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UNDER CONSTRUCTION LONGHORNS CONTINUE REBUILDING ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL AFTER TEXAS BOWL LOSS
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CONTENTS
The offense, including Tyrone Swoopes, will need to learn from its mistakes to ensure next season is a winning season.
FEATURES
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FOOTBALL
The Path to Greatness The 2014 football season was an emotional rollercoaster, with its fair share of ups and downs. But with every win and every loss, head coach Charlie Strong laid a foundation that the team can build upon in years to come. In our season recap, we examine each game and highlight the learnings that the Longhorns will take into account as they head into the offseason.
32 FOOTBALL Bowled Over The Texas Bowl was an opportunity to renew an old rivalry between Texas and Arkansas. Both teams arrived in Houston with six regular-season wins and a desire to show that their programs had turned the corner. And to truly prove their points, one team needed to dominate this game. Unfortunately, Arkansas was the more physical team, limiting Texas to just 59 yards of total offense and walking away with the 31-7 win. We address five questions from Texas’ loss in the Texas Bowl and look at what will happen in the offseason for the players and staff.
36 VOLLEYBALL Rising Together After winning 27 games, a conference title and capturing numerous accolades, the Texas volleyball team surprised fans when its season stopped short of the national title match. A controversial call made by the referees sealed the Longhorns’ fate during the semifinals, where they lost to BYU. Senior Editor Steve Habel recaps Texas’ 10th semifinal appearance and provides insight into how head coach Jerritt Elliott plans to move forward after this disappointing end to a successful season.
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M A RK YO U R C A LE N D A R
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RO U N D U P
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S P I RI T O F T HE M O N T H
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M E D I A VO I C E S
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T HE HA B E O N T HE HO RN S
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I N S E A S O N — Basketball and Volleyball
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FI N A L S C O RE
COVER PHOTO: PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
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FIRST
LOOK
In the blowout against Texas State on Dec. 13, the Longhorns held the Bobcats to 27 points — the fewest points Texas has allowed since holding Houston YMCA to 23 back in 1946. “We’re a good defensive team,” head coach Rick Barnes said after the 59-27 win, “and when we get big out there like we can, it’s a hard team to score on.” Texas State ended the game shooting 22 percent from the field and 30 percent from the free throw line.
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MARK YOUR
CALENDAR
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WHAT’S GOING ON IN LONGHORN SPORTS
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M BASKETBALL
UT at Texas Tech Lubbock, 1 p.m. W BASKETBALL
PREVIOUS SPR EAD: JIM SI GMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS. THIS PAGE CLOC KWIS E FR OM T OP EFT: PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS, PATRICK MEREDITH /UNIV. OF TEXAS, BETHANY WALTER/U NIV . OF TE X A S
UT vs. Kansas 7 p.m.
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UT vs. Oklahoma 8 p.m.
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UT vs. West Virginia 7 p.m.
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M/ W SWIMMING & DIVING
UT at Auburn Auburn, Ala., 5 p.m.
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M TENNIS
UT Invitational Weller Indoor Tennis Center All Day
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UT at Oklahoma State Stillwater, Okla., 4 p.m. W BASKETBALL
UT at Iowa State Ames, Iowa, 11 a.m. M/ W SWIMMING & DIVING
UT at Georgia Athens, Ga., 10 a.m.
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UT at Oklahoma 7 p.m.
Pippa Horn and the Longhorns are ready to serve up another successful season.
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FEBRUARY
UT at Tulsa Tulsa, Okla. 6 p.m.
UT at Arkansas Fayetteville, Ark., 1 p.m.
UT at Iowa State Ames, Iowa, 8 p.m.
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UT at TCU Fort Worth, 6 p.m.
UT vs. Oklahoma 6 p.m.
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M TENNIS
M/ W TR ACK & FIELD
Leonard Hilton Memorial Invitational Houston, All Day Arkansas - Texas Dual Meet Fayetteville, Ark.
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Miami Spring Invite Coral Gables, Fla.
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UT vs. West Virginia, 5 or 8 p.m. W BASKETBALL
UT vs Texas Tech Noon
M TENNIS
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UT at Baylor Waco, 5:30 p.m.
23–24
M/ W TR ACK & FIELD
Rod McCravy Memorial Lexington, Ky., All Day
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UT vs. Kansas 1 p.m. M/ W TR ACK & FIELD
Lobo Collegiate Invitational Albuquerque, N.M., All Day A
24–25
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UT at Kansas State Manhattan, Kan., 3 p.m.
M/ W TR ACK & FIELD
Howie Ryan Invitational Houston, TX UW Invitational Seattle, Wash.
