Young Texas football players are growing up quickly, and will have to even more

By Steve Habel, Senior Contributing Writer

AUSTIN, Texas — The No. 10-ranked Texas Longhorns’ 45-14 win over Louisiana Tech in their season-opener was, for lack of a better term, a good dress rehearsal for Saturday’s showcase game against No. 6 LSU at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

But now the lights will get a lot brighter and the need for execution and effort will ramp up to intense levels many have never experienced before.

The Longhorns got mostly what they needed in the win over LaTech, but will need more — a lot more — to beat the talented and experienced Bayou Bengals, who trounced Georgia Southern, 55-3, in their 2019 debut.

The good thing is Texas can[s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)] expect to get better, as most teams do from the first game in the season to the second.

The fact that many of the Longhorns’ younger players — think cornerback Jalen Green, linebacker Joseph Ossai, wide receiver Brennan Eagles and running back Keaontay Ingram, each of whom is a sophomore — all had leading roles in the victory bodes well for continued improvement and a steady stream of big plays.

It also helped that the Longhorns ran off to a 38-0 lead over Louisiana Tech and cruised to the finish.

“The way that the game went was certainly helpful, because those guys got their feet wet, and now it’s not new anymore,” Texas coach Tom Herman said Monday at his weekly press conference. “Even so, they responded pretty well.”

Green, who was given the task of shadowing Cee Jay Powell, Tech’s leading receiver, was more than up to the task, limiting Powell to six catches for 56 yards, with most of those coming in mop-up time. Green graded out as a champion, while fellow cornerbacks Anthony Cook, Kobe Boyce and D’Shawn Jamison did not rate that high of a score.

“I don’t know if it was because of reps or anything like that, (but) they played OK,” Herman said of Cook, Boyce and Jamison. “We know we’ve got to get better as the season progresses.”

Herman said he and his staff understand the importance of Saturday’s game with LSU, but will not say it’s any bigger of a game for the team that any other contest. The goal is still, as it is each week, to go 1-0 in the fight against the Tigers, and be 2-0 when the dust clears.

“We understand that, to get to where we want to go as a program, that we’re going to have to play in and win these kind of games,” Herman said. “To do it against another top-10 opponent is pretty cool, especially at home.

“I don’t want to downplay the significance of the matchup, but I also know that (Big 12 commissioner) Bob Bowlsby is not going to be handing out the Big 12 (championship) trophy after this game, either.”
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