With Texas preparing to visit USC on Saturday, the university decided to make several players from the 2005 National Championship team available to the media. Aaron Ross, Tim Crowder, Kasey Studdard, Vince Young, Quan Cosby, Michael Griffin, Justin Blalock and Michael Huff reminisced about that season on Tuesday. Each player spoke for about 10 minutes.
Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s trip down memory lane:
- The majority of players have only watched that game a handful of times over the past 12 years. Many of the them had NFL careers and are chasing around children nowadays.
- Each player said they felt disrespected by college football observers prior to that game against USC. Few people gave Texas a chance to win that game. The lack of respect gave them extra motivation prior to that contest.
- In addition, Young said he was extra motivated by not winning the Heisman Trophy that season: “I was pissed by not winning the Heisman, and bringing the Heisman back to Texas. I definitely wanted to be with Ricky [Williams] and Earl [Campbell] and bring it back for the team. To me, the Heisman is not just one individual. I feel like it’s a team effort.”
- Former players believed the victory against Ohio State earlier that year prepared them to face USC. Vince Young said Ohio State’s defense was better than USC, and Texas won on the road in a hostile environment. However, USC had a much better offense than Ohio State, according to Young.
- Here is Young on his fourth-down touchdown: “Take you back to coach [Mack] Brown, me and coach [Greg] Davis. The first thing they asked before we left is if the game was on the line, what play would you call? I said quarterback sneak. Coaches are coaches, and they’re very smart and know what they’re doing. Coach Davis said let’s call menu two, that gives you both. You can pass it or run it. It came down to that play, menu two, and Pete Carroll, being a defensive-minded guy, was throwing all kind of NFL blitzes at me. That play was a zone blitz. It was menu two, and Selvin did a good job of taking Rucker out the play. Justin Blalock did a great job of picking up a key block. Me, I was thinking about trying to get the first down, throwing the ball to David Thomas or Brian Carter. Once I came back to throw it to my check down, there was a lane. I just used my instincts and took off running.”
- Studdard said he was not able to celebrate until they made the two-point conversion. After the game, Studdard said he had a beer with his family in the hotel lobby and went back to his room because he was exhausted. He wishes the team immediately flew back to Austin and celebrated with their fans.
- A police officer assigned to escort Texas’ football team was hit by a car while the team was in California. However, he still attended the game to support Texas. Players were motivated to win for the fans, but that police officer.
- Here is Studdard on the current program: “I think they are on the right path right now. I think they’re building that foundation they need. I think a big thing is their senior leadership. They need to start the best players on the team, the guys that are the most productive, they need to make an example on the field. They got to show that on the field so these younger guys can see how it’s done right, and they can grow off of that. That’s what has been lacking. Those older guys that those young guys look up to. When we came in here, we had Cory Redding, Leonard Davis, Derrick Johnson. We had good molds to base our game off of, and how to prepare.”
- Here is what Crowder said about the current Longhorns: “We’ve put the new sod down. it’s time to put the water on the grass and let it grow,. That’s basically where they’re at right now. It’s going to take ups and downs, and you’ve got to understand that, but they’ve just got to stay the course."