INFORMATION IS BASED ON AVAILABLE SCHEDULES AT PRESS TIME AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE.
30–31
CHECK WWW.TEXASSPORTS. COM FOR UP-TO-DATE INFORMATION
M/ W SWIMMING & DIVING
UT vs. Arizona, SMU 30 - 5 p.m. 31 - 10 a.m.
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UT at Baylor Waco, 5 p.m. M TENNIS
ITA Kickoff Weekend 24 - UT vs. Minnesota, 10 a.m. 2 25 - UT vs. Florida St. or 2 Michigan, TBA
UT at SMU Dallas, TBA
ITA Kickoff Weekend Nashville, Tenn. 24 - DePaul 2 25 - Vanderbilt or Harvard 2
UT vs. Oklahoma State 7 p.m.
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M TENNIS
W TENNIS
M BASKETBALL
W TENNIS
UT vs. Rice TBD BASEBALL
Alumni Game TBA
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working Kelsey LeNeave is Big 12 toward her fourth s season. Championship thi
UT vs. Iowa State 3:30 p.m.
Brooke McCarty and the Longhorns begin Big 12 play on Jan. 3.
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ROUNDUP
PA TR IC K M E R ED ITH /UNI V. O F T EX AS
SWIMMING’S NEW RECORDS // TEXAS TAGGED AS MVP // ENEMKPALI’S 1000TH CAREER POINT
SETTING A NEW STANDARD: Sophomore Will Licon and freshman Joseph Schooling toppled individual school records to wrap up the annual Texas Invitational at the Lee and Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center on Dec. 6. Licon took on Arizona’s Kevin Cordes — the 200-yard breaststroke’s American record holder and defending NCAA champion — and won the event in 1:52.18. The time was fast enough to edge the school record of 1:52.24 set by Scott Spann Jr. at the 2010 NCAA Championships. Schooling and sophomore Clark Smith both dipped well under Neil Caskey’s 200 butterfly school mark of 1:42.52 in the final. Schooling clocked the nation’s fastest time and claimed the school record for himself at 1:41.00. Smith took second place after nearly running down Schooling in 1:41.42. Schooling’s swim ranks ninth all-time in the men’s 200-yard butterfly while Smith’s 1:41.42 ranks him 14th. Sophomore Jack Conger joined Olympic gold medalist Aaron Peirsol as the only Longhorns to clear 1:40 in the 200 backstroke when the All-American placed second in the event at 1:39.84.
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FOOTBALL
MALCOM IN THE MIDDLE
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DESTINED FOR BIGGER THINGS: Malcom Brown was nominated for a number of national awards but received little recognition in the Big 12 conference.
EFENSIVE LINEMAN Malcom Brown was up for a number of
national awards this year, but that recognition did not include a defensive player or defensive lineman of the year award from the Big 12. This came as surprising news to many, and Texas defensive coordinator Vance Bedford quickly reached out on social media to comment on the perceived snub. “Malcom Brown was up for national awards but our own conference doesn’t see what the nation sees,” Bedford tweeted. “Every team in the Big 12 had to game plan him. Someone tell me how he was passed over.” Brown was a finalist for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to the country’s top defensive lineman. He was also a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Award, which is given to the nation’s top defensive player each season. On the year, Brown had 6.5 sacks and 14 tackles for loss. Oklahoma State defensive end Emmanuel Ogbah was named the conference’s top defensive JUST HAVE FAITH: Brown’s wife, Faith, and lineman, while TCU linebacker Paul Dawson earned his two children keep him focused on the bigger the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award. picture.
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BEST OF THE BEST JUNIOR MALCOM BROWN and four other Texas football players earned All-Big 12 Conference honors from the Associated Press. Brown secured a spot on the first team, while seniors Quandre Diggs, John Harris, Jordan Hicks and Cedric Reed landed on the second team. Brown, a finalist for both the Nagurski Trophy (nation’s best defensive player) and Outland Trophy (top interior lineman in the country), led the team in tackles for loss (14) and sacks (6.5), and tied for first with six quarterback pressures. Rodrique Wright (2005) was the last Longhorn defensive tackle to earn firstteam All-Big 12 honors from the AP. Hicks, a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award as the country’s best defensive player, led the team in tackles (147) while chipping in 3.5 sacks and two interceptions. Diggs was fourth on the team in tackles (73) and posted three interceptions and five pass breakups. He tied for ninth on the school’s career interceptions list (11) and tied for ninth in pass breakups (37). Reed ranks third on the team in sacks (5.5), tied for fourth in tackles for loss (10) and tied for sixth (with Brown) in tackles with 64. Harris has had a breakout senior season. After posting nine receptions for 190 yards the previous three seasons, Harris has recorded 64 catches for 1,015 yards and seven touchdowns this year.
