Posted January 23rd, 2014 by Ross
Filed under: Football

Now that Coach Charlie Strong has his staff put together. What changes will Coach Strong implement on the 40 acres? I wonder if the first meeting with his team went something like this:

Coach Strong has shown that he wants to change the culture of this football team. I would like to offer up a few changes for the program. I believe the culture has definitely changed simply by the way that AD Steve Patterson went about hiring his first football coach. Here are my thoughts:

Practice

Please get rid of those ugly practice jerseys. This was a lame attempt to give the players some sort of boost with an alternative jersey. Because the practices are on LHN, sew a sponsor patch above the chest on the jersey to help raise even more funds. Paying players soon will be a reality. The University needs to leverage itself in order to bring in more money.

Let all the coaches influence all the kids. The former staff was only allowed to coach their own position players. All the players need to know that everyone including all the coaches are pulling in one direction to achieve the team’s goals. Coach Strong said the goals are simple: Graduate, Championships and Manhood in that order.

Game Day

It is time to surprise the players with alternative uniforms for special games. This past year the coaching staff was going to honor the ’63 championship team by wearing the player’s number on the helmet for a game. The captains of the team were desperate to have something new so they voted to leave it on all year. The players want something different and incoming high school recruits are considering uniforms when they look at all of their scholarship offers. I know the old guard will hate this, but the fans are not playing one down on the field. Here are the best and worst offerings because change for the sake of change with regards to uniforms will not due. Give the players something that they can be proud to show off to the fans and their families.

Please change the festivities of Senior Day. Watching the head coach congratulate the players on the Godzillatron as they maneuver around the masses to find their family in the end zone is frustrating. Have the kids run to mid field in front of the entire fan base and meet them at the 50 yard line. The parents can be standing along the sidelines for everyone to see. High schools do a better job than the University to honor those that have stayed all four years. Make the event special in order for players to have one more thing to consider before leaving early for the draft.

Communication

Do not be that coach that says I need to look at the game film in order to answer the media’s questions. Use that time to answer the question bluntly so that the team sees you as a no-nonsense leader. Do not give the microphone to the assistant coaches as a CEO would and lose the opportunity to make a point. You are the face of the program and use this time to send a message and challenge your players.

We all know that the big money donors are important to a football program. You do not have to be a politician with all the old big money donors because you can never satisfy all of them. Shake their hands for a photo and give them a signed football to give to their kids. You do not need to hire one of them to be your lawyer. We all know that if the coaches are obligated to the kids and the players are focused on playing for their teammates and their coaching staff then the University and the big time donors will see the results they want on the field.

I am not advocating getting rid of all the traditions of the past. The University of Texas has a tremendous legacy that every coach, player and fan needs to respect and protect. But changes are sweeping across every college football program and we do not need to be left behind. A culture of toughness has already been set forth by Coach Strong. Let’s give the coach and his staff the support they need amid all of these changes and enjoy the journey.

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Posted November 9th, 2012 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas game against the Texas Tech Red Raiders.

Mike Davis was big with the big plays again versus Texas Tech.

Mike Davis was big with the big plays again versus the Texas Tech Red Raiders. (AP photo)

1st Quarter (15:00) WTH Lonestar?! The largest crowd ever (60,879) came out to see the new Under Armor uniform which was a shout out to the Lonestar State. It might be a little early to claim the state title with that type of uniform while only beating Texas State and TCU. Maybe the Red Raiders want to replace the Aggies on the State Farm Lonestar Showdown.

2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Zoro?! It looks like Zoro is going to have to find a new horse. The Masked Rider’s horse Midnight Matador was retired before the start of the 2nd quarter. Ten years as the mascot for the Red Raiders is a pretty good run. Enjoy your time as a stud!

2nd Quarter (13:46) WTH Six Shooter?! Magic Mike Davis may need some etiquette lessons on drawing your weapons. David Ash connected with Davis for a 75 yard bomb to take control of the game. Yosemite Sam may need to give Mike a gun safety course. Hey wait, if you cannot draw your guns, can opposing teams still do the Horns down?

2nd Quarter (5:03) WTH Dagnabbit?! Coach Tommy Tuberville and Coach Duane Akina had a fit with the officials when a phantom late hit call was not enforced. Akina and Tubbs both looked like they were going to have an aneurysm on the sidelines. Tubbs gets extra points for throwing down his plastic play card sheet twice.

