Time for Texas to mature
Davante Davis. (Will Gallagher/IT)
AUSTIN — You never have to ask a person to come to work ready to go on payday.
No inspirational speech is needed when Michigan is about to play Ohio State or Alabama is about to play Auburn or Texas is about to take on Oklahoma. The famous speeches we hear about are often for games when the opponent doesn’t bring much to the table.
As players mature, they understand the value of every game and not just the big games.
With the number of freshmen on the 2-deep at Texas in 2015, the youth was very talented but struggled at times being consistent and with being deemed leaders while not knowing exactly how to lead.
How else do you explain a Texas team that beat Baylor and Oklahoma and lost to Iowa State 24-0? How do you explain a team that virtually had no shot to win a game if the opponent scored first?
After sending off the seniors with a road upset over #12 Baylor, wide receiver coach and play-caller Jay Norvell had a truth to admit to, “The truth is we are a very immature team. We have to take our football seriously. We have to grow up and care about football everyday.”
The young people on this team are so good and so talented that everyone understands they are the future. But we heard it from Charlie Strong, Vance Bedford, and Jay Norvell on the coaching staff. We heard it from Dylan Haines and Duke Thomas within the team.
We even heard about it from former Longhorn and current Detroit Lions DB, Quandre Diggs.
Can these young men put in the work everyday? Can they become leaders in that work in 2016? Can they prep for the September 3rd opener against Notre Dame in offseason in January? Can they prep during spring football? Can they prep in the dog-days of summer? Will they discover when they open with Notre Dame in Austin 2016 when the season is new again that they have earned the right to win with the work they have put in starting right now?
There are great players that are not categorized as youth that will be playing at Texas in 2016. But if Texas is going to realize the potential most people believe they possess, this group of freshmen and redshirt freshmen from the 2015 2-deep will be the core of that success.
CB – Davante Davis
CB – Holton Hill
CB – Kris Boyd
CB – John Bonney
S – DeShon Elliott
S – P.J. Locke
LB – Malik Jefferson
LB – Anthony Wheeler
LB – Breckyn Hager
LB – Edwin Freeman
DE – Charles Omenihu
DE – Derick Roberson
OT – Conner Williams
G – Patrick Vahe
RB – Chris Warren
QB – Jerrod Heard
WR – John Burt
Maturation, natural progression between Year 1 and 2, infusion of talent, a full collegiate offseason, attitude, swagger, fight and many other factors make me optimistic about the future of these Texas players.
Now for the coaching staff and my optimism – get at me next week.
