Horns Aplenty
Plenty of offense. Plenty of defense. Plenty of depth. Plenty of desire. Why Texas will win the national championship.
(Page 3 of 3)
UT CAN COUNT ITSELF LUCKY that its biggest worry is the performance of a senior quarterback who could be the best player in the country. Mack Brown’s team will feature the most explosive offense in the Big XII, boasting more weapons than a Harris County gun show. Last year UT led the Big XII in points per game (39.2), and Simms will guide an offense that returns eight starters. Texas has the deepest corps of receivers in the country, featuring juniors Roy Williams and B.J. Johnson, who have both started twenty straight games. In 2001 Williams caught 67 passes, the second-best total in UT history, and he’s on track to break UT’s all-time record for receptions. He did all of that last year while playing with a nagging ankle injury, and he’s happy to show off the one-inch scar that was a result of a successful off-season surgery. He knows that he will be even better this time around. "I’m not saying I’m the best receiver in the country," he says. "I know there’s somebody out there who’s better than me, because that’s what my mom says." The ground game is just as strong, with heralded sophomore Cedric Benson returning at halfback and senior Matt Trissel at fullback. Benson started just seven games last year but rushed for 1,053 yards, a UT freshman record. Aside from injury, the only thing that stopped him was the Midland police department, which arrested the hometown hero in a friend’s apartment in late April and charged him with possession of marijuana that was found on the premises. The charge was later dropped as a result of insufficient evidence, and Benson passed a drug test to help clear his name. With a season of college ball under his belt (and some much-needed work on his pass blocking), he looks to be an even more dominating force in 2002 and could be the difference against great defensive teams like Oklahoma and Nebraska, when he should be getting 25 to 30 carries a game.
The other side of the ball is almost as strong. Last year the defense ranked number one in the country, and though it returns only five starters, it will be one of the best again. The defensive line includes one of the best ends in college football, senior Cory Redding, and he’s confident about leading the charge. "This year we’ll refuse to lose," says Redding. "We will keep the dream and keep the hunger, and we’ll make it." Despite the loss of cornerback Quentin Jammer, who was the fifth pick in this year’s NFL draft, the secondary is sharp, with junior Nathan Vasher switching from safety to corner to help fill that spot. Last year Vasher tied the UT record for the most interceptions in a season with seven.
Depth—an inexhaustible supply of talent to protect against injuries—is one of the most important aspects of the program, and it is the direct result of Brown’s passion and talent for recruiting. Unlike Mackovic, whose sometimes-frosty personality could turn off recruits, Brown bursts with enthusiasm.
Brown has been able to stockpile talent through relentless pursuit. He mails nine hundred handwritten notes to prospective players each year, and the recruits he wants the most grow accustomed to finding FedEx packages with letters of encouragement every Friday before their high school games. Even their parents can come to expect mail from the coach. And though he downplays the importance of his own role in recruiting (he tries to chalk it up to the work of his staff and, among other things, Texas and Austin being trendy places because of George W. Bush’s popularity), the search for new Longhorns is never far from his mind.
Just minutes after the magazine writer stepped out of Brown’s office, the coach reappeared in the doorway wearing a fresh change of clothes. He had traded his burnt-orange Nikes for leather loafers, his hair was perfect, and the smell of sweat was gone. He was already running a little late for a business lunch, but before he could get away, a staff member asked him to look at one of three possible covers for the new media guide. Each one featured Bevo, the stadium, and the Tower. The only difference was the image below the title: a football, a photo of the team coming out of the tunnel, and a close-up of the eyes of a player from an era long ago. Brown solicited opinions from his colleagues, but they preferred to let the head honcho go first. He then chose, hands down, the dullest of the three, the one with the football. Heads nodded in agreement, except for one staffer who was pulling for the team picture. It was "active," he said, and gave the fans what they really wanted to see. "But why does that go against everything we preach around here?" Brown asked, seemingly enjoying having so many eyes on him. He pointed out that one player was clearly the most prominent. "Because everything we do is about the team, not the individual. Now, we have to have something that’s going to catch the eye of our recruits. We have to know what’s going to appeal to eighteen-year-old kids. But if we use Chris, people are going to say, why isn’t it [backup quarterback Chance] Mock? If we don’t use Cedric, people will say, ’Well, they didn’t use Cedric because he got into some trouble over the summer, and they’re mad at him.’" More nods of approval, then the lightbulb went off in Brown’s head. "What we could do is put our two Heisman trophy winners [Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams] in the front, and that would solve the problem. Maybe we should do that." Universal nods of approval. "Okay, problem solved," Brown said as he slapped some of his colleagues on the back. "I’m off to lunch."
In the end, the problem wasn’t solved. Brown decided to let the team vote—and they chose the picture with the eyes. But it was a classic Brown moment: The CEO of Texas football is always selling the program, always considering his future recruits, and always thinking about the last detail that will one day put him over the top.
The Schedule
LAST YEAR, TALK ABOUT UT’S schedule centered on how easy it was. But could it have been too easy? In the Longhorns’ eleven wins last year, the team won by an average of 29.4 points a game. In its two losses, UT fell by 11 points to Oklahoma and 2 points to Colorado. Both games were decided in the final minutes, and when it came down to the big plays, the other team made them. This year the nonconference schedule has no tough opponents, but the talk about the conference schedule is that it’s too hard—Oklahoma in Dallas, as usual, and two top teams UT didn’t play last year, Nebraska and Kansas State, both on the road. Throw in Texas Tech on the road and archrival A&M, and that makes for a lot of hurdles just to get back to the Big XII title game. Yet playing tougher teams is just the thing this program needs to prepare itself for a title run. "I definitely think it makes us a better team to play a tougher schedule," says Simms. "It’s all about being battle-tested. You look at OU two years ago—when they got to the national championship game, they had already played four national championship caliber games. When they finally played for the title, it was just another game for them, and that’s the way they handled it."
It doesn’t hurt that UT’s most important opponents on the road don’t look as strong as usual. Kansas State suffered through a 6-6 season last year and returns only four starters on offense. And though no one in college football wants to play in Lincoln, Nebraska, the Cornhuskers have problems of their own. For one, the defense must prove that giving up 34 points in the first half against Miami in last year’s national championship game was an aberration. Second, the offense must get on track while returning only five starters. With Heisman trophy winner Eric Crouch gone, the leader of the offense will be a quarterback named Jammal Lord, a junior who has never started a game. And what of that vaunted magic in Lincoln, where the Huskers haven’t lost since October 31, 1998? Well, it doesn’t frighten Brown. He was the last coach to win there.
The Destiny
EVEN WITH ALL OF THE talent and the momentum built up over the past year, the Longhorns still need some luck to win the title. But if the success of the rest of the athletics department in 2002 is any indication, the football team may lead a charmed season. This year the men’s and women’s basketball teams both made it to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament. The men’s swimming and diving team won the national championship. The women’s golf team came in second in the country, and the men finished third. Then in June the men’s baseball team won its first national championship since 1983. This success sets the stage for the perfect story. UT has the coach, the talent, and the depth, and Brown’s squad now needs only to believe one thing: They are destined to win the national championship.
"What we’ve learned is that we’re now good enough to have national rankings," Brown says. "It’s hard when you’re not good enough, and you’re getting ranked anyway because of your traditions and your recruiting. We were plays away last year from going to the national championship. That’s where we want our program to be, and if you’re there enough, then you’ll win it."
My Library