JORDAN HICKS
CEDRIC REED
QUANDRE DIGGS
THE FINAL CHAPTER: Dom Espinosa will not return next year even though he missed the majority of the 2014 season due to injury.
THE ROAD FORWARD SENIOR CENTER Dom Espinosa announced on Twitter that he will not pursue a sixth year of eligibility and that his college playing career is over. Espinosa, who started all 40 games in which he played, injured his ankle in the season opener against North Texas. Two
days later, he was ruled out for the year, depriving the Longhorns of their most experienced and reliable blocker. On Twitter, Espinosa said he has “never been one to crave a future in the NFL, rather someone who anticipated making most of [his] hard-earned Texas
degree. I can’t imagine a better place to graduate and play football. Texas, thanks for the memories.” As expected, senior defensive tackle Desmond Jackson will be back in 2015. Jackson, who suffered a foot injury in week three against UCLA, announced his plans via Facebook.
T HIS PAGE CLOCKWISE FR OM LEF T: PAT RICK M ER EDITH/UNI V. OF T EXAS, HEADSHOTS COURTESY UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY, JIM SIGMON/UN IV. OF TEXAS, UT ATHLET ICS PHOT OGRAP HY
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ROUNDUP
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FULL COVERAGE
T HIS PAGE FR OM LEFT : BET HANY WALTER /UNIV. OF TEXAS, D ON BENDER
THE RETURN OF JORDAN HICKS?
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ENIOR LINEBACKER Jordan Hicks has been through it all.
High expectations? Check. He signed with the Longhorns as a fivestar recruit and was a member of a highly-touted recruiting class. Injuries? Check. He suffered a season-ending hip injury in the third game of 2012 and tore his Achilles in the fourth game of 2013. However, these difficulties staying on the field have put in perspective the importance of staying healthy. “My health is something I cherish every time I go out there,” Hicks said. “It’s a blessing to be out there playing, feeling as good as I am.” This season, he has made a more obvious impact on the box score. Through Texas’ 13 games, Hicks recorded a team-high 147 tackles, tying him for seventh on the all-time single-season list, and the most since Winfred Tubbs tallied 157 in 1992. Of the 147 tackles he has made, 75 of them were non-assisted, which is one more than he recorded in his first four seasons at Texas. His improved abilities to tackle in the open field are partially responsible for the senior’s stats. Hicks ranks fourth on the team in interceptions with two, and second in tackles for loss with 13, in addition to 3.5 sacks on the season. Although Hicks likely would qualify for a sixth year of eligibility, it doesn’t seem like it’s something he’ll pursue. A tweet indicated that he accepted an invitation to play in the Senior Bowl, meaning that his Longhorn career will likely conclude in the team’s bowl game.
BIG 12 scholarship athletes will receive full cost of attendance from their schools as part of an initiative approved by the conference board of directors. Under the change, scholarship athletes will be compensated for other college expenses beyond tuition and fees, room and board, and class-related books. The measure currently varies from school to school, depending on a set of federal guidelines, and could range from $2,000 to $5,000. The Big 12 and the other power-five conferences have moved quickly to implement the reform after the NCAA passed an autonomy provision earlier this year. The new bylaws go into effect Aug. 1 in the Big 12. “This is a step in implementing policies that are required by the 21st-century student-athlete,” Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby said. “We wanted to not just look at what is permitted but put a stake in the ground for what we stand for.” Texas athletic director Steve Patterson said earlier this fall the amount per athlete could be close to $10,000. ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: After battling injuries most of his college career, Jordan Hicks had a stellar 2014 season. He led the team in tackles and was second in tackles for a loss.
STILL ON TOP EVEN THE COST of a coaching change couldn’t unseat Texas, as Forbes recognized the Longhorn football program as the most valuable team in the nation once again. Mack Brown’s departure and the hiring of Charlie Strong did drop Texas’ net worth by $8 million, but the Longhorns were still
valued at $131 million in 2014 — $9 million more than Notre Dame, which ranks second in the country. Of course, college football teams can’t be bought and sold, so Forbes measures each program by how much value they generate for their athletic department, university, conference and local
JANUARY 2015
economy. The Longhorns weren’t the only team from the Lone Star State to crack the top 20, as Texas A&M ranks 13th in the nation with a team value of $78 million. The rival Sooners were eighth on the list, at $93 million, while Arkansas is the country’s 18th most valuable program at $71 million.
