On Friday, the Texas Longhorns held a media day. It was the last opportunity for media to interact with the coaching staff and team before the week of the North Texas game. Even though the season opener is only three weeks away, Charlie Strong, the entire coaching staff and several players talked to reporters over the course of 2.5 hours.
Since his hire, much has been made about Strong’s focus on toughness. Strong’s belief in toughness extends well beyond the football field.
Practicing in the Austin heat, waking up at 5AM to play football and playing through sore muscles, scrapes and bruises are only a small part of the toughness that Strong is preaching to his team. Going to class every day and always making smart choices, that is Charlie Strong’s toughness. Having the self-motivation to make yourself a better person and player every single day – that is toughness in Strong’s world.
But make no mistake, toughness does find it’s way out to the practice fields too. At today’s media event Strong dropped a couple of gems that provide insight into how that mindset engulfs everything:
According to Strong, it’s much too early to talk about depth charts and individual performances. Today was the team’s first day in full pads and the full team hasn’t even practiced together for a week.
Nevertheless, there were some clues given about how some of the important storylines of the season are shaping up.
– At WR (where depth is razor thin), the coaches are focused on making sure all the wideouts know their routes and responsibilities on every play. All the receivers need to understand how to read the defense the same way the quarterback sees it, so that they run the correct route on any given play. Those skills must come before the coaches get concerned about who makes more plays after a catch.
– The coaches do not have a set timetable for naming a second string quarterback. Strong’s comment was, “At some point, they’ll separate themselves.”
– When asked about winning the conference, Strong did not back down at all. In acknowledging the possibility, he said, “To win the Big 12 we have to play good football in all 3 phases. We need to come together more.”
– Strong confirmed that suspended players are still practicing with the team, adding, “they’re working hard – just like everyone else.”
After the question and answer period with Strong concluded, reporters spent time with the offensive coaching staff followed by the defensive assistants.
— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011
— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011
After the coaching staff was done, Texas also made several of the team’s key players available. In addition to Jonathan Gray and Jordan Hicks confirming that their injuries are not limiting them in practice, Marcus Johnson was on-hand and told everyone how much the surgery to correct a deviated septum had helped him.
One of the days memorable quotes came from Hicks, who said, “We just saw a great Senior class graduate and not one of them was drafted. That’s scary. That’s motivating.”
David Ash was, of course, a popular interview. He also cut loose a few interesting insights:
— Twitter API (@twitterapi) November 7, 2011
Texas Fan Day is this Sunday, August 10. Following an open practice at DKR (9:30am), players and coaches will sign autographs at the Frank Erwin Center beginning at 1:30pm.
