Texas Who??
If you live in the lone star state as I do,(especially central Texas) and listen to sports radio(don't we all) you would be lead to believe Charlie Strong should really be in contact with a realtor asap! You see the Texas Longhorn fans are quick to bail on their team and their coaches at the first sign of trouble. They expect to win every game, every season and do not like loosing... EVER... For the average football fan rooting for the average football team that may seem a little harsh! But is it justified? Should Longhorn fans, and Alumni (boosters) be upset? Should they expect 10+win seasons year end and year out? Let's dive into this a little deeper.
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The Texas Longhorns are in arguably the most talent rich state in the United States. Their recruiting base spans far and wide; with over 1400 high school football teams (not players) in the state. The university of Texas is the state name sake and for all intents and purposes has the pick of the litter. That does not include the kids in neighboring states like Louisiana, and Oklahoma. Yet every year we hear and see kids right in the Longhorns back yard that were either not offered or where offered but the school wanted them to change positions... Lets take a look at a few of the Longhorns misses in the past few years. Drew Brees.. Drew Brees played his high school ball in the city of Austin.. He was not offered a scholarship to pay for the University of Texas. he took his talents to Purdue University, and now is a Super Bowl winner and one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the NFL. Nick Foles, another standout quarterback from Westlake high school right in the back yard of the Texas Longhorns. He took his talents to Arizona, and now plays on Sundays in the NFL. Robert Griffin III. He played his high school ball less then 1 hour drive from campus. Ut did recruit him but wanted him to play a different position. So he decided to take his talents an hour drive in the other direction to Waco and play quarterback for the Baylor Bears. 4 years and a Heisman trophy later he was drafted in the first round of the NFL. I could go on with this for a while but I think i made my point.
So you may be asking yourself wow maybe its the facilities?? Nope Texas boast arguably the most high tech football training facility in all of football. Darrel K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium is the 7th largest stadium anywhere with a seating capacity of 100,119. New turf was brought in in 2013 along with the addition of the Red McCombs sports medicine and strength training building. At a whopping 32,448 square feet it houses the hydro therapy pool, two plunge pools, golf putting and simulation area, 40 yard acceleration track, nutrition area, and locker rooms. In 2011 the locker rooms were renovated with 135 wide space lockers with state of the art ventilation systems, nutrition bar, lounge with gaming stations, 72 inch LED TV with 5 more LED tvs throughout the locker room. The indoor practice facility (the bubble) is a 70,000 square foot indoor climate controlled field with goal posts. Then you have the 20,000 square foot Dr. Nasser Al-Rashid strength and training center with custom training equipment, Olympic weight platforms, computer and video based training systems, 70 yard indoor turf track, 35ft x 45ft poly-metric training center, Gatorade dispensers, and of course top of the line sound system... Just to name a few.
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So if its not lack of talent, and its not facilities, then what else could it possibly be??? Why is Texas football not contending year end, and year out for National Championships? That is the question that has Charlie Strong and the rest of the Texas coaching staff teetering on the edge of their seats.
