Leadership of a Different Kind
[caption id="attachment_22733" align="alignleft" width="300"]
Tyrone Swoopes. (Justin Wells/IT)[/caption]
By: Chris Hall
One of the biggest things the Longhorns have lacked in 2015 is leadership. They don’t have the guy, or a few guys who have earned and command the respect of the entire team.
This has manifested itself in many ways. The infamous media availability/Twitter feud between some upperclassmen and freshmen after the “Cowtown Beatdown” is an example. That Texas hasn’t come back to win a game after not scoring first is, sadly, another example.
Team leadership doesn’t allow things like that to happen. Captains don’t allow their team to get down after one score or bicker on social media for all the world to see. Anything that needs to be said or handled is taken care of “in house,” in the locker room, by the players themselves.
That’s part of the reason why I don’t like seeing a “C” (for captain) on jerseys. My beef is this: If the man is truly a captain, the team should already know that whether he has the letter on his uniform or not.
You shouldn’t have to give him a title so that everyone recognizes he is a leader. The fact should be so blatantly obvious that no one ever has a question about it in the first place. Maybe that’s why we always voted on captains at the end of the season when I played at Texas. I think coach Brown wanted us (the team) to publicly honor at the football banquet those who had already lead us the entire year. As a player, I always wondered why we didn’t do that at the first of the season. Now that I’m older, I see the things differently.
A leader leads. It’s what they do, regardless of whether they have an official position or not. They work the hardest, stay the longest, and care for the welfare of their teammates.
“Captain” is just a title if you don’t have the reality of it on your team. Something I’ve been encouraged to see is unexpected leadership, a leadership of a different kind, now emerging on the Longhorn football team.
Tyrone Swoopes
I suppose your “supporting role” actors should provide stability and depth as they enhance the overall production or movie scene. That’s exactly what Tyrone Swoopes has done in 2015.
He’s no longer the star of the show. The spotlight now belongs to redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard; he quickly earned the nickname “Juice” after providing a lot of it to the Longhorn offense. But none of that has stopped Swoopes from being a tremendous help to his football team.
Recently, Heard’s production hasn’t been the record-breaking performance his second start against Cal was. There was a four-game streak (TCU, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa State) where Heard didn’t pass for over 100 yards.
That’s okay if you’re an option team like Georgia Tech. It’s not okay if you’re supposedly at the helm of a spread offense in the Big 12 conference where shootouts abound.
That streak ended with last week’s blowout win over Kansas — let all Longhorns rejoice. But Heard’s getting out of his slump was not merely because of the Jayhawks’ defense (although I’m sure that had a lot to do with it).
Part of his success he owes to his predecessor, Whitewright's favorite son.
[caption id="attachment_26417" align="alignright" width="272"]
Tyrone Swoopes. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
Through Heard’s unlikely stretch of poor games, he’s been seeking out the counsel of the formerly embattled Swoopes (who was benched in Jerrod’s favor after Week 1 against Notre Dame). Swoopes had this to say of his new found role as mentor:
“I went through a lot of that last year, and there wasn’t an older guy to talk to and keep me moving forward. Just giving him what I would have wanted [in 2014].”
It says a lot about this young man, that he’d freely help the person who took his job succeed. It says he cares more about the team than his own personal “brand.” Swoopes would rather see the Longhorns win even if it means he’s not the starting quarterback. That’s team.
That, is something I respect. I’m officially a member of the Tyrone Swoopes Fan Club.
He may not be the second coming of Vince Young (which of course everyone was hoping he’d be). But he surely is a team player. He’s doing all he can, in the role he has, to contribute to his football team.
In many ways, I think he’s more valuable now as a backup quarterback (with his own offensive package) than he ever was as a starter. He’s certainly been more productive.
Since being benched, Swoopes has scored 11 touchdowns over the span of eight games. That’s only three less than his touchdown total (13) of his entire 2014 season as a starter.
The “18-wheeler” has been thriving in his new found supporting role. When he plays, you see passion. You see him having fun. For sure, the Longhorns are all the better because of it.
Swoopes may even be modeling a style of leadership Texas needs a healthy dose of at other positions.
For an upperclassmen to lose his job to a younger player is embarrassing. It especially hurts when you consider all the time they’ve given to the university. They’ve paid their dues, earned their position, only to have it taken away by someone who just walked in the front door.
Most don’t respond the way Swoopes has. They get bitter, give up mentally, or simply transfer full of regrets. Some might spend the rest of their life talking like their coach had something against them.
But what if an older guy losing his spot is best for the overall success of the team?
What if that needs to happen at other positions, as it’s already happened at offensive line and quarterback this year?
There’s been some talk about that happening at running back, in the defensive backfield, and other places. One of my favorite images of the year has been Johnathan Gray being the first to congratulate D’Onta Foreman.
You might think after a 93-yard TD run by the freshman, Gray would be found somewhere brooding on the sideline. That’d be happy for the team (in some respect) but at the same time angry it was a young buck at his own position. Besides, that should be him running for 93 yards, right?
Instead you see him celebrating the success of both Foreman and the team. What’s good for the team is what’s good for the player.
Swoopes’ attitude throughout this season has been a great added value to the Texas Longhorns. It’s an intangible asset that can’t be measured or written down on paper. But still, it’s real enough to pervade and affect the entire football team. I hope it catches on. I learned a simple “mathematic” formula in high school football that has stayed with me ever since: TEAM > me.
Texas will need a total team effort, on both sides of the ball, and in every game for the rest of the season. They travel to a hostile environment in Morgantown, West Virginia to play the Mountaineers this Saturday.
