40 Acres Sports

Mack was on the Dan Patrick show Monday and said that he feels that since Vince came in second after the 2005 Heisman Trophy vote, he should get it now.  Quoth Mack:  “I think you have to go back and really give that choice to the Heisman Trust. If they take it away, I think Vince should be awarded the trophy.  Vince was second in the voting, so even if they re-voted I would like to see Vince get it.”

The Heisman Trust would have to re-vote then.  They haven’t even taken it away from Reggie Bush yet – SC’s new AD just shipped the school’s statue back to New York.  So of course all of this is hypothetical.  It’s also really unnecessary.  If you think about it, they vote and award the trophy before the BCS bowls in the first place.  The Trust has never wavered from doing that, so awarding a trophy on a re-vote after the player’s greatest moment came in a bowl game – even five years later – is opening them up for some criticism down the road.

I guess that having another Heisman on display could help with recruiting and adds to Vince’s list of accolades collected as a player, but to me, I want the program to be concentrating on what’s in front of them.  This to me sounds like something a school stuck in the past would do.  Vince already got the most important trophy available – after beating Reggie and ESPN’s “greatest team of all time” in their backyard.  Besides, Vince is not a college kid anymore.  He needs to concentrate on leading his NFL team and not another trip back to Austin to get honored.  His legacy is putting an entire program back on top of the world five years ago.

I also don’t want any asterisks associated with the greatness that was the Longhorn’s 2005 BCS Championship run.  That lame 2008 Big 12 title asterisk on the wall at Moncrief-Neuhaus was embarrassing.  If Mack wants a Heisman to show off, let’s see if one of our current guys can pick one up after an awesome season.

I hope that we are all happy as we start heading into the new season with a brand new quarterback and new expectations. The past five years have been an incredible run for the Longhorn football team with more wins in the programs history than at any other time in our 127 year history.

Let’s all take a moment to reflect back when this run all started in the mountains of California. (love the personal videos!)

“The Kick” coupled with the maturation of one of the greatest Longhorn players, Vince Young, brought us the momentum we needed to achieve greatness. This greatness was realized the very next year with a 13-0 record and a BCS National Championship when the Horns beat the glitzy boys from Southern Cal 41-38. The ultimate responsibility of following up such a legend was laid upon the shoulders of a young face quarterback from Tuscola Texas. That young player named Colt McCoy had the support of an energized and confident coach in Mack Brown to continue that success for the next four years. Those four years culminated in three bowl wins including a Big XII championship.

This historic kick put the Longhorns once again on the brink of success in the BCS National Championship game until the story book run came to an end. Colt McCoy none the less provided more wins than any Longhorn or college quarterback has ever delivered with 45 wins.

Why do I recap these moments that everyone clearly has experienced themselves? The reason is the fear that we will forget the past and not appreciate the run as we start the 2010 season. This year’s team is loaded with standout defensive players all led by Coach Blood. Our offense has a few question marks, but blue chips can be found including the quarterback who grew up quickly before our eyes against Alabama. I know that we have questions at running back and we are changing our offense scheme to be a more running team, but we should win every game, right?!

I feel good about going into this year but not with the type of success that we have seen around here over the past five years. Garrett Gilbert is the real deal, but I see growing pains along with our offensive line struggling with him. I still see us reaching 10 wins, but I see that 10th win coming at Jerry World (aka the Cotton Bowl) after we finish the regular season 9-3. Who will we lose to… be sure to check out all of our predictions at 40 Acres Sports throughout the season before every game. I hope that I am wrong, but I do not see Dusty Mangum or Hunter Lawrence on our team so I will just appreciate the season before us.

Thanks for following my WTH articles throughout the season. I appreciate the opportunity to rant about the greatest University sports program in the country. You can continue to follow comments on all of UT sports on twitter at 40AcresSports or follow me at Horns1991. HOOK EM!!

Mack Brown will crush you at Jenga, Hungry Hungry Hippos, Connect 4, and more.

Another year, another great ESPN College Gameday commercial with Mack Brown being hilarious. Almost all ESPN and Gameday commercials are great and have quoteable lines, in this one it’s “Jenga, Texas style baby!” from Mack. Last year’s “We don’t freestyle Texas Fight” was even better. Alabama coach Nick Saban isn’t quite as comfortable as Brown but he does deliver a good line and it’s good to see him trying to have a little fun.

Watch the video…

Defensive tackle Derek Johnson is a big dude. Can he play as good as he looks? (Image: MBTF)

After nearly two whole months without Texas football, Friday was finally the first day of Spring practice. No tidbits yet (practices are closed to the public) but the official site does have a short video to watch and a nice photo gallery as well.

