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**The Official Horn Sports Landscaper and Landscap
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http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/100423/as-losses-mount-texas-must-fix-mentality
Apologies if this was already posted somewhere
As losses mount, Texas must fix mentality
AUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong has an honest tendency when it comes to his postgame interview. He walks right up to the lectern and instantly begins to speak. No hesitation or pretense.
More on Texas After a 28-7 loss to Baylor on Saturday, he got right to the core of the Longhorns’ greatest weakness.
“We just have to learn how to win,†Strong said. “We don’t know how to win yet.â€
His comments encourage a difficult question: Why doesn’t Texas expect to win?
The seniors on this team signed with Texas to win championships. They came from winning high school programs, and they came because of the lofty expectations. They knew the standard is winning and winning big.
For a variety of reasons, Texas has not done that in the past five years. This senior class has already endured 17 losses since 2011. The few remaining fifth-year seniors, veterans who witnessed the debacle of the 2010 season, are one loss away from a .500 record (19-19) in Big 12 games. They've had no 10-win seasons, no big-time bowl games, no trophies of real importance.
“Of course none of us anticipated losing this much,†senior defensive back Mykkele Thompsonsaid.
The leaders of Strong’s first Texas team were signed to fuel the rebuild program Mack Brown began in 2011. This group, raised under fire and turmoil, has been asked to dig deep over and over again.
They’ve yet to run out of optimism. Fifth-year linebacker Jordan Hicks repeated Monday what his teammates have been saying for years: “I know we have a good team. We have a really good team. We just have to put it together.†But three losses in Texas’ first five games have brought clarity about Strong’s undertaking: He was brought in to rebuild the rebuild.
Strong will continue to trim branches off this troubled tree, but at some point, he must wonder about its roots. How did these Longhorns forget how to win?
Strong and his coaches can attack that question from so many different angles.
There is the talent aspect. Texas isn’t winning like it used to because it hasn’t had a championship-level quarterback play in five years. Strong has a nationally elite defense and not much else at the moment. A roster with more than 50 former four- and five-star recruits still has depth needs in recruiting at nearly every position.
Then there’s the mental aspect. Strong’s much-hyped crusade on discipline is really only one brick in the wall that stands in Texas’ way to a return to dominance. Hicks has spotted a fundamental flaw on the field: Some players seem like they’re just waiting for something to go wrong.
“They wait for it,†Hicks said, “instead of going with the mindset of, ‘We’re going to completely demolish this team.’â€
At some point during those 17 losses, you stop believing you’re going to destroy your foe. Resignation, even in its smallest doses, can come with those scars.
“You can get kind of numb to it, over time,†fifth-year senior receiver John Harris said. “I’m not saying you want to get used to losing. I’m not saying that we have got used to losing, because that’s definitely not where we’re going. But we want to change it.â€
That’s not just confidence or “swagger.†That’s about work, too. After a loss to BYU, for example, Strong shouldn’t have had to urge players to spend more time in the film room. They should’ve been embarrassed enough to do so without being asked. Strong needs players with the day-by-day mentality, seeping into everything they do, that Texas demands excellence.
Senior cornerback Quandre Diggs speaks with sentimentality about players needing to have “that dog in ‘em.†He doesn’t see enough of them in his locker room.
“I expect to go out and win,†Diggs said, “but I don’t think we’ve got all the guys expecting to go out and win. I know some guys are young, but that’s no excuse.â€
Diggs’ dogma hits on a real concern, and his past frustration about Texas’ entitlement culture plays into it: Where’s the sense of pride? Where’d the deep hatred for losing?
“It upsets me. You’re out here playing a man’s game,†Diggs said. “If you’re a man, you’re going to go out and try to beat the other man. That’s really what it is. I have too much pride to let guys score touchdowns all over me. That’s totally out of my character. I want guys to have that mentality -- it’s one-on-one and this guy’s not going to beat me -- because that’s your livelihood.â€
This is a problem Strong must diagnose and conquer. The head coach, at least publicly, focuses on the functional. When Texas loses, he looks for the tiny details and mistakes that were costly. It’s all about what we do to them, he’ll say, not what they do to us.
Attention to detail and a finer appreciation for consistency. Those are his building blocks, just like at Louisville, for regaining Texas’ winning culture.
This isn’t simply a roster-building job for Strong. The Longhorns were in need of a mental remodel. A win over No. 11 Oklahoma might be just what Texas needs to jump-start this process.
This is a long-haul issue for Strong’s success, but his veteran players want change now.
