Habe on the Horns – By Steve Habel/Associate Editor
Something different blew in with the
It’s almost like coach Charlie Strong has [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]unleashed his team, allowing them to focus on the fun of football for the final three games of the season rather than the drudgery of the day-to-day process to improve.
“We are down to the end for the seniors on this team, and we want them to go out in the right way,” Strong said Monday at his weekly press availability. “It’s gone by so fast – it’s hard to believe we’re almost at the end. We want the players to have fun and enjoy playing the game.”
Will it make a difference for the Horns as they tackle the fourth quarter of their 12-game regular season? Only time will tell.
But if the atmosphere surrounding the team was different Monday, the attitude remains the same – it all about one game at a time.
Strong lauded his team for their most complete effort of the season, and the first time it’s had a 200-yard passer (Tyrone Swoopes) and 100-yard receiver (John Harris) and a 100-yard rusher (Malcolm Brown) in the same game. Those numbers are a direct result of the improvement of Texas’ offensive line, a group that continues to gel and gain confidence with each game.
“We are squeezing every ounce out of the offensive line and they’ve responded well,” Strong said. “They are building that special kind of bond – that nucleus – that makes great offensive lines. We can still get more out of them, and we need more out of them.”
Strong also praised the Horns’ senior leaders for taking charge of the team and for leading by example, especially in Lubbock in what may turn out to be Texas’ turnaround performance.
Seniors shined against the Red Raiders. Defensively, linebacker Steve Edmond led Texas with 13 tackles, Mykkele Thompson had his first interception of the season, and Quandre Diggs had the game’s biggest, and course-changing, hit on Tech quarterback Pat Mahones. Offensively, there were the performances of Harris and Brown, while receiver Jaxon Shipley caught his first TD pass of the season.
In other news from the Monday presser:
Strong said he was committed to getting receiver/running back Daje Johnson some more touches after Johnson, who is still not 100 percent healthy after injuring his hamstring against Baylor, ran for 43 yards on just two carries.
Strong joked with the press about Thompson’s eyesight, and said he convinced the senior safety to wear his contact lenses during practice and in games. Thompson, who has worn glasses since the ninth grade, went without corrective lenses while on the football field until the last week, and he finally recorded his first pick of the season. “I’m sure he’s seeing things a little better,” Strong said, “but he was convinced that he didn’t need to wear his contacts on the field.”
Suspended tackle Desmond Harrison, who has missed all nine of the Horns’ games this season, has not been reinstated and will not play against West Virginia on Saturday.
Diggs was asked Monday he is saw how Tech quarterback Mahomes wobbled off the field after Diggs laid the wood to him. “No, I was already dancing by then,” Diggs said. “I was in my own little world. But that’s where I am a lot of the time.”
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