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BASKETBALL
Holding Court: Empress Davenport’s winning layup helped Texas defeat the Aggies, 67-65.
MS.
1000
HIGH RANKING
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ROUNDUP
SENIOR FORWARD Nneka Enemkpali became the 37th Longhorn to join the 1,000-point club, reaching the mark during Texas’ 74-34 win over Northwestern State on Dec. 14. Enemkpali scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to notch her 24th career double-double. “It’s a huge individual accolade and it’s an honor being part of such a prestigious group,” Enemkpali said. Head coach Karen Aston noted that, “a lot of those points are probably from rebounds.” Enemkpali now ranks second in the Big 12 with 8.6 rebounds a game. “Nneka is a phenomenal rebounder,” Aston added. “She not only has a nose for the ball but a desire to go get the ball. It becomes contagious for other players to see how hard she works on the boards.”
BRAGGING RIGHTS
I
N THIS SEASON’S Big 12-SEC challenge, the two headliners lived up to their billing. Texas overcame an 11-point second-half deficit to beat Texas A&M 67-65. Both teams had their share of runs in the back-and-forth affair, but it was the Longhorns who had the final push. In the end, it was Empress Davenport who put the finishing touch on what's become commonplace for the Longhorns — beating the Aggies. "This was a ballgame that was good enough to be an NCAA Elite Eight game," Texas A&M coach Gary Blair said. The win was the fourth straight for Texas over its rival, and its 10th straight win to open the season — the best start for the Longhorns since opening 11-0 in 2008. The victory also improved Karen Aston to 2-0 against the Aggies as the Longhorns' head coach. Nneka Enemkpali had 21 points and 13 rebounds. She combined with Davenport to help the Longhorns overcome a flurry of first-half turnovers to defeat their third top-10 opponent this season — following wins at Stanford and against Tennessee. "Our team was resilient," Aston said. "You always find out the character of your team when you get into situations like we were in today.” Texas trailed 45-34 early in the second half, but its full-court press disrupted Texas A&M after that — forcing 15 turnovers by the Aggies. After Achiri Ade tied it at 65-65 with 31 seconds remaining, Davenport drove into the heart of the Aggies' defense for the eventual winning layup.
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BOTH THE Associated Press’ Top 25 and the USA Today Coaches’ Top 25 ranked the Texas women’s basketball team at No. 3 the week beginning Dec. 8. The position marked the highest ranking for the Longhorns since the 2004-05 season when they ranked No. 2 in both polls.
WEEK
W-L
ASSOC. PRESS
Dec. 29/30
10-0
3 (4)
Dec. 8/9
7-0
3 (4)
Dec. 1/2
5-0
4 (1)
Nov. 24/25
3-0
6 (1)
Preseason
0-0
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ON POINT: Nneka Enemkpali scored 10 points against Northwestern State, reaching the 1,000-point mark in her college career.
THIS SPREAD CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: JESS DROHEN, BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS, MATT HEMPEL/UNIV. OF TEXAS, UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY, SUSAN SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
THREE-PEAT
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CONFERENCE FAVORITE: Haley Eckerman captured her third consecutive Big 12 Player of the Year award this season.
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OLLEYBALL RAKED in the conference awards as senior Haley Eckerman was named Big 12 Player of the Year. Head coach Jerritt Elliott earned Big 12 Coach of the Year recognition, while senior Khat Bell and sophomore Chiaka Ogbogu were named to the First Team. Eckerman is only the second player in conference history to earn the Player of the Year honor for three consecutive years, joining Nebraska’s Sarah Pavan (2005-07). For Texas, it’s the program’s eighth Player of the Year honor. Eckerman ranked in the top 10 in the league in points, kills and service aces for overall matches and conferenceonly matches. The senior, who has been a part of all four of Texas’ Big 12 regular season titles from 2011-14, led the Longhorns in kills with an average of 3.17 during the regular season. She’s the eighth player in league history to earn All-Big 12 First Team honors in all four years. Elliott led the Longhorns to their fourth-straight Big 12 regular season title as Texas posted a 15-1 mark in league play. Texas closed out the regular season with a 23-2 overall record and has been ranked in the top five nationally all season. The Longhorns have won 30 of their last 31 Big 12 matches with Elliott’s 216 Big 12 wins — the most by any coach in conference history. Elliott is a five-time Big 12 Coach WINNING of the Year selection, having won the honor in 2004, ‘07, ‘10, ‘11 and ‘14. TRADITION: A LU M N I
NO. 38 AND COUNTING FORMER LONGHORN and
four-time U.S. Olympian Troy Dumais captured his 38th U.S. national diving title at the 2014 USA Diving Winter National Championships. Dumais took a 24-point lead into the men’s 3-meter final round after accumulating 902.05 points during the pre-
liminary and semifinal rounds. A bronze medalist in three-meter synchronized diving at the London Olympics, Dumais held off Indiana’s Darian Schmidt and emerged with the national title with 1348.30 points. Dumais had the topscoring dive of the competition, a reverse one-and-a-half
somersault with three-and-ahalf twists that yielded 92.75 points. Texas sophomore Mark Anderson joined Dumais in the final and placed 11th with 1,111.90 points. Anderson also competed in the men’s platform synchro final and placed third with 674.04 points.
