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2009 Texas Football Preview: State of the Union

Posted by Minnesotahorn on September 4th, 2009 under Football

2009 Texas Football Preview: State of the Union

Hook 'Em Horns!

Last nights games signaled the beginning of college football season and for all the excitement that brings it sadly also signals the end of State of the Union season, that magical time of year when we invite fans from all around middle America here to tell us we’re unfunny racists.   Like our moms don’t already tell us that. 

For this last SOTU I’m going to forgo the usual depth chart and schematic analysis for a couple of reasons, the first being that we’ve all pretty much spent the entire off season doing that and the other being that when I was supposed to be researching this post I was watching The Burbs on cable.  The crazy vet’s wife was hot.  Anyway I think Roger Roesler starts at guard for us or something. 

corey
Don’t mock the Pizza Dude Corey.  That’s you in three years. 

Instead I’d like to take a look at the program and its overall competitive footing and there seems no better place to start than examining the vast difference between our expectations today and where they were a year ago.  At this time last year I don’t mind telling you that I saw 8-5 as a real possibility.  I thought we’d made some solid coaching upgrades in the off season but was unsure of how soon they could really impact the program.  From a depth chart standpoint it looked a lot like 1999 to me and I thought the overall record would reflect that.  Instead what we enjoyed was one of the most gratifying years of Mack Brown’s tenure.  The results were gratifying not just because of how much was accomplished but also the fact that it was achieved by what was far from a perfect team from a talent/experience standpoint.  What last year’s team was, was disciplined, well conditioned and persevering.  That’s known as well coached and it’s 180 degrees from where the team had been just a year before that.  That leaves us with a far different outlook going forward as we make the transition from the Brown Era to the Muschamp Administration, a process I think may begin after this year. 

I say begin as I think Will Muschamp retains a majority of the current staff when he steps into the head job.  I would assume Cleve Bryant goes when (and possibly where) Brown does.  There’s been speculation about the retirements of Tolleson and MacWhorter for some time now and I’m guessing Mack’s departure may seem like as good a time as any to them.  Greg Davis intentions are anyone’s guess.  If he wants to stay I assume Muschamp lets him but he’s another guy who’s been with Mack for most of his career and I’d expect him to bow out when he does.  Some tuned in folks think otherwise so who knows?  It’s also obvious that Applewhite was brought to this staff with the understanding that he’d get the offensive reins at some point.  Akina isn’t retirement age yet and isn’t likely to get a better gig. 

So I would say at most Muschamp has to restaff two to three positions and that will be an opportunity to address one of the staff’s biggest vulnerabilities right now, that being its lack of a great recruiting closer.  When Oscar Giles first joined the staff I thought he might be that guy but his record since the 2007 class has been disappointing.  Muschamp and Applewhite are both tireless and fearless on the recruiting trails and that’s a great sign but neither has shown lock down ability to this point.  Now thankfully Mack’s done such a great job of making Texas the premium brand in the state that we can basically just toss out offers to the top twenty five players in the state, accept the commitments of 19 of them and sign the best or second class team in the conference.  Or at least that’s been the case the past couple of years.  Opposing coaches are once again adjusting and kids are getting offers and interest earlier than ever and it’s costing us.  This has happened to Brown in the past and he’s always changed his own game and ended up pacing everyone else yet again.  It’ll be interesting to see how Muschamp addresses this. 

Also along those lines is the need to deal with the increasing frequency of recruiting malfeasance and its impact on Texas.  Every year it gets worse and with every wrist slap the NCAA signals to those schools so inclined to play the game that it isn’t the least bit interested in stopping them.  This has already impacted Texas a number of times but nowhere more so than at tailback.  For those who care to play the ‘We’re Texas; we’ll always get our guys,’ card, I present to you the eighties and nineties.  This stuff affects us and the worse it gets the greater the need is for us to address it publicly and this probably needs to be done by the athletic director and not the head coach. 

Beyond these concerns however, the Texas football program is operating at a level very rarely seen.  Organizationally we’re just incredibly strong at pretty much every level right now and all the indications from its next generation of caretakers is that they are highly motivated individuals who put a premium on accountability.  That’s a pretty good place to start but in Will Muschamp’s case we’ve also seen someone who understands the need to put players in their best position to succeed as well as an ability to innovate.  None of that guarantees his success with this program but it’s a damned strong skill set to bring to the job. 

So here we sit, a little more than twenty four hours until kickoff of a season we have every right to feel great about but also probably six to eighteen months from a new chapter in Longhorn Football about which we again have every reason to look toward with hopeful confidence.

All that makes tomorrow even easier to enjoy and I’ll see you there.   For any of you that may not yet have tickets there are plenty available on the secondary market, including some site called vividseats.com.  I discovered this while doing a quick search for… you know what, it’s not important.

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9 Responses

  1. Triston27 said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 8:45 am

    The ‘Burbs is great.

    Hey lame-o, get out of my yard.

