Charlie Strong met the media following the Longhorns’ 50-43 loss to the Golden Bears on Saturday.
Of course, one of the first questions presented to Strong was how he felt about staff changes. In his reply, Strong stated, “We have two weeks to look at it. I can and will be more involved. We are all accountable.” When asked about what his current role is, Strong mentioned that he “is involved in all of the meetings” but then lets the coaches do their own work. Among several others, Strong mentioned Breckyn Hager and Malcolm Roach as “the most confident players on the team.” That makes the defensive decision to not play either until halfway through the second quarter more puzzling. Texas had two sacks this game, one coming from both Hager and Roach each. Speaking of sacks, here’s an interesting statistic for you. Texas leads the Big 12 in sacks with 11. More surprisingly, Texas is ranked 10th in the nation in sacks. However, everything is not about sacks. A telling statistic is always the number of quarterback hurries throughout a game. Against the Texas defense, Cal QB Davis Webb was not pressured often, which Strong did not hesitate to mention. “We have to make the QB uncomfortable and quick with his feet. He can’t have all day to throw.”The most interesting thing I garnished from Strong’s availability was what he said about the team’s demeanor. He mentioned that due to a long flight, he did not make the team wear a coat and tie. He admitted that this was a mistake, and that the team was still “riding a wave” from their 2-0 start. “I don’t care if we travel 800 miles, they will be wearing their coat and tie from now on.” Ultimately, Charlie Strong knew coming into this season that his job is on the line. He is nowhere near being safe yet, as this season has a long ways to go. The most important thing, however, is that Strong still seems to be confident. He knows he has a good team, and he reiterated time and time again that he will do whatever is necessary to fix the team’s woes. “I have a different team right now. A team that is much more mature and that has been through tough losses.”
After Strong met with the media, several players were made available.
First, Paul Boyette came to the podium. When asked if Vance Bedford deserved the blame for the defense’s performance on Saturday, Boyette was quick to counter. “Coach Bedford isn’t a player anymore. It’s about the kids that go perform.” Boyette said the tone in the defensive room was that they “underachieved” and reiterated that Saturday’s performance level “won’t happen again.” Boyette said that the team was “definitely overconfident” and that it’s up to the leaders on the team to keep everyone humble. Lastly, Boyette seemed surprised that the defense performed so poorly. He mentioned that the whole week of practice, the defense was “on point” and that their preperation for Cal was “fantastic.” Texas currently ranks 109th nationally in points allowed per game.
Next, Tyrone Swoopes met with the media. There really is not much to say here, as Swoopes is a man of few words. One thing that Tyrone mentioned, like every other player, was that the game came down to execution. When asked about what happened to the offense in the second half, Swoopes said, “Other than penalties, I couldn’t tell you what else happened. I have not watched the game yet.” The only other interesting thing Swoopes said was that playing with two QB’s is “not as hard as it seems.” Tyrone had high praise for Shane Buechele, and said he was not surprised that his play in fall camp carried over to the season.
After Swoopes, Tim Cole was up to the podium. Cole has a passionate demeanor about him. That was obvious when a journalist asked Cole if he was “scared” that Charlie Strong would get more involved on defense. Cole’s response? “He’s a defensive coach, and is already involved. Why would that be scary?” Tim was not amused. In terms of defense, Cole said that this is not the standard fans will see this year. “We won’t let this game be the face of our defense. We had one bad game and will correct it.”
Lastly, Dylan Haines met with the media. Not much was asked other than what happened on the controversial fumble that ended Texas’ chances, where Cal RB Vic Enwere fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line on what seemed to be the dagger in Texas’ heart. “I saw that he dropped the ball close to the goal line. I did the exact same thing once in high school.” Haines mentioned that after he picked the ball up, he started to run when the ref “told [me] to give him the ball. I wish I would have kept running.” Lastly, Haines reiterated the same word as all other players. Execution. “It’s really that simple.”
Charlie Strong knew coming into the season that his job was on the line. Now starting the season 2-1, there is a lot of football left that can determine his fate. Strong knows that the defense is an issue. What will he do to fix those issues? The Longhorns biggest game of the year is arguably in two weeks, when the Longhorns travel to Stillwater to take on the Oklahoma State Cowboys. Will the Longhorns rise from the ashes of defeat? Or will they be swept away? We will see on October 1st.
Extra: Davis Webb said post game that Vance Bedford mentioned that if Webb were still in the Big 12, he would be “a top 4 quarterback.” That lit a fire under Webb, where he screenshotted Bedford’a quote as extra motivation. Webb certainly looked better than a top 4 Big 12 QB on Saturday, primarily due to the poor play of Bedford’s defensive unit.