Troy Dumais won his 38th national title at the USA Diving National Championships.
ROUNDUP
ON THE FAST TRACK
IN HIS FIRST race of the indoor track & field season, Craig Lutz posted the No. 2 time in school history. Lutz clocked in at 13:47.09 to finish second in the men’s 5,000 meters invitational at the Hoosier Open. The race was highly touted as one of the best 5,000 meters races to be assembled so early during the indoor season in a number of years and it did not disappoint. Lutz trailed only Northern Arizona’s Brian Shrader, who finished 11th at last season’s NCAA Championship meet. Shrader ran 13:40.94 for the win. “Craig raced well tonight. He did a great job competing and moving up as the race developed,” assistant coach Brad Herbster said. “Craig stayed focused on the main goal, which was to put himself in a potential qualifying position for the NCAA Championship, and he did that.” With only 16 athletes qualifying for the NCAA Championship in every event in March, a growing trend has been to see distance runners push for fast times early in the season to hopefully post a time that will stand for the remainder of the season. Last season, the slowest time to qualify for NCAAs in the men’s 5,000 was 13:49.78.
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UTSA ROUNDUP
UTSA
CALENDAR JANUARY 2015
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2: at Rice, Houston, 7 p.m. 4: at North Texas, Denton , 2 p.m. 8: vs. Southern Miss, 7 p.m. 10: vs. Louisiana Tech, 2 p.m. 12: at Texas-Pan American, Edinburg 7 p.m. 17: vs. UTEP, 2 p.m. 22: at Marshall, Huntington, W. Va. 6 p.m. 24: at Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, Ky., 2 p.m. 29: vs. Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m. 31: vs. UAB, 2 p.m. W BASKETBALL
THE ONES WHO STARTED IT ALL: In the season’s final game against North Texas, UTSA sent off 37 seniors — including 18 players who played the program’s first game — with a victory.
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BY STEPHEN WHITAKER
of 24,012, the UTSA Roadrunners sent out a senior class that had been with the football program since its commencement. The class completed its time with a 34-27 win over North Texas. The Roadrunners improved their record to 4-8 overall and 3-8 in conference play. Thirty-seven seniors were on the field for UTSA that night and of those, 18 players joined the team during its first season in 2011. “We’re losing some fine young men,” head coach Larry Coker said. “I can’t tell you the number of people that tell me we have some great
EFORE A CROWD
CB Crosby Adams III RB Brandon Armstrong DT Richard Burge RB David Glasco II OT Cody Harris WR Earon Holmes
VOLLEYBALL
TE Cole Hubble
THE ROADRUNNERS’ attempt to win
PK Sean Ianno OG Scott Inskeep S Nic Johnston WR Kam Jones C Nate Leonard WR Marcellus Mack DT Ferrington Mack DE Cody Rogers RB Nate Shaw
UTSA needed to beat North Texas in order to match the number of wins from its inaugural season. In 2011, the Roadrunners went 4-6 playing opponents ranging from FCS to Division II to NAIA. By the time the senior class stepped off the field, it had played two consecutive seasons against nothing but FBS-level competition. The Roadrunners, as a team, continued to make November the best month in their history. Since 2011, UTSA is 10-4 in the month of November and 7-0 at home. Unfortunately, the misfortunes from October kept the Roadrunners from making the school’s firstever bowl trip. In October the Roadrunners went 1-3 with the lone win against Florida International. September wasn’t much smoother as the team went 0-4 after starting the season with a win against Houston on Aug. 29.
CB Darrien Starling
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9: Houston Opener, Houston, TBA 17: Texas A&M Team Invitational College Station, TBA 30-31: Howie Ryan Invitational, Houston, TBA
WR Seth Grubb
kids.”
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consecutive conference championships came up short as they fell to the No. 4 seed, Rice, in three straight sets. UTSA had won the previous two meetings with Rice in conference play this season. UTSA eliminated the No. 8 seed, Charlotte, in the previous round. Rice fell to Western Kentucky in the tournament final. The Roadrunners finished the 2014 season with a record of 20-9 overall and 15-1 in Conference USA play.