  2. jc25 said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 9:53 am

    Well written…while Texas did a major course correction on some on-field problems, there are, as you eloquently point out, simmering signs that significant issues may arise in the near future. This may be partly due to the fact that my eye is always towards potential, but I firmly believe in the Billy Beane (or someone close to him) mantra of its better to trade someone one year too early than one year too late. And yes, I’m fully aware that A) there are no trades in college football, and 2) that Billy Beane hasn’t been the epitome of success lately.

    The two major issues I see are the ones you point out. The first is the uncertainty that surrounds Mack’s remaining tenure as head coach. It would appear that he is also of the belief that it’s best to get out too early rather than too late, but that’s no guarantee that we will see the Mack succession plan starting post-2009 (or 2010, or sometime soon). Even if that were to happen, it appears the Mack influence won’t stray far from the program (more on that in a moment). In any case, succession is often a tricky thing, and the follow-on is openly wondering whether Muschamp will have as much success as Mack has. To quote another source, “past results are not an indicator of future success.” As successful as Muschamp has been in adding an element of passion and change to this Texas program, he’s unproven as a head coach, CEO, recruiting closer, fundraiser, etc., etc.

    The other issue centers on recruiting and the “Mack attitude” that Texas now has of Texas “being the Joneses.” That’s all well and good when you’re winning 10+ games a season, but as we’ve seen from examples like Miami and Florida State, setting your personal standard while still hauling in highly rated recruiting classes doesn’t necessarily translate to wins on the field. Steadfastly holding on to not offering before Junior Day and only pursuing Texas kids who want to come to Texas worked wonders five years ago, but may/will not work five years from now. This is compounded by the problem that Muschamp, while a huge benefit to our coaching staff, has not translated that same attitude into recruiting wins.

    These are small issues now, to be sure, and they could likely be more expertly written by someone else (Scip, PB, whoever). Anyways, my original point was, well written, and I do agree with your points that as good as the present is now, it’s also good to keep the eyes of Texas towards the future.

  3. edsp said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Thanks, Minnesotahorn. Well stated and a look forward I had not thought about. The early recruiting, and ability to come up with a fresh approach, is definitely worth mulling over.

    I disagree, however, on the start of the Muschamp Administration. I think Mack will get a peek at what may lie ahead when he sees more of Garrett Gilbert. I think it’s fair to say that Gilbert has the potential to be a Manning type QB, and with the program’s recruiting at the level it is, the quality and depth on the roster, the promise of the 2010 class — and the lack of a non-conference hurdle much tougher than UCLA — this program seems primed for a couple more shots at the MNC in the next 4-5 years. I don’t see Mack passing the baton to somebody else as long as that’s the case.

  4. hopefulhorn said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 11:14 am

    Very nicely done, Minnesota. Couldn’t agree more with your assessment of the state of the program, last year’s unexpectedly delightful season, and Muschamp’s qualities that bode well for the future.

    Mack’s plans seem to be on a lot of people’s minds. Here is a link to an article from this morning’s Houston Chronicle on that very subject.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/college/texas/6602018.html

    The writer says don’t bet on Mack stepping down anytime soon. He makes a valid point in observing that Mack seems much more comfortable with the job than he did several years ago. A MNC, five straight bowl wins and 3 of 4 over Visor Boy will settle any Texas coach right down. It also seems that this is the position the program would take regardless of what was really happening behind the scenes for a number of reasons.

    My hunch is that the closer this year’s team gets to the MNC, the greater the chance that Mack may step aside. Main problem with that argument is what we are hearing about Garrett Gilbert as edsp notes above. If he pans out as it looks like he will and the program keeps humming along as you describe, Mack may well want to keep going.

    In any case, these are damned good problems to have. How many other programs and their fans would give most anything to be where we are? It is time to quit talking about it and get this thing started.

  5. Art Vandelay said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 1:32 pm

    Well written Minne. Writing a SOTU for Texas Football for this audience couldn’t have been easy. I see Mack staying 4-5 more years. The only thing IMO that would cause an earlier departure would be the return of off field issues (more than just an occasional apartment hunting while texting occurrence). No sign of any of those issues that I can see.

    You do need more eye candy though… you know clowns on unicycles and some such. We demand more visuals!

  6. doback said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 1:58 pm

    Excellent as always Minnie. Your batting average continues its ascent to .1000 and you are the Joe Mauer of Barkers…

  7. srr50 said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 2:28 pm

    and you are the Joe Mauer of Barkers…

    Which means Scipio and Henry James are the Roger Staubach and
    Drew Pearson of Barkers.

  8. BrickHorn said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    And CTJ is the post-game LeGarrette Blount of Barkers.

  9. doback said:

    September 4th, 2009 at 9:01 pm

    ‘Which means Scipio and Henry James are the Roger Staubach and
    Drew Pearson of Barkers.’

    srr50: Thank you Sir for reminding me of one of the happiest days of my childhood..
    The most clutch fourth down catch ever. Followed by the Hail Mary. Followed by flying whiskey bottles. Followed by Too Tall Jones sacking the tiny redneck carney Tarkington. Followed by 0:00 and my Dad actually smiling…

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