nagging if they aren’t allowed time to heal properly and that is precisely what the Horns should prescribe, time.
There is another unanticipated benefit to Shipley’s absence – the younger receivers get more repetitions with the first team. An increase in playing time equates to wide receivers coach Les Koenning getting an extensive look at the true freshmen and younger receivers.
Jacorey Warrick was already slated for an increased role. Now he gets practice reps with the first team.
Freshmen like Lorenzo Joe and Armanti Foreman go from an experiment straight to a contributor. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.
Strong talked about the freshmen, “They’re doing a good job but it’s still a process where we’ve got a lot of practice time left. I think by the time we get to game one I know that we’ll have enough practices where I feel comfortable enough where they should be able to pick up our system.”
On the depth at wideout, he added, “With Shipley being out, you look at the freshmen, they are in rotation as well. [Jacorey] Warrick is getting a lot of work and [John] Harris is getting a lot of work. Now we get Marcus back and get him back in the swing of things.”
My Google Translator tells me that what he’s really saying is that Shipley’s injury could not have come at a better time and that it may be a blessing in disguise.
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Coach Strong also talked about his offensive liineman and the need to build depth along the front, saying that, “our whole offensive line is doing a really good job.” He specifically mentioned Kent Perkins and Jake Raulerson as two early standouts in camp.
“[Kent] Perkins is so strong, I think in the weight room he’s the strongest person we have. He’s such a big body inside and he can engulf you. If a guy tries to run inside, he can latch on. If he ever latches on, the defensive linemen don’t have a chance.” On Raulerson, Strong added, “Jake is so versatile where he can play center, he can play any position, center, guard, tackle, so he’s doing a really good job.”
Much has been said about Strong’s addition of Joe Wickline to the coaching staff. Wickline earned a reputation, while coaching the offensive line at Oklahoma State, as one of the top teachers in all of college football.
While Wickline is already a fan favorite, Strong hinted at a potential fan frustration while talking about the OL. Not only did Strong praise several player’s versatility, he went so far as saying that the style of offense that Texas plays will change based on their opponent. According to Strong, that result will be that the offensive style dictates which guys play in each position along the offensive line.
The potential for frustration stems from fans liking things to be packaged neatly. A prime example is fans’ focus on which players are starters for their team. Based on what Coach Strong said on Wednesday evening those fans might be highly confused.
At this point, it’s likely that Texas has as many as eight different players start games on the OL. Not an 8-player rotation, mind you – eight players that could be called on to trot out with the first team offense.