SET UP TO SUCCEED: Jessica Waldrip dished out 35 assists in the loss against Rice.
ALL PHOTOS: C OURTES Y JEFF HUEHN/ UTS A ATHLETIC S
SENIOR NIGHT
THE ORIGINAL 18
2: vs. Rice, 7 p.m. 4: vs. North Texas, 2 p.m. 8: at Southern Miss, Hattiesburg, Miss., 6 p.m. 10: at Louisiana Tech, Ruston, La., 6 p.m. 17: at UTEP, El Paso, 3 p.m. 22: vs. Marshall, 7 p.m. 24: vs. Western Kentucky, 2 p.m. 29: at Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro, Tenn., 7 p.m. 31: at UAB, Birmingham, Ala., 2 p.m.
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UTA ROUNDUP MEN’S GOLF
DRIVING FORCE: Drew Charles was a key player in the game against Texas.
coach Jay Rees announced the signing of Michael Hodson and Camilo Avila, both of whom will join the Mavericks in time for the 2015-16 season. “Both of these guys have had accomplished junior records and should be in the lineup immediately,” Rees said. “Even though it’s a small class, I expect these guys to contribute next year.” Hodson, of Amarillo, Texas, is ranked No. 143 in his age group after finishing fourth in the AJGA tournament in Garden City, Kan., and sixth at the AJGA tournament in San Antonio. A native of Bogota, Colombia, Avila attends Cooperatice School in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He’s currently the nation’s top-ranked junior player. MEN’S GOLF
CALENDAR JANUARY 2015
M BASKETBALL
ON THE DEFENSIVE
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C OURTES Y ELLMAN PHOTOGRAPHY/UTA ATHLETICS
BY STEVE LANSDALE HE MEN’S BASKETBALL team started its season by navigating through
a tough stretch of games, including two against top-10 teams. A strong defensive effort allowed the Mavericks to scare the then-No. 6 Longhorns in one such meeting, before eventually falling short, 65-53, at the Erwin Center in Austin. “I’m proud of our performance,” head coach Scott Cross said. “If we played like this all year we would only have two losses, here and against No. 1 Kentucky. We have to continue to play this way.” UTA held a 15-7 lead over the Longhorns, thanks in part to 3-pointers by guard Drew Charles and forward Kevin Hervey. The Longhorns used their size to earn a rebounding edge and led by 11 points at halftime but were unable to run away from the Mavericks thanks to a stingy defensive performance. Cross is optimistic about the rest of the season. “Tonight was our best defensive performance,” Cross said. “Our guys did a great job. It was a team performance. We hope to carry this effort over.”
3: vs. South Alabama, 7:15 p.m. 5: at Troy, Troy, Ala., 7:30 p.m. 8: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 7:15 p.m. 10: vs. Arkansas State, 7:15 p.m. 15: at Georgia State, Atlanta, Ga. 6 p.m. 19: vs. Texas State, 7:15 p.m. 22: at Louisiana-Monroe, Monroe, La. 7 p.m. 24: at Arkansas-Little Rock, Little Rock, Ark., 5 p.m. 29: vs. Georgia State, 7:15 p.m. 31: vs. Troy, 7:15 p.m. W BASKETBALL
W BASKETBALL FRESHMAN CENTER Rebekah Van Dijk earned
her fifth consecutive double-double when the women’s basketball team nearly upset Kansas State before falling 45-41 in Manhattan, Kan. Van Dijk recorded 12 points and 11 rebounds in the game. Head coach Krista Gerlich said she was pleased with the team’s effort but took no solace in the close final margin. “We never gave up and never thought that we couldn’t win and I’m proud of the fight and determination that we played with,” Gerlich said. “But I’m disappointed and [the players] are disappointed, and they should be. We aren’t happy about just playing them close.” The 45 points by Kansas was its lowest offensive total of the season, and the Mavericks held the opposition without a field goal for more than 10 minutes in each half, surrendering just two field goals in the game’s first 12 minutes.
