After long summer, Horns begin process of answering on-field questions

The Texas Longhorns hit the practice field for the first time this fall Monday morning, thankfully to those Longhorns fans who have grown tired of reading about suspensions and dismissals.

First-year head coach Charlie Strong consistently emphasized that he wants players to embrace his core values and proved through his actions that players who failed to embrace them won’t be tolerated. Since the spring, Strong has removed seven players from the team and announced that three more are on thin ice.

“At some point, you have to do something,” Strong said in an Austin American-Statesman article written by Brian Davis Sunday night.

[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]

Chuck Carlton, reporting for the Dallas Morning News, quoted the coach reiterating the importance of his values.

“I say it all the time: If a young man doesn’t want to be part of this program, just go break a core value, and then you’re telling me exactly where you stand,” Strong said. “There’s a lot of pride within this program. We’re going to bring this pride back.”

Two “something”s, actually. First, Strong had to make the decision to do something about the players who would not, given several chances, embrace his new culture and live up to their part of the bargain. Now comes the hard, but rewarding, work.

As Ryan Autillo wrote in Monday’s Statesman, Strong and his staff must rebuild a depth chart that now appears frighteningly thin in some key areas.

“Strong told the media Sunday that he wants to develop leadership within the team and shore up positions of concern — several in an offense weakened by the graduation of four linemen and the recent dismissals or suspensions of three receivers, a lineman and two running backs,” Autillo wrote.

Mike Finger also mentioned the need to build depth in his initial look at Texas’ fall camp for the Houston Chronicle.

If he’s worried about depth, Strong isn’t showing, though he doesn’t appear a coach that will worry about too much. He’s in his element on the field, where he took Louisville from just another mid-major conference football school to a team that won 23 games in the last two years. He’s happy with the players who have toed the line, and that’s who he’ll take the field with on Aug. 30 against North Texas, Carlton wrote.

“It’s not like because we suspended some guys we’re going to walk in without players,” Strong said.

That includes the newest on campus. The dismissals and suspensions leave Texas thin at receiver and running back, and the Longhorns were already thin on the offensive line.

At receiver, the Longhorns will need several of the nine freshman and sophomore receivers on the roster to step up quickly. Only two scholarship running backs remain on the roster to back up Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray. On the offensive line, Texas will need a handful of eight newcomer or squad players to develop into key players, possibly starters.

“We have players, now it’s about developing them,” Strong said.

[/s2If]
[s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]
[article-offer]
[/s2If]