David Ash Ready to Prove the Critics Wrong

Admit it, you had your doubts about David Ash. Some of you may still have those doubts. It’s hard to argue with anyone who points to last year’s injury as a reason to not believe in David Ash. Concussions are nothing to take lightly. As we are learning with each new discovery, concussions can have a long lasting effect on a player’s life and significantly shorten a football career, but quitting is something David Ash never considered.

(Also Read: Strong, Longhorns Putting Emotions Aside for Season Opener)

“A lot of people told me, ‘You need to give it up. You need to quit,’ ”  Ash tells[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] the Fort Worth Star Telegram, “In my mind, I always knew I was always going to play again.”

He went on to talk about his faith and the roll it plays in his decision to push through his concussion-related issues saying, “God has placed me. This is the talent he has given me. And whenever I work hard and I play hard, it pleases him and gives him glory.”

Coming in to his junior season, Ash is 14-7 as Texas’ starting quarterback. During that time he has notched two bowl victories with a career completion rate of 63.2 percent and more touchdown passes than interceptions (30 TDs to 18 INTs).

Nursing a foot injury in the spring, Ash didn’t get an opportunity to show his stuff. However, fall drills have shown a different David Ash.

“In the spring, he didn’t say much because he got injured. Then, he really wasn’t locked in with the team because he wasn’t there,” Coach Charlie Strong said. “But now, with him being around, it has helped. He doesn’t mind speaking his opinion and saying what needs to be said. He has that confidence now. He wants that leadership role.”

Charlie Strong and his staff have made David Ash off limits in terms of heavy contact. That means he hasn’t taken a hit since last season. “If we take one, we might not have him in the first game,” Strong said. “There’s no reason for us to see how tough he is.”

For Coach Charlie Strong, having a healthy David Ash is absolutely important to the success of the Texas Longhorns Football team. Ash, who is listed at 6-foot-3 and nearly 230 pounds, would try to run over linebackers and defensive backs and often paid for it.

“I don’t need to see how tough you are. If you can outrun him, outrun him, but run out of bounds, or slide or something, just don’t take the hit,” Strong said. “He took like three or four hits and I just stopped it and asked what he was trying to prove? He didn’t have an answer for me … I was like, ‘You are a quarterback. Get down. I don’t need to see how tough you are. I need you to play the next play and manage things.”

(Also Read: With Fall Camp at End, Texas Looks Forward to North Texas Game Week)

It’s hard to argue with that. Ash is the only quarterback on the roster that has thrown a significant number of passes in an actual game. While the guys behind him on the depth chart are certainly talented, make no mistake about it, this team will only go as far as the arm of David Ash takes them.

I’m not saying that he is going to go out there and light up the statistical boards. In fact, if you listen to Charlie Strong talk, he is looking for Ash to do no more than manage the game. Still, that puts a lot of the teams success on Ash’s shoulders. My hunch is that he is ready … ready to prove the doubters wrong, but above all else, ready to return to the game he loves.

(Sources: Associated Press, Forth Worth Star Telegram) 

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