Strong, players talk togetherness

AUSTIN — Has Texas finally turned the corner? How would we know?

“You never really know,” Marcus Johnson said Monday.“ We’ve played well. We’ve put in two games back-to-back. We’ve grown, and we’ve made the strides we needed to make. At the same time, it doesn’t indicate anything. Every week, something different may happen. We have to be the most prepared team that day.”

If your glass is half-empty, it can be argued that the Longhorns have done little more than upset an arch-rival and beat a bad Kansas State team.

But several players are convinced Charlie Strong has finally flipped the program’s 5-year foray in mediocrity. And they can summarize the difference in two words: team chemistry.

The 2015 Longhorns have more of it than at any time during their tenure, according to seniors Peter Jinkens and Taylor Doyle during Monday’s weekly press conference at the 40 Acres.

“When I was a freshman, I was scared to talk to the older guys,” Jinkens said. “You didn’t say anything to them unless spoken to. Now, we’re one big team. I love the camaraderie that we have and the brotherhood that we share.”

The heightened levels of solidarity and trust are paying dividends in the ‘Win’ column and on the stat sheet, players say.

For example, Texas notched 11 sacks the past two games after recording just five in as many previous outings. In addition, the Horns allowed 38.2 ppg and 507.2 ypg leading up to Oklahoma; since then, Texas has yielded just 13 ppg and 242 ypg. Texas also averaged 293.5 rushing ypg in the past two wins.

If doesn’t matter if players like the scheme or game plan unless they also like each other.

“We’ve come together as brothers,” said RB Johnathan Gray. “We kept saying, ‘It’s going to change. It’s going to change.’ All we needed was a break. We got our break, and we can’t lose it. Guys have got to keep playing, keep fighting and play for another.”

On paper, the big break was Texas’ 24-17 stunner against No. 10 Oklahoma. But the shift occurred days earlier during the team’s tumultuous week of finger-pointing and Twitter-tattling. The result, of course, was a series of meetings that allowed players to get thing off their chests.

“When we went into the OU game – I’m not going to lie – it was crazy around here,” said DT Desmond Jackson. “There were guys not being focused and worried about other things. Some people were mad and upset, but we all came together as a unit. We started listening to our coaches and started paying attention to all the small, details of the game and went out there and executed against Oklahoma. We then had a good feeling inside. Although our record may not show it, we knew we were a good team.”

Strong kept insisting Texas was a good team, even when its record plummeted to 1-4. Then again, Texas won three straight last season before suffering three blowout losses. The times, they are a’changing, Strong believes.

“You can see it coming together,” he said.

The evidence?

“The older guys are accepting the younger guys.”

Strong draw a parallels between the direction of Texas’ program and the turn-around effected his second year at Louisville. A 2-4 start saw his 2011 Cardinals conduct a players-only meeting much like those Texas players held following the TCU game. Louisville reeled-off five-straight wins, setting the stage for the 2012 team that finished 12-1 and manhandled Florida in the Sugar Bowl.

Three weeks ago, pigskin pundits asked if the Texas stage was too big for Strong. Additional evidence that, perception wise, Strong has effected the program’s turnaround is that reporters pressed him (three times) for a definitive response now that the rumor mill has surfaced his name as a possible candidate for the Miami job.

Strong denied any interest in returning to the Sunshine State after spending 14 years on staff at The University of Florida. Strong dearly coveted the Texas job, and the smart money is on Strong returning to the 40 Acres regardless of how the current campaign plays out.

“That’s just how it goes with a university like Texas,” Johnson said. “When you’re down, they’ll kick you. When you’re up, they’ll praise you.”

An argument can made that it took a half-season for Texas’ young pups to grow up. Only seven teams are playing more than the 20 freshmen that Texas averages per contest. A fast start on game day is often critical for inexperienced teams. Texas had key plays early that set the tone against Oklahoma and Kansas State, Johnson noted. In fact, Texas is 9-1 under Strong when scoring first. Texas is 0-10 when opponents score first during Strong’s tenure.

“(Iowa State) will be another test to go out there, whether it’s offense or defense, on those first couple of drives to set our mark on the game and build off of it,” Johnson added.

However, put an asterisk next to Iowa State: the Cyclones’ five losses have come against teams with a collective record of 30-3.

Statistically, Texas and ISU are carbon copies of each other in several key categories (including ‘points scored’ and ‘points allowed’).

But one of the many decisive differences between the two programs is that ISU is still searching for a season-turning, signature win that would go a long ways toward getting its likeable head coach (Paul Rhodes) off the hot seat. There is no doubt in Gray’s mind, however,that the tide has turned for the burnt orange.

“It’s flipped,” Gray insists. “All you need is that one spurt, and we have that right now. We don’t plan on losing it.”

“It’s because we’re going out and having fun with each other,” said DT Paul Boyette Jr., “It’s playing a kid’s game, really. It’s breaking down film more, and embracing each other and instilling our will in each other. It’s like, ‘I need you, and you need me’.”