Texas Felons?

[BYULV]

Hearing now that potentially two starters on the o-line and speedy RB- Daje Johnson are on the chopping block.

Appears that all those being dismissed were on probation since the spring. They had a set of expectations including workout, 7 on 7 and class attendance, as well as drug tests, etc. They were up for a final evaluation before summer camp and so far none that I know of have passed, and therefore sent packing.

This should be an eye opener to anyone who thinks Mack Brown was treated unfairly or should've been given multiple chances to turn this around. A sound program involves so much more than just X's and O's, and great athletes. You may get by on that for a while, but after long it will eventually decay and crumble from the inside out. I'm not sure that 95% of the coaches in college ball would be willing to do what Strong is doing just days before summer camp. I'm impressed.

I agree, and respect Texas much more for setting their standards and backing them up. We have seen our share of athletes get suspended or dismissed because of coaches who don't waver in their expectations. Not only does it make your program stronger, it makes it a better team/school to root for as a fan. I would cheer for a BYU/Texas team that loses every game, but stands for principled things than for an undefeated contender that let's anything pass without accountability.

[Hookem]

For anyone who's interested on the latest with our player suspensions and how this affects the team come September 6.

3 Players were dismissed from the team for repeated team rules violations. Those players are Jalen Overstreet - RB; Chevoski Collins - DB; Joe Bergeron - RB. Not sure exactly what the rules were that they broke repeatedly, but they apparently thought that they could continue to get away with it. None of these dismissals hurt us in the short term with the exception of depth at the RB spot. Collins had the potential to be a big contributor, but was another year or two away.

2 Players were suspended permanently. Not sure the difference between the status of these two and the above, but they're gone nonetheless. Kendall Sanders - WR; Montrel Meander - WR. This kills our WR depth. Sanders likely had the biggest upside of all receivers. These two are the ones facing criminal trial for sexual assault. I'm glad they're gone.

1 Player retired for multiple concussions. Kendal Thompson - LB. He hadn't really been a factor for the last year at that spot.

3 Players suspended for at least one game. Daje Johnson - RB/WR; Desmond Harrison - OL/T; Josh Turner. Not sure exactly what they're issues were other than unspecified team rules. All three are potential starters. Johnson was injured on the 3rd play from scrimmage last year against you guys. For the life of me I couldn't understand why Applewhite was running that kid between the tackles and up the middle. He's a Percy Harvin type, he needs to be in space, not grinding it out like a traditional running back.

Harrison is a huge tackle prospect that can't seem to get it together. I think Strong is hoping this will light a fire under him and Johnson.

Turner is the potential starter at safety. However, he's undersized and appears to be in danger, and was back in the spring, of losing his spot to a walk-on soph, Dylan Haines. Haines has apparently really impressed and looked pretty good in the spring game.

I personally think the biggest loss for us would be Johnson on the outside and as a slot RB/WR. Kid has wheels.

Oline is a huge, massive, astronomical concern for us. As I said before, not sure how much Wickline will be able to accomplish by the second game of the season.

Overall, I really don't know what to expect from this team. Way too many ? marks.

[DeVon]

Thanks for the update, this is CRAZY (and I really mean that, you can tell because it is in all caps). I love it, Strong is the man. I'm always impressed when a couch comes in to a program and says "I don't care what anybody thinks, I'm going to do this my way."

That being said, what do people think? What are they saying on the radio and in the papers? Do fans like Charlie and what he's trying to do?

[Marking Time]

That being said, what do people think? What are they saying on the radio and in the papers? Do fans like Charlie and what he's trying to do?

I regularly lurk on the Texas boards. So far, about the only fans who seem to be complaining that much are aTm Aggies and Oklahoma Sooners posting smack.

As far as I can tell, the vast majority of Texas fans aren't so much worried about winning as they are about reestablishing the traditional "never-say-die-go-down-swinging" attitude they expect from Texas Longhorn football. They are applauding what is happening for the most part. If the fans can see that toughness returning to the team, Strong could probably get away with a losing season this year. But he would only get the one. If they don't start seeing winning seasons after that, he won't last long.

I do hear rumblings that several of the "cigars" (aka boosters with enormous bank accounts and the donations to match) are unhappy. However, the ones doing most of the complaining seem to have been the good ol' boy friends of Mack who loved the access they got.

Check out this reference:
http://www.burntorangenation.com/2013/9 ... -fans-take" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is a posting on one of the Texas boards from a BYU fan after last year's game. The posting itself was quite good, but what was really interesting were the comments. They are very enlightening. It gives you a glimpse into the mindset of the hardcore Longhorn fans in Mack's last year.

[Hookem]

Thanks for the update, this is CRAZY (and I really mean that, you can tell because it is in all caps). I love it, Strong is the man. I'm always impressed when a couch comes in to a program and says "I don't care what anybody thinks, I'm going to do this my way."

That being said, what do people think? What are they saying on the radio and in the papers? Do fans like Charlie and what he's trying to do?

Lot's of different view points out there. Some positive, some negative. Most of the negative are people who have an agenda. They weren't happy with Mack's departure and are going to look for anything negative that they can find.

Overall however, I think Charlie's popularity has been growing. His no nonsense approach has been refreshing to everyone that I've spoken to.