Nobody recruits like Mack Brown. He hits early and hard. Only a couple of weeks after inking a top 2010 class, Mack and his coaching staff are 13 recruits into a strong 2011 class. ESPNU recruiting experts discuss Texas’ quick start…

Probably my favorite press conference every year, Texas head coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] is finally able to talk about the incoming recruits and sits down and goes over film of each one of them. Great to hear him talk about the entire incoming class and about the strengths of each player. Definitely worth your time to watch the entire thing:

Texas head coach Mack Brown talks to ESPNU about the incredible haul of recruits he brought in today and about Garrett Gilbert replacing Colt McCoy. Watch…

Well it’s official. Maybe. Texas coach [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] has finally released an official statement. From the Dallas Morning News…

Muschamp clarified his intentions Wednesday night.

“I’m happy at Texas and plan to be here for a long time,” Muschamp said through a Texas football spokesman.

He added that he has not interviewed for any other jobs nor does he have intention to do so.

While Muschamp did not address any specific rumors or schools, his name has surfaced most recently at Tennessee after Lane Kiffin was hired at Southern California.

Previous Muschamp to Tennessee updates

• From this morning… Tennessee offers head coaching position to Will Muschamp?
• Say what now? Muschamp flies to Knoxville, meets with Tennessee

Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will follow Mack Brown as next Texas head coach. Right?

It’s been a wild day.

This morning everyone’s sources within UT were 100% confident that Texas defensive coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] wasn’t going anywhere. That was the story for most of the day. Orangebloods, Inside Texas, and the Statesman all spoke to multiple sources in the am and there appeared to be no issue, no smoke, and no chance the Horns would lose their big name coordinator.

But the official confirmation never came.

As the day wore on it became more and more troubling that the University had not made an announcement about Muschamp. Nothing official was coming out of Belmont. And coaches of high school recruits were reporting they hadn’t heard any status updates either. What in the world was going on?

Will Muschamp had flown to Knoxville at 5:45 am to meet with Tennessee. Say what?

From about 4 pm until 7 pm that’s all we heard. Everything from the morning seemed false. Not only was this a big name school who was interested in him, but Muschamp had actually already met with them in person. And no one’s sources had said anything about it. Three hours with no new news. That’s not good.

Finally around 7 pm IT editor Ross Lucksinger tweets that, yes, Muschamp did meet with the little UT this morning but two sources have told him that Coach Boom turned down their $3 million offer and is staying at Texas. A Knoxville radio station reports the same and that the Vols are moving on in their coaching search.

And finally, the saga comes full circle and all the news is once again that Muschamp is saying and more importantly the Texas staff is calling up recruits to tell them. Orangebloods and Inside Texas are now both reporting that recruits are starting to hear from the staff that Coach Muschamp isn’t going anywhere. Whew.

That’s all we know. And I’m not even sure how much we know is true. If/when Texas finally makes an official we’ll keep you in the loop.

Update: According to Muschamp himself, reports of him interviewing with Tennessee or any other team are false. He’s happy at Texas. (10:44 pm)

• From this morning… Tennessee offers head coaching position to Will Muschamp?
• Final word? Will Muschamp says he’s staying at Texas

Will Texas coach Will Muschamp be wearing the wrong orange for the wrong UT next year?

Update: Will Muschamp says he didn’t interview with anyone and he’s happy at Texas. More info. (10:31 pm)

Wow. The college football coaching dominoes fall fast.

Saturday word broke that the Seattle Seahawks would hire USC’s Pete Carroll as their new head coach. Yesterday evening, instead of hiring Jeff Fisher or Jack Del Rio the Trojans bring in the obnoxious controversial Lane Kiffin after only one year at Tennessee. That started “riots” in Knoxville.

Are riots in Austin next?

According to Volquest.com, Texas defensive coordinator [tag]Will Muschamp[/tag] is at the top of Tennessee’s wishlist and they have reportedly already offered him the position. Muschamp is one of the two highest paid coordinators in the country and has been named Texas’ head coach-in-waiting, but head coach [tag]Mack Brown[/tag] just signed another contract extension and looks like he could be at Texas for several more seasons. Muschamp also does not have a buyout in his contract, meaning it would cost Tennessee nothing beyond his salary to get him out of Austin.

Muschamp has repeatedly stated that how much he loves Texas and loves Austin and that he intends to stay the defensive coordinator for the Longhorns until it’s his turn. But things change. Is the opportunity to be the head coach of an SEC power too good to pass up?

Both Geoff Ketchum of Orangebloods.com and the Statesman’s Suzanne Halliburton have reported last night and this morning that every source at Texas they talk to says Muschamp is saying. The one person no one has talked to is Muschamp himself.

I don’t expect the Muschamp rumors to last past today, this thing is going to go down fast. Either the school will make an announcement he’s staying (and probably a raise) or we’ll find out he’s gone. We’ll have more news when we hear it.

Update: InsideTexas.com now also reporting more sources saying Muschamp will turn down the Vols. (10:54 am)

Update: News has taken a turn for the worse. Seems once confident sources are now unsure what is going to happen. (4:40 pm)

Update: Will Muschamp flew to Knoxville this morning to meet with Tennessee. He reportedly turns down a $3 mil offer. More info. (8:30 pm)

Update: Finally. Will Muschamp says he’s happy and he’s staying at Texas. (10:31 pm)