“I can’t accept that. I don’t think anybody on this team is used to or is OK with losing,†Hicks said. “We’ve got to bounce back. There’s got to be a turning point in our season. There has to be. We’re running out of time. What better opportunity than OU weekend? There’s no better opportunity than this weekend.â€
Apologies if this was already posted somewhere
As losses mount, Texas must fix mentality
AUSTIN, Texas -- Charlie Strong has an honest tendency when it comes to his postgame interview. He walks right up to the lectern and instantly begins to speak. No hesitation or pretense.
More on Texas After a 28-7 loss to Baylor on Saturday, he got right to the core of the Longhorns’ greatest weakness.
“We just have to learn how to win,†Strong said. “We don’t know how to win yet.â€
His comments encourage a difficult question: Why doesn’t Texas expect to win?
The seniors on this team signed with Texas to win championships. They came from winning high school programs, and they came because of the lofty expectations. They knew the standard is winning and winning big.
For a variety of reasons, Texas has not done that in the past five years. This senior class has already endured 17 losses since 2011. The few remaining fifth-year seniors, veterans who witnessed the debacle of the 2010 season, are one loss away from a .500 record (19-19) in Big 12 games. They've had no 10-win seasons, no big-time bowl games, no trophies of real importance.
“Of course none of us anticipated losing this much,†senior defensive back Mykkele Thompsonsaid.
The leaders of Strong’s first Texas team were signed to fuel the rebuild program Mack Brown began in 2011. This group, raised under fire and turmoil, has been asked to dig deep over and over again.
They’ve yet to run out of optimism. Fifth-year linebacker Jordan Hicks repeated Monday what his teammates have been saying for years: “I know we have a good team. We have a really good team. We just have to put it together.†But three losses in Texas’ first five games have brought clarity about Strong’s undertaking: He was brought in to rebuild the rebuild.
Strong will continue to trim branches off this troubled tree, but at some point, he must wonder about its roots. How did these Longhorns forget how to win?
Strong and his coaches can attack that question from so many different angles.
There is the talent aspect. Texas isn’t winning like it used to because it hasn’t had a championship-level quarterback play in five years. Strong has a nationally elite defense and not much else at the moment. A roster with more than 50 former four- and five-star recruits still has depth needs in recruiting at nearly every position.
Then there’s the mental aspect. Strong’s much-hyped crusade on discipline is really only one brick in the wall that stands in Texas’ way to a return to dominance. Hicks has spotted a fundamental flaw on the field: Some players seem like they’re just waiting for something to go wrong.
“They wait for it,†Hicks said, “instead of going with the mindset of, ‘We’re going to completely demolish this team.’â€
At some point during those 17 losses, you stop believing you’re going to destroy your foe. Resignation, even in its smallest doses, can come with those scars.
“You can get kind of numb to it, over time,†fifth-year senior receiver John Harris said. “I’m not saying you want to get used to losing. I’m not saying that we have got used to losing, because that’s definitely not where we’re going. But we want to change it.â€
That’s not just confidence or “swagger.†That’s about work, too. After a loss to BYU, for example, Strong shouldn’t have had to urge players to spend more time in the film room. They should’ve been embarrassed enough to do so without being asked. Strong needs players with the day-by-day mentality, seeping into everything they do, that Texas demands excellence.
Senior cornerback Quandre Diggs speaks with sentimentality about players needing to have “that dog in ‘em.†He doesn’t see enough of them in his locker room.
“I expect to go out and win,†Diggs said, “but I don’t think we’ve got all the guys expecting to go out and win. I know some guys are young, but that’s no excuse.â€
Diggs’ dogma hits on a real concern, and his past frustration about Texas’ entitlement culture plays into it: Where’s the sense of pride? Where’d the deep hatred for losing?
“It upsets me. You’re out here playing a man’s game,†Diggs said. “If you’re a man, you’re going to go out and try to beat the other man. That’s really what it is. I have too much pride to let guys score touchdowns all over me. That’s totally out of my character. I want guys to have that mentality -- it’s one-on-one and this guy’s not going to beat me -- because that’s your livelihood.â€
This is a problem Strong must diagnose and conquer. The head coach, at least publicly, focuses on the functional. When Texas loses, he looks for the tiny details and mistakes that were costly. It’s all about what we do to them, he’ll say, not what they do to us.
Attention to detail and a finer appreciation for consistency. Those are his building blocks, just like at Louisville, for regaining Texas’ winning culture.
This isn’t simply a roster-building job for Strong. The Longhorns were in need of a mental remodel. A win over No. 11 Oklahoma might be just what Texas needs to jump-start this process.
This is a long-haul issue for Strong’s success, but his veteran players want change now.
“I can’t accept that. I don’t think anybody on this team is used to or is OK with losing,†Hicks said. “We’ve got to bounce back. There’s got to be a turning point in our season. There has to be. We’re running out of time. What better opportunity than OU weekend? There’s no better opportunity than this weekend.â€
