Perhaps it’s Time to Give former Coach Brown Some Props

By Steve Habel/Associate Editor

Over the next few days Texas fans will likely be bombarded with quips about the fact that no Longhorns football player was taken in the 2014 NFL draft, which was completed Saturday in New York City. It’s the first time no UT player was chosen in the draft since 1937 – that’s 77 years, folks – and came as a shock to many. Seven rounds went by; no Texas player was taken.

And the only reference to the burnt-orange and white came [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] with the fact that former quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who played his final two seasons at SMU, was chosen in the sixth round by St. Louis. Most notable of the Longhorns left on the sidelines was defensive end Jackson Jeffcoat , who was an All-America player the Big 12’s defensive player of the year after the 2013 season. Jeffcoat was projected by some experts as good enough to be picked in the third round. But also without a home after the draft is wide receiver Mike Davis, tackle Donald Hawkins, guard Mason Walters, kicker Anthony Fera (a finalist for last year’s Lou Groza award as the nation’s best kicker), defensive tackle Chris Whaley and defensive backs Adrian Phillips and Carrington Byndom. There will be some talk about how former UT coach Mack Brown and his staff were deficient in developing his players from standout, highly recruited prep starts to ones that general managers and coaches at the highest level of the game deem polished enough to join their rosters. Some of that criticism will be founded, since players from Lindenwood (huh?), Wyoming, Pittsburg St, Towson, North Dakota State, Georgia Southern, Rice and Liberty were drafted and no Longhorns were. That’s not supposed to happen on the 40 Acres. But let’s take a different tack. If Texas was such a poor squad – in talent, performance and coaching – how was Brown able to steer the team into a spot to win the Big 12 going into the final half of the final game of the regular season against Baylor? How was UT able to post an 8-5 record (and go 7-2 in league play) with crippling injuries to bellcow running back Johnathan Gray, linebacker Jordan Hicks, Whaley and starting quarterback David Ash? Maybe it’s time to give Brown and his staff some props. Given the results of the NFL draft, the Longhorns likely overachieved in 2013. That might be the hardest pill of all to swallow, unless you consider the new coach Charles Strong and his staff will have to do a lot more with what Brown left to finish just as well record-wise in 2014. Louisville, Strong’s former team, had four players chosen – including three in the first round. That bodes well as an indication of his (and his staff’s) prowess in developing players. Expect to see just about all of the Texas players that were ignored in the draft to land on their feet as free agents, which better in the long run than being a fifth-, sixth- or seventh-round draft choice. At least signing as a free agent gives players the chance to go to teams where they feel they will be a better fit, and – the opinion here is – that Jeffcoat, Davis and Byndom (and maybe Hawkins) will play in the NFL next season and Whaley will eventually find a spot there. [/s2If] [s2If !current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] [article-offer] [/s2If]