3: vs. South Alabama, 5 p.m. 5: at Troy, Troy, Ala., 5:15 p.m. 8: vs. Louisiana-Monroe, 5 p.m. 10: vs. Arkansas State, 5 p.m. 15: at Georgia State, Atlanta, Ga., 4 p.m. 19: vs. Texas State, 5 p.m. 22: at Louisiana-Monroe, Monroe, La. 5:15 p.m. 24: at Arkansas-Little Rock, Little Rock, Ark., 3 p.m. 29: vs. Georgia State, 5 p.m. 31: vs. Troy, 5 p.m. M TENNIS
17: vs. Incarnate Word, 11 a.m. 22: vs. Troy, 11 a.m. 31: vs. Midwestern State, 10 a.m. W TENNIS
17: vs. Missouri, 11 a.m. 22: vs. Tarleton State, 10 a.m. 24: vs. Incarnate Word, 2 p.m. 31: vs. Midwestern State, 2 p.m. TRACK & FIELD
17: at Texas A&M Invitational College Station, All Day 31: at Mark Colligan Memorial Lincoln, Neb., All Day
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WHERE ARE THEY NOW
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? CEDRIC GRIFFIN FOOTBALL (2003-06)
EFORE DEPARTING for the NFL in 2006, Cedric Griffin helped the Longhorn football team win a national championship. Now he’s back in town, having completed his career in the NFL and now hoping to spread the benefits of fitness for people of all ages through his new 7 Fit Studio. A recruit out of San Antonio Holmes High School, Griffin came to Texas in 2002 and played defensive back for then-defensive backs coach Duane Akina, adding to the legendary DBU fraternity at Texas. “The DBs are like a family,” Griffin said. “When a bunch of us are in town we get together and do DB drills. Even the guys that weren’t in the NFL will get together and go eat and go to a movie. It’s a brotherhood. We’re all in cahoots and keep up with each other.” Griffin credits Akina for his growth as both a player and a man. “Akina’s the man,” he said. “He’s a tough cookie but at the end of the day he made it work and made us play at a higher level. We love the hell out of him.” In 2005, along with a group in the defensive backfield that included Aaron Ross, Michael Griffin, Michael Huff and Aaron Harris, Griffin helped Texas to a perfect 13-0 season record. This was the same season the Longhorns took the national championship against USC in the Rose Bowl. The family-like bonds and competitiveness factored into their success, according to Griffin. “I didn’t grow up with a brother and I always wanted a brother,” Griffin said. “Just having all those guys around that were similar to me — to my attitude, my physical attributes — it made me want to lock onto the guys and learn
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from them as they learned from me.” The following spring the Minnesota Vikings drafted Griffin in the second round. Five of Griffin’s team- mates also heard their name called during the NFL Draft in 2006. In the NFL, Griffin played for the Vikings from 2007 through 2011 and spent one season with the Redskins in 2012 before finishing his NFL career in early 2013. Griffin said being drafted remains one of his favorite memories of his time in the NFL because it validated all of the hard work he had to put in to get to that point. “In the NFL I learned that you have to get up and play every day,” Griffin said. “As a business owner it’s the same. You have wake up everyday and go to work because if you don’t your competitor is coming to get you.” When his NFL career came to a close in 2013, Cedric returned to Austin and set about the formation of 7 Fit Studio. After acquiring a one-time storage unit building in late 2013, Griffin set about converting the space into a workout facility. The more than 10,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor facility, which now features a field turf workout field, several workout studios for a variety of classes and a half-court outdoor basketball court, opened in April 2014. With fitness and wellness for all levels as a focal point, Griffin stressed that 7 Fit Studio is a training facility and not a gym. He hopes that people of all ages and fitness levels will come to the facility to improve their health. The “7” corresponds to completeness, and Griffin hopes that 7 Fit Studio members will attain complete fitness through the seven areas of fitness, which include yoga, bodyweight training, weight training, cardio workouts, Primal 7 (fitness resistance bands), kickboxing and core workouts. Along with running the business Griffin teaches some of the classes. “I want people to feel comfortable about coming here, working out and having someone instruct them,” Griffin said. “I want to help people understand their bodies and learn a better way to fitness. It’s not just lifting weights — there are alternative ways to being healthy.” When not at 7 Fit Studio, Griffin enjoys spending time with his family. He and his wife, Kelly, have two sons, Swayde (8) and Cedric (7). They enjoy visiting nearby parks and heading to Lake Travis to fish and swim. — JAMES SCHLEICHER
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: UT ATHLETICS PHO TOGR APHY, D ON BENDER, D ON BENDER
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ROUNDUP
MEDIA VOICES
IN HIS OWN WORDS, AM 1300 THE ZONE HOST SEAN ADAMS GIVES HIS THOUGHTS ON NEXT YEAR’S OFFENSE. forward to next season, I can safely say the fate of next year’s team rests on the shoulders of whomever plays quarterback, and what Charlie Strong and Shawn Watson do to tweak the offense around that player. In his first year, Strong built a solid foundation based on his core values and pushed this team to a HEARD bowl game. I’m not making excuses for him, but you can’t talk about the first year without mentioning how Strong lost almost half of his offensive starters after the first game. He was missing two tackles, the center, the quarterback, and Kendall Sanders at wide receiver. That’s five of the 11 projected starters coming out of spring practice. Strong did a fantastic job this year. The TCU game threw me off, but the team made a bowl game sitting at 3-5. People are lying if they said that they believed that the Longhorns would qualify for a bowl game with that record. I didn’t, and I’m one of the most optimistic people you can find. Strong is on the front lines when it comes to rais-
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HEN LOOKING
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TWEETS ROD BABERS
(@rodbabers): “@Coach_Solo: @rodbabers Right?! One can dream though” All the time, they usually involve @ Beyonce, @budlight and unlimited amount of wings.
