Texas coach Charlie Strong has conquered nearly very obstacle placed in front of him since he was hired.
Strong began his tenure ridding the program of all the drug users and criminals. He kicked people off the team who did not buy into his core values. When two players were accused of sexual assault, Strong showed them the door. He was heavily criticized for doing the right thing. In fact, Strong was ripped more for kicking players off his team for criminal activity than Baylor coach Art Briles has been for protecting rapists in his program. Despite the disparity, Strong has been able to successfully recruit players who are willing to follow team rules and pursue their education. Heck, the team grade point average was 3.0 last fall.
Meanwhile, Strong has silenced every critic who questioned his recruiting ability. We were told Strong did not have a good relationship with the high school coaches in Texas, an assertion that appears laughable when you consider the success he has enjoyed the past two years after losing seasons. Strong has acquired two 5-star athletes in consecutive recruiting classes. He recently signed Shane Buechele, the top quarterback in Texas. Brian Jean-Mary has emerged into an elite recruiter under Strong. Texas has more juice than Texas A&M, Baylor, TCU, Houston and Oklahoma – just check the team rankings by Rivals.
There is only one more frontier Strong needs to conquer.
He has to win.
Every person in the program believes this season is the most important year of their tenure, regardless of any public endorsement Strong has received from the athletic director and school president. They understand six wins are not the standard at Texas, which makes five wins less acceptable. Texas was forced to play a lot of young players in 2015, which meant a lot of growing pains. However, they understand nobody wants to hear excuses. This team has to be better.
And Strong’s program will likely improve this year.
Even though Texas finished with five wins, Texas fans may look back on that disappointing season as a blessing in disguise. By not making a bowl game, Texas began the search for an offensive coordinator in December instead of January. That means Strong was able to get the Sonny Cumbie rejection out of the way before it was used against him in recruiting. It also allowed Strong to hire Sterlin Gilbert, the offensive coordinator he really wanted, and not have recruits question the direction of his program. Strong was allowed to sell the future of his program and finish with another great recruiting class, which may not have occurred if Texas went to a meaningless bowl game.
Now Strong has the players he wants. They all know what he is about and understand his expectations. We should not hear more talk about the lack of unity, or the division between freshmen and upperclassmen. Everybody should be on the same page now. They all should be tired of losing. It is time for them to take the next step and turn around this program.
That means when Texas does lose this season – and it will happen, unless you are predicting the Longhorns to finish undefeated – we cannot see lopsided defeats again. The blowouts Longhorn fans witnesses against Notre Dame (38-3), TCU (50-7), and Iowa State (24-0) last season cannot be repeated in 2016. The team has to be competitive in every game. Texas needs to play better on defense. Gilbert must utilize all of his weapons on offense.
In addition, Strong and Gilbert need to find a quarterback who is simply above average this season. None of the quarterbacks have to be the second coming of Vince Young. Strong can win games with the next David Ash. He just needs an above average quarterback who does not make mistakes. If a consistent quarterback emerges in the spring, Texas has a realistic chance to compete for a Big 12 title this season.
Hey, Texas defeated Oklahoma and Baylor with Jerrod Heard and Tyrone Swoopes, respectively, last season. The Longhorns are one quarterback away from being a serious contender.
If Strong's history at Louisville can helps us predict the future, this should be a good season for Texas. Louisville finished 7-6 in two consecutive seasons before an 11-win season in 2012 and 12 wins in 2013. The foundation for a winning program was set in Strong's first two seasons. This might be the same formula Strong is repeating in Texas.
Obviously, everybody knows what could occur if Texas finishes with another losing season.
So far, Strong has conquered nearly obstacle in front of him.
There is only one more hurdle for him to overcome.
He has to win.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
Sports On a Dime
1. Here is a little nugget I did not post in the War Room, but will share with you guys here. Last year, an NFL scout visited Texas’ campus and the Longhorns had 11 pro prospects. The interesting part about his observation was nine of those prospects were true freshmen (including redshirt freshman D’Onta Foreman). The other two players he believed could be on an NFL team were Hassan Ridgeway and Kent Perkins. By the time last year’s freshmen become juniors, Texas might have one of the most talented teams in the country.
2. In addition to recruiting success, the decision to move Texas’ Thanksgiving Day game against TCU to Friday was great news last week, too. Even if this was a TV move, there is no need to force a Thanksgiving Day game if the stadium will not be sold out. Unless Texas and Texas A&M renew their rivalry, I hope the Longhorns do not play on Thanksgiving Day again.
3. Remember when every talking head and writer tried to say Houston would finish with a better recruiting class than Texas? How many of them have fallen on their sword? Anyway, sometimes the truth hurts:
4. We always see and read about the signing day celebrations. However, this is what happens when a recruiting staff discovers the athlete they wanted chooses another school:
5. My Hall of Fame predictions last week were almost correct. I predicted Brett Favre (Green Bay), Orlando Pace (Rams/Bears), Terrell Owens (several teams), Kevin Greene (several teams) and Dick Stanfel (Lions/Redskins) would get in. Instead, Tony Dungy, 49ers owner Eddie DeBartolo (contributor), quarterback Ken Stabler, guard Dick Stanfel, Marvin Harrison, Greene, Favre and Pace were inducted. This might be one the weakest classes in recent years.
6. I still think the safe money is on Carolina in the Super Bowl. Some fans may want Peyton Manning to win for sentimental reasons, but this is Cam Newton’s moment. Look for him to embrace it and lead Carolina to a 30-27 victory.
7. If Carolina does win it all, I hope Greg Hardy sulks in his room. He has never shown remorse for beating down – and paying off – his ex-girlfriend, and I hope watching his former team hoist the Lombardi Trophy will make him regret at least one aspect of his assault.
8. Super Bowl Media Day was extremely hard to watch. Instead of airing interviews with players, ESPN and the NFL Network spent of the time forcing viewers to endure the same analysts we see all of the time. The only highlight was watching Josh Norman shutdown Deion Sanders during an attempted interview:
9. NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Philadelphia could part ways with running back DeMarco Murray, and believes Seattle, Dallas and Oakland are potential suitors. However, Seattle already has Thomas Rawls, who was productive before an ankle injury. It is hard to image Philadelphia trading Murray to Dallas, but I can see a reunion if the running back is released. Even though both sides are saying they do not expect a move, just remember very few teams will announce their intentions in January.
10. One of the sad parts of the never-ending Johnny Manziel story was the recent discussion about which teams might be interested him after his latest domestic abuse allegation. He needs to see a "team" of counselors to get his life together before it is too late.
