First insightful take I recall reading from Bobby Burton in a long time (maybe ever):
Some thoughts on Charlie Strong and Texas
As most of you know, I've been unabashedly positive about the trajectory of the Texas football program since signing day in February and then into spring ball and now even here during fall camp.
It's the first time in five years where I think the program is truly on its way to taking a big step forward, instead of either atrophying or even taking steps backwards.
Yet as I've said before, I don't know what this increased optimism will necessarily mean this year when it comes to the win-loss column.
But I certainly feel Texas is building a big-time team for the years to come.
**
So I started thinking about what this program "build up" reminded me of. Were there any correlations I could draw on from my previous experiences?
It's certainly not like what
Mack Brown did for Texas.
Brown brought a new wave approach to Texas at a time when no one else in the state was actually head and shoulders above the competition. And he did it with some real flash. After all, his star player won a Heisman Trophy in his very first year and then he recruited the USA Today's No. 1 player on offense and defense (Chris Simms and Cory Redding) in his very first full recruiting class.
Brown, thanks to his own acumen and some fortuity (like Ricky), was off to the races at the very start.
**
So what time period does the beginning of the Strong era actually remind me of?
I go back to the
Jackie Sherrill era at Texas A&M.
Sherrill's first three years in Aggieland were:
1982: 5-6
1983: 5-5-1
1984: 6-5
But at the very same time, during those lean years, Sherrill was accumulating an amazing amount of talent.
It was obvious to anyone watching college football that Sherrill was getting young guys into his program that could compete with anyone.
That's how I feel about Charlie Strong, that same sense of impending success in large part because of just the sheer amount of talent starting to flow into Austin.
Good things typically happen when you have better athletes than your opponents.
**
Since this is Strong's third season, I wanted to look at how Sherrill performed in his third year.
The Aggies finished 6-5. But they lost five of six games in the very middle of their schedule after a 3-0 start in non-conference.
But they finally started showing some of that talent in those losses. Three of the five losses came by eight points or less, including dropping a tough game to no. 19 SMU, who back then had some of the best talent in the conference (in part because the players were paid).
Perhaps the turning point for the Aggie program, and what even allowed Sherrill to keep his job going into 1985, was an end of the season win over Texas. And the win was decisive for the Aggies -- 37-12.
Texas, which just a year earlier had almost won the national championship, was out-classed athletically and the team was spiraling with questions surrounding Fred Akers' control of the program.
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/texas-am/1984-schedule.html
**
So as we look upon this upcoming season for the Horns in Strong's third year, I think it's important to remember that this is likely to be a roller coaster of a campaign.
That's what happens when you play so many young and talented players.
But as the season nears its close, we should really start to see the fruits of a team and what the long-term future will look like. Just something to keep in mind as we try to set expectations for this year.
**
After accumulating all that talent, how did it turn out for Sherrill the next three years?
1985: 10-2
1986: 9-3
1987: 10-2
While Sherrill was eventually ousted in Aggieland in 1988 for incredulous recruiting violations, it was not before the Aggies won three consecutive SWC championships and had started the program's best run of any national significance in at least 50 years.
During that time, Sherrill beat the Longhorns five consecutive times. Ultimately, in 1989 he left R.C. Slocum a roster littered with talent and extended that streak of wins over Texas to six.