[Hookem]

"My pre-game impression was, "Man, these guys are so good, they even act cool, calm, and collected like this is just a simple business trip," and because I wasn't too confident after BYU's showing last week in Virginia, I thought UT was just going to come out and swat us aside all calm, cool, and collected. Then that same lack of fire and energy kept going through the game, and when BYU came out more fired up than I've ever seen them before, UT's energy couldn't match BYU's. I kept waiting for UT to finally wake up and say, "Enough!" and go nuts on us, but it never happened until finally, in the 4th quarter, you could just see UT wilt collectively. Really strange."

I had a friend at the game call me beforehand and told me that we were going to get whipped. I asked what he meant, he said think OU the last two years and pre-2005. I knew exactly what he meant. The team's body language was a dead give away to any Texas fan who had followed Texas closely during Mack's tenure.

When the game started and I could see for myself, it was apparent. I kept hoping that they'd wake up but by the end of the first quarter it was obvious they weren't. Again, Texas was soft. Period. BYU punched them in the mouth and they rolled over into the fetal position.

I really hope those days are over. We may not win every game, but as long as we play hard and the term soft is no longer used to describe us, I'll be happy.

[Hookem]

That being said, what do people think? What are they saying on the radio and in the papers? Do fans like Charlie and what he's trying to do?

I regularly lurk on the Texas boards. So far, about the only fans who seem to be complaining that much are aTm Aggies and Oklahoma Sooners posting smack.

As far as I can tell, the vast majority of Texas fans aren't so much worried about winning as they are about reestablishing the traditional "never-say-die-go-down-swinging" attitude they expect from Texas Longhorn football. They are applauding what is happening for the most part. If the fans can see that toughness returning to the team, Strong could probably get away with a losing season this year. But he would only get the one. If they don't start seeing winning seasons after that, he won't last long.

I do hear rumblings that several of the "cigars" (aka boosters with enormous bank accounts and the donations to match) are unhappy. However, the ones doing most of the complaining seem to have been the good ol' boy friends of Mack who loved the access they got.

Check out this reference:
http://www.burntorangenation.com/2013/9 ... -fans-take" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is a posting on one of the Texas boards from a BYU fan after last year's game. The posting itself was quite good, but what was really interesting were the comments. They are very enlightening. It gives you a glimpse into the mindset of the hardcore Longhorn fans in Mack's last year.

Excellent post.

The "cigars" who are unhappy are mainly the midlevel donors who had complete access to the program under Mack. The biggest/most important donors, lead by Bob Rowling, from what I've heard have really been taken by Strong and love what he's doing.

Who they're not happy with are Patterson and Powers. They don't feel that they've cleaned house in the athletic dept like they wanted when Patterson was hired. Patterson was hired for this very reason. Not sure if it's Patterson or Powers, but make no mistake that Power's resignation effective 2015 was no coincidence.

[Marking Time]

The "cigars" who are unhappy are mainly the midlevel donors who had complete access to the program under Mack. The biggest/most important donors, lead by Bob Rowling, from what I've heard have really been taken by Strong and love what he's doing.

Good. Me, I am fully enjoying watching from the outside as Strong takes charge and instills some badly needed discipline.

It's not like it's, "one and you're done". According to all the tweets, articles, and interviews, these guys have had multiple chances and warnings to clean-up their acts, and they chose not to. So now they are learning the hard way that choices have consequences.

Who they're not happy with are Patterson and Powers. They don't feel that they've cleaned house in the athletic dept like they wanted when Patterson was hired. Patterson was hired for this very reason. Not sure if it's Patterson or Powers, but make no mistake that Power's resignation effective 2015 was no coincidence.

The rumblings I keep hearing is that Powers has been tying Patterson's hands.

We shall see what happens next year after Powers leaves.

[Hookem]

Good. Me, I am fully enjoying watching from the outside as Strong takes charge and instills some badly needed discipline.

It's not like it's, "one and you're done". According to all the tweets, articles, and interviews, these guys have had multiple chances and warnings to clean-up their acts, and they chose not to. So now they are learning the hard way that choices have consequences.

The rumblings I keep hearing is that Powers has been tying Patterson's hands.

We shall see what happens next year after Powers leaves.

Agreed. The Texas that people have grown accustomed to over the last decade and a half and before that is not the Texas that its fans are fond of. Being constantly labeled as soft, and to a degree rightfully so, is not something we've been proud.


That's why on an earlier thread I mentioned that it wasn't as much the scheme that had to do with Texas getting run over by Taysom Hill last year. Are you familiar with the story of what that little sideline argument captured on television between Akina, Diaz and Brown was about?

BTW. You know you're stuff. I better be careful with what I say. I take it you've visited insidetexas.com on occasion, given your reference to the donors as cigars?

[Hookem]

I've heard that as well about Powers. However, I think they're upset by the fact that they hired Patterson over long time favorite, Oliver Luck, because Patterson promised that despite the potential problems with Powers not wanting to get rid of Mack, he could take care of it. Luck on the other hand, wanted Mack's timeline for removal determined before he got there.

As a result, they unexpectedly went with Patterson, and I get the sense that they're kicking themselves for that now because Patterson hasn't lived up to the billing. I think they expected Patterson to go around Powers if he had to because Powers is/was viewed as a short timer.