Strong Wants Team’s Leaders To Take Charge

Habe on the Horns

By Steve Habel/Associate Editor

There is nothing subtle about Texas coach Charlie Strong, but even a man as straightforward as him can stand back at times and wait for things to happen. Or not happen – as was the case last week in the run-up to what became a blowout 41-7 loss to BYU.

Strong posted a series of signs in the Texas locker room during [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] the week that illustrated just how much the Cougars had dominated UT in 2013 in a 41-20 win. He was looking for someone on the team to take the initiative to rip down those signs, to get mad and to take charge while owning the desire to make sure Texas wouldn’t get beat like that again.

It never happened. The signs stayed up and the Horns got blasted. Afterward, Strong talked about how the team did show up on Saturday ready to play or to match the effort of BYU. He still hurt from that realization on Monday, when he met with the media to try to explain how everything went so wrong.

“Losing the way we did at home and with the effort we didn’t give is still eating me up inside, but we all have to move on,” Strong said. “I knew we were not ready to play right before the game but I never saw coming what happened to us in the third quarter Saturday night.”

Strong hasn’t been used to seeing teams stop playing in the middle of an opponent’s surge and it had to be hard to swallow.

“The way we played against BYU is not an indication of how this team really is and how it’s really going to be from game to game,” he said. “This game and what happened shows how much more we need from the team’s seniors and the leadership. Football is a game of discipline and we didn’t have the discipline we needed to win this week.”

Texas senior linebacker Jordan Hicks, the Horns’ co-leader in tackles versus BYU with 11, said different teams are led in different ways but understands that Strong wants a more vocal presence from his seniors.

“This has to be our team – it’s the final chance we have to do something great here at Texas,” Hicks said. “It all starts with us but it’s all a process. We all have to take things personally. I was completely shocked at how things went in the second half against BYU and we were all disappointed by the way we didn’t respond.”

Push comes to shove this week when the Horns head north to Arlington and AT&T Stadium to face 12^th-ranked UCLA.

Asked what it will mean to him to bring a team into in the huge stadium that Jerry (Jones that is) built, Strong smiled.

“I have met Mr. Jones and I’ve been in the stadium and it’s a huge place, but I have a lot more to deal with getting this team ready than worrying about the stadium,” Strong said. “We will have our hands full with UCLA, but first we need to work on ourselves and what we need to do to get better.”

Other notes from Strong’s press conference Monday:

Tackles Desmond Harrison and Kennedy Estelle have not been reinstated to the team and will not play against UCLA. The pair will be allowed to practice with the team this week. Wide receiver Daje Johnson and safety Josh Turner are also still suspended and will miss the game against the Bruins.

Quarterback David Ash, who missed the BYU game with symptoms from a concussion, remains out indefinitely and will not play against UCLA.

The Horns will play more man-to-man and zone mix in secondary coverage this week to combat the run-pass attack of quarterback UCLA Brett Hundley. Texas played almost exclusively man-to-man in the secondary against BYU.

Texas sophomore quarterback Tyrone Swoopes gave himself a grade of “B” for his play against BYU, his first start on the 40 Acres. “I tried to make the least amount of mistakes but I still made some,” Swoopes said.

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