2nd Quarter (1:14) WTH Ice Ice Baby?! The Horns did a great job of confusing the Red Raiders on defense. It spilled over on to their head coach. Dummerville decide to use a precious commodity by calling a timeout to ice Anthony Fera who ended up making the 42 yard kick.

4th Quarter (13:37) WTH Vortech?! The Vortech is a Texas Tech creation that simulates a tornado. The tornado that got away was Johnathan Gray whose Dad once wore the black and red. Gray started the fourth quarter with an impressive set of first down runs to finish with his second straight 100 yard game.

4th Quarter (5:14) WTH Hands?! Carrington Byndom had a tremendous day using his hands by swatting a crucial 2pt try by the Raiders and knocking down a field goal attempt that would have made it a one possession game. Great game turned in by the defense.

4th Quarter (:28) WTH Bear Hug?! Coach Brown saved his biggest hug for AD DeLoss Dodds who had just seen a tremendous effort and fight by the Longhorns to record its fourth straight win over the Raiders.

Next up for the Longhorns is a home date with the Cyclones in Austin on November 10th.

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!!

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Posted September 5th, 2012 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football, Golf

WTH?! (What the Heck?) moments are attempts to find the memorable and the off-beat perspective on Longhorns sports. Here are some interesting moments from the Texas’ game against the Cowboys.

DJ Monroe touchdown vs Wyoming

DJ Monroe showed speed AND strength on his TD run against Wyoming. (AP Photo)

Pre-Game (15:00) WTH WHY-O?! Not exactly a uniform statement like Oregon. The Cowboys had the letters WYO on the front of the jerseys. Way to step out on the cool side. While on the subject of uniforms I hate the Longhorns practice jerseys. Never replace the Storm Trooper White uniforms when we go on the road.

1st Quarter (4:02) WTH LHN?! The LHN camera crew had a rough night. The Godzillatron went pink, then fuzzy, then out for a few minutes. The camera crew kept missing highlights of the plays for the video board. The LHN group must have been partying the night before after AT&T U-Verse decided to pony up for the network.

2nd Quarter (15:00) WTH Putters?! It was great to recognize the UT Golf Team for their accomplishment of winning a National Title. Glad we can beat Alabama at something.

2nd Quarter (9:40) WTH Vaccaro?! Kenny Vaccaro was all over the place, and he picked off his first of many footballs this season when he jumped the route to get the momentum back for the Horns.

2nd Quarter (4:48) WTH Statue?! The play that keeps OU fans up at night. Nice execution by David Ash to Malcolm Brown. It was great to see Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown each post 100 yard games.

2nd Quarter (3:44) WTH Tightrope?! It was nice to see the Wild Formation which Bergeron gave the ball to a streaking DJ Monroe for a touchdown. Are we going to call it the Wild Joe?

4th Quarter (14:50) WTH Ash?! The only turnover of the game put a little scare into most of the 101,142 fans in attendance. David Ash did have a solid game 20-27 for 156. If only one of his long distance connections to Mike Davis would have made the state line look a lot better

4th Quarter (4:28) WTH Jordan?! We are going to have a lot of sleepless nights if the field goal kicking does not get better. Nick Rose can definitely handle the kickoff duties, but so far Nick Jordan leaves something to be desired when trying to split the up rights. Misses of 46 and 44 plus a botched extra point is not the legacy of kicking on the 40 acres.

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!!

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Posted February 9th, 2010 by Ross
Filed under: Feature, Football

Should Texas retire Colt McCoy's #12 jersey?

Should Texas retire Colt McCoy's #12 jersey?

As we approach the Davey O’Brien award ceremony on February 15th in Fort Worth, let us think about the legacy that was handed down to Colt McCoy.

Legacy is defined as what is handed down from the past. The legacy and legend that is Vince Young will forever be the heaviest burden that any first year quarterback could have ever faced. Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and National Championship are awards that will forever seal VY’s legacy for all Texas fans. What you do with that legacy in this case is what is truly remarkable. Colt McCoy added another record by becoming the winningest quarterback in history with 45 wins.