Tyrone Swoopes. (Justin Wells/IT)[/caption]
By: Chris Hall
One of the biggest things the Longhorns have lacked in 2015 is leadership. They don’t have the guy, or a few guys who have earned and command the respect of the entire team.
This has manifested itself in many ways. The infamous media availability/Twitter feud between some upperclassmen and freshmen after the “Cowtown Beatdown” is an example. That Texas hasn’t come back to win a game after not scoring first is, sadly, another example.
Team leadership doesn’t allow things like that to happen. Captains don’t allow their team to get down after one score or bicker on social media for all the world to see. Anything that needs to be said or handled is taken care of “in house,” in the locker room, by the players themselves.
That’s part of the reason why I don’t like seeing a “C” (for captain) on jerseys. My beef is this: If the man is truly a captain, the team should already know that whether he has the letter on his uniform or not.
You shouldn’t have to give him a title so that everyone recognizes he is a leader. The fact should be so blatantly obvious that no one ever has a question about it in the first place. Maybe that’s why we always voted on captains at the end of the season when I played at Texas. I think coach Brown wanted us (the team) to publicly honor at the football banquet those who had already lead us the entire year. As a player, I always wondered why we didn’t do that at the first of the season. Now that I’m older, I see the things differently.
A leader leads. It’s what they do, regardless of whether they have an official position or not. They work the hardest, stay the longest, and care for the welfare of their teammates.
“Captain” is just a title if you don’t have the reality of it on your team. Something I’ve been encouraged to see is unexpected leadership, a leadership of a different kind, now emerging on the Longhorn football team.
Tyrone Swoopes
I suppose your “supporting role” actors should provide stability and depth as they enhance the overall production or movie scene. That’s exactly what Tyrone Swoopes has done in 2015.
He’s no longer the star of the show. The spotlight now belongs to redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard; he quickly earned the nickname “Juice” after providing a lot of it to the Longhorn offense. But none of that has stopped Swoopes from being a tremendous help to his football team.
Recently, Heard’s production hasn’t been the record-breaking performance his second start against Cal was. There was a four-game streak (TCU, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Iowa State) where Heard didn’t pass for over 100 yards.
That’s okay if you’re an option team like Georgia Tech. It’s not okay if you’re supposedly at the helm of a spread offense in the Big 12 conference where shootouts abound.
That streak ended with last week’s blowout win over Kansas — let all Longhorns rejoice. But Heard’s getting out of his slump was not merely because of the Jayhawks’ defense (although I’m sure that had a lot to do with it).
Part of his success he owes to his predecessor, Whitewright's favorite son.
[caption id="attachment_26417" align="alignright" width="272"]
Tyrone Swoopes. (Will Gallagher/IT)[/caption]
Through Heard’s unlikely stretch of poor games, he’s been seeking out the counsel of the formerly embattled Swoopes (who was benched in Jerrod’s favor after Week 1 against Notre Dame). Swoopes had this to say of his new found role as mentor:
“I went through a lot of that last year, and there wasn’t an older guy to talk to and keep me moving forward. Just giving him what I would have wanted [in 2014].”
It says a lot about this young man, that he’d freely help the person who took his job succeed. It says he cares more about the team than his own personal “brand.” Swoopes would rather see the Longhorns win even if it means he’s not the starting quarterback. That’s team.
That, is something I respect. I’m officially a member of the Tyrone Swoopes Fan Club.
He may not be the second coming of Vince Young (which of course everyone was hoping he’d be). But he surely is a team player. He’s doing all he can, in the role he has, to contribute to his football team.
In many ways, I think he’s more valuable now as a backup quarterback (with his own offensive package) than he ever was as a starter. He’s certainly been more productive.
Since being benched, Swoopes has scored 11 touchdowns over the span of eight games. That’s only three less than his touchdown total (13) of his entire 2014 season as a starter.
The “18-wheeler” has been thriving in his new found supporting role. When he plays, you see passion. You see him having fun. For sure, the Longhorns are all the better because of it.
Swoopes may even be modeling a style of leadership Texas needs a healthy dose of at other positions.
For an upperclassmen to lose his job to a younger player is embarrassing. It especially hurts when you consider all the time they’ve given to the university. They’ve paid their dues, earned their position, only to have it taken away by someone who just walked in the front door.
Most don’t respond the way Swoopes has. They get bitter, give up mentally, or simply transfer full of regrets. Some might spend the rest of their life talking like their coach had something against them.
But what if an older guy losing his spot is best for the overall success of the team?
What if that needs to happen at other positions, as it’s already happened at offensive line and quarterback this year?
There’s been some talk about that happening at running back, in the defensive backfield, and other places. One of my favorite images of the year has been Johnathan Gray being the first to congratulate D’Onta Foreman.
You might think after a 93-yard TD run by the freshman, Gray would be found somewhere brooding on the sideline. That’d be happy for the team (in some respect) but at the same time angry it was a young buck at his own position. Besides, that should be him running for 93 yards, right?
Instead you see him celebrating the success of both Foreman and the team. What’s good for the team is what’s good for the player.
Swoopes’ attitude throughout this season has been a great added value to the Texas Longhorns. It’s an intangible asset that can’t be measured or written down on paper. But still, it’s real enough to pervade and affect the entire football team. I hope it catches on. I learned a simple “mathematic” formula in high school football that has stayed with me ever since: TEAM > me.
Texas will need a total team effort, on both sides of the ball, and in every game for the rest of the season. They travel to a hostile environment in Morgantown, West Virginia to play the Mountaineers this Saturday.
