The first official college football poll of the 2009 season is out and the Longhorns are sitting at a great position debuting at number 2. They sit between the reigning champs #1 Florida Gators and the hated #3 Oklahoma Sooners in the top 5. This preseason spot puts a lot of expectations on the team but also leaves it where an undefeated season (even with a weak non-conference schedule) will guarantee the Horns a shot at the national championship.
Coaches’ preseason poll top 5
- Florida
- Texas
- Oklahoma
- USC
- Alabama
Posted August 7th, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Baseball, Basketball, Football
The Sporting News’ 50 greatest coaches of all-time released recently caused a lot of conversation on sports talk radio. They polled 118 ex-players, coaches, and other experts and pegged [tag]UCLA[/tag] great John Wooden as the all-time greatest coach.
Overall it’s a great list, but there’s definitely some names left off and some order problems (Don Shula number 5?) that have people talking. Austin American-Statesman writer Kirk Bohls thinks Texas legend Darrell Royal deserved to be on the list:
But Darrell K. Royal absolutely must be included.
Without question, he has become the most overlooked great coach in the history of the game. He won three national championships, and I don’t want to hear cracks about his UPI title before the Cotton Bowl loss to Notre Dame in January 1971 because he won it under the rules of the day. Think split national titles, LSU and USC.
“No question, Darrell should be on the list,” said former Texas A&M coach R.C. Slocum, one of Sporting News’ 118 voters. “It takes away from the credibility of the list. If Darrell Royal is not on there, it’d be a suspect list, and I’m on the panel.”
What do you think? Is Royal one of the greatest coaches of all time?
ESPN breaks down the schedules of the top Big 12 teams and calls the October matchup between the Sooners and Longhorns possibly the biggest game in college football history. Watch below:
College Football News has released their annual list of the players they think will contribute this season as redshirt freshmen. No Longhorns make the top of their list but offensive lineman [tag]Mark Buchanan[/tag] and defensive lineman [tag]Dravannti Johnson[/tag] both garnered an honorable mention nod. Texas fans are hoping that another redshirt freshman, tight end [tag]DJ Grant[/tag] has a breakout season and fills one of the Horns’ biggest offensive holes.
Check out CFN’s All-Americans…
ESPN’s college football analysts talk about [tag]Florida[/tag], Texas, [tag]Oklahoma[/tag], and USC competing for the 2009 BCS title:
Brian Orakpo has agreed to a deal with the Washington Redskins. Terms of the deal to come later.
Texas quarterback [tag]Colt McCoy[/tag] has done what many other college athletes with lucrative pro careers ahead of them and taken out a large insurance policy in case of career ending injury. From ESPN:
Brad McCoy, Colt’s father, said Sunday that Colt has a policy that would pay between $3 million and $5 million in the event of a career-ending injury. “The premium is astronomical,” said Brad McCoy. “But the payback in the event of a catastrophe puts the monetary value there. We felt it was the prudent thing to do.”
This type of policy typically covers an athlete if he suffers an injury, on or off the field, that prevents him from playing professional sports. They do not cover injuries that merely cause a player to go lower than originally predicted. If you’re interested in learning more about these policies check out this excellent New York Times article from 2007.
Mack Brown discusses football philosophy (with a bit of Nike SPARQ product placement thrown in):
(via)
Richard Justice is a University of Texas grad, but more recently he spends his days trying to write blogs for the Houston Chronicle that will tick people off. His latest, Aggies to Conference USA? Just do it, A&M! attempts to convince the forlorn fans of that team in College Station to go ahead and quit trying to even compete. They should leave the Big 12 and try Conference USA on for size.
This week Texas A&M was picked a very distant last place in the Big 12 South by the media. Yes, behind Baylor. Nearly 40 points behind Baylor. Sad.
Of course, this is the same genius who just two seasons ago tried to claim the Aggies had passed the Horns in football. So yeah, take anything Justice writes with a grain of salt and just enjoy some choice quotes…
Sometimes you’ve got to be slapped up in the head region four or five times before you get the message. Eventually the message gets through, but the process can be painful. I’m writing today in the hope of shortening the process for the good people at Texas A&M. I’m writing because I care.
One of my favorite things about Aggies is that they pretend they were once a respected football “power”…
The Aggies are resigned to finishing last in the Big 12 South, and that’s why I’m writing my annual plea for the Aggies to finally look in the mirror and see their football program for what it is instead of what they’d like it to be. I know, I know. The Aggies did such and such in 1912 and then they were really good in 1934 and wow you should have seen us in 1832.
They’ve got the facilities but not the coaches, and certainly not the players to compete in the Big 12 South…
One thing we probably can all agree on is that the Aggies can’t be a contender in football as long as they’re in the Big 12. They seem unlikely to ever pass Texas or Oklahoma in the standings. They’re probably not going to pass Texas Tech or Oklahoma State, and they’ve fallen far behind Baylor.
Moving to Conference USA won’t be an immediate panacea either, they’ll have to hope for some breaks to knock off might SMU…
In terms of winning football games, A&M isn’t beating UH or Rice anytime soon, and if June Jones is doing his usual magic, A&M isn’t going to be beating SMU. But A&M won’t finish last, either. A&M will be competitive, and eventually A&M could work itself into position to be one of the better teams in C-USA.
And now finally, the pièce de résistance…
Bring on Southern Miss!
Well done Richard, trolling at it’s finest. But at least the target was a fun one.
Texas Longhorns tight end Blaine Irby will miss the entire 2009 season.
The Texas training staff gave everyone some bad news yesterday when they announced that tight end [tag]Blaine Irby[/tag] would miss the entire 2009 season due to the devastating knee injury he suffered last season. According to his surgeon, Irby recovered from ligament damage well but his nerve damage was severe and has resulted in drop foot. The condition is serious and sometimes permanent.
Irby comments on his injury and rehab below:
“First and foremost, I want to thank all of my teammates, coaches and family because a big thing this injury has taught me is how much support we have here,” Irby said. “That support has helped in the rehab process and will continue to drive me to get back on the field.
“The injury has taught me a lot of things like patience. It was devastating at first, but I’ve come a long way. I realize this is an obstacle I have to overcome and it’s going to take time. I feel like I’ve made the best of the situation and am working to make sure something positive comes out of this.
“I’m disappointed that I’m going to miss the season, but that’s not going to stop me from having an impact on this team. I’m going to help the coaches in any way I can and work with the tight ends, whether it’s watching film, or just trying to be a resource for them. I’m really going to work with the young guys to try and get them ready to help the team.”
We wish Blaine the best in his continued rehab and recovery.
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