Here is a list of accomplishments Colt put up in just his senior year:

(more …)

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Posted November 26th, 2009 by Brian
Filed under: Football

Check out the video about the technology of Texas’ new Nike Pro Combat unis they’ll be wearing tonight against Texas A&M and all next year. Tonight they’ll be throwbacks but next year all the tech will be in the Horns normal uniforms. Watch:

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Posted July 9th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football

Top Uniforms: #1 Texas

1. Texas Longhorns

Not a shocking number one choice from a Texas Longhorns website but the Longhorns have the best overall uniforms in college football by a mile. They are Sports Illustrated’s favorite and of course ours too.

Burnt orange is unique, you’re not going to find another team in the country wearing that color. The longhorn logo on the helmet is the best and most recognizable icon in college sports. It is a perfect representation of the university and the state.

The home uniforms with the burnt orange jersey are great but the all white road unis are classic, simple, and perfect. When Texas in their road whites faced off against Michigan in their home blue uniforms in the 2005 Rose Bowl it was as good as it gets. I’m going to go watch that game on DVD now. Hook ’em!

College football’s best uniforms
  1. Texas
  2. Michigan
  3. Florida State
  4. Southern Cal
  5. Notre Dame
Win NCAA Football 09 from Bevo Sports
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Top Uniforms: #2 Michigan

2. Michigan Wolverines

Classic colors, jerseys, and of course great helmets. There’s not a more iconic and distinctive helmet in college football than the winged maize and blue design the Wolverines have had since 1938. The white jerseys are good, but the dark blues are our favorite home uniform.

The Michigan uniforms are easily our second favorite out there and the top two on this list are a cut above any other team. The pants and jerseys have changed over the years (and may be changing again this season) but as long as the helmets stay the same they’ll remain at the top of any top uniforms list.

Check back Wednesday for the best college football uniform in the country.

College football’s best uniforms
  1. Texas
  2. Michigan
  3. Florida State
  4. Southern Cal
  5. Notre Dame
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Posted July 7th, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football

Top Uniforms: #3 Florida State

3. Florida State Seminoles

My favorite non-traditional uniform. The spear on the side of the helmet and the garnet and gold (and Charlie Ward) made the Seminoles my second favorite team as a kid. It might just be the athletes they’ve had the last twenty years but even their bad teams of the last few years have looked like they could play. Just a supercool uniform.

Nike has had an impact on their uniforms but they haven’t really screwed them up like they did their instate rivals to the southeast. The only things I don’t like are the small merit decals on the helmets (those are always stupid) and the multi-colored jersey collar.

Check back tomorrow for the second best college football uniform.

College football’s best uniforms
  1. Texas
  2. Michigan
  3. Florida State
  4. Southern Cal
  5. Notre Dame
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Posted July 3rd, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football

Top Uniforms: #4 USC Trojans

4. Southern Cal Trojans

Probably the ugliest best uniform out there. Despite not really being particularly nice to look at (in my opinion), there’s just something right about them. If you saw a high school team with those wide yellow shoulder stripes on the jersey or the double stripe on the pants you’d think they were ugly but [tag]Southern Cal[/tag] somehow pulls it off.

The cardinal red and gold colors are classics as is the Trojan emblem on the sides of the helmet. Not many sports teams can pull off yellow pants, if you’re not careful you end up looking like Iowa State. They’ve managed to tweak and change a few things in the last few years, namely the number design and jersey cut, without messing with tradition.

They’re not pretty but they’re perfect and I’m not sure why.

Check back Monday for our third favorite college football uniform.

College football’s best uniforms
  1. Texas
  2. Michigan
  3. Florida State
  4. Southern Cal
  5. Notre Dame
Win NCAA Football 09 from Bevo Sports
Share

Posted July 2nd, 2008 by Brian
Filed under: Football

Top Uniforms: #5 Notre Dame

5. Notre Dame

As much as I hate the Irish, the blue jersey with the gold helmets are beautiful even without the history behind them. I even love the “lucky” green jerseys they wear whenever they lose a big game.

The clean, classic helmets make the whole uniform. Maybe it’s from watching Rudy too many times during my formative years. The scene where you learn about the managers repainting the helmets with paint containing actual gold before every game gives them a little extra mojo.

Like all the top uniforms the Notre Dame uniforms will look as good 30 years from now as they did 30 years ago. They still suck.

Check back tomorrow for our number four favorite college football uniform.

College football’s best uniforms
  1. Texas
  2. Michigan
  3. Florida State
  4. Southern Cal
  5. Notre Dame
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