CRAIG WAY
(@craigway1): 6,000 kids — 4th to 7th-graders — in the Erwin Center for this 11 a.m. tipoff. The screaming in here is much like that of a Beatles’ concert. Someone please wake Mike Slive from his afternoon nap so he can finish making the SEC bowl assignments ... fans in many places are waiting.
SEAN ADAMS
(@thatsean): @ Big12Conference needs to focus on the tiebreaker and beefing up crappy schedules like Baylor. They don’t HAVE to add a championship game. History is in play? You think Texas or Oklahoma would’ve been shut out if they were 11 - 1? Small private schools!
FROM LEFT: PATR ICK MEREDITH/ UNIV. OF TEXAS , PATR ICK MERED IT H/UNIV. OF TEXAS, ALL HEADSHOTS COURTESY AM 1300 THE ZONE
The Real Question Mark
ing these young men, but he has to juxtapose that with winning. At Texas, you have to win. So what about next season? The Longhorns will be fine on defense next year, as well as at running back and wide receiver. This brings us to the giant question mark at quarterback. This is my opinion and my opinion alone. For me, it comes down to the offense. Strong is trying to do what Will Muschamp did at Florida before getting fired and what Gary Patterson tried to do at TCU before hiring Sonny Cumbie from Texas Tech and Doug Meacham from Houston. They changed the whole offense at TCU. A year ago, Trevone Boykin was a mess and this year he finished fourth in Heisman votes. The offense Strong is trying to run is the type of offense that wins championships. Pundits talk about spread offenses and power offenses, but Oregon hasn’t won a National Championship. So who’s winning the titles? Hit you in the face, run, play action and pass type of offenses. What Strong is trying to accomplish is good, but it’s difficult when you’re pressed up against the wall and have a short timeframe. The odds are you don’t have a quarterback on campus that can get you there. That’s the dance. Texas currently has Tyrone Swoopes, Jerrod Heard and Zach Gentry for quarterbacks. More than likely, next year’s quarterback will be one of the first two. But what elite skill does each SWOOPES one have? The only skill that comes to mind is Heard’s feet. I am not a coach but I would cater my offense around the one elite thing I have in a quarterback — and that’s Heard’s feet. We’re in the land of the unknown with Swoopes. We’ve seen the whole gamut with him — the good, the bad and the eyebrow-raising moments. But how will he respond in the offseason? Will it be different for him after 15 spring practices and fall camp? Swoopes could walk out on Sept. 5 in South Bend, Ind., a totally different man. However, if I had to pick right now, I would say Heard will be the starter come Sept. 5.
MEDIA VOICES
JOHNNY WALKER REVIEW
H
ORNS ILLUSTRATED: What are your
thoughts on the Texas Bowl?
The game left me disappointed. I hoped for Tyrone Swoopes and the offense to have a better showing. The program needed to end the season on a high note and unfortunately things just didn’t go that way. Swoopes needed to have a big game knowing he needed to firm up the starting position. Now it’s a wide-open race at quarterback heading into next year. JOHNNY WALKER:
HI: Who would you choose as the defensive MVP of 2014?
Jordan Hicks. Hicks got through the season without any injuries and lived up to the hype that has surrounded him throughout his career. It was great to see him go out on a high note. Of course Malcom Brown dominated but Hicks gets the edge.
JW:
HI: What in particular went wrong?
HI: Offensive MVP for 2014?
As much as I hate to say it, Texas is still playing a basic offense. When you’re playing against fundamentally sound defenses with a basic offense, you can’t be successful. Texas gained only 59 total yards against Arkansas — the second-worst performance for any Texas team. Texas didn’t open up the offense. Arkansas shut down the run and forced the Longhorns to go to other options. You need to utilize all of the tools you have and I don’t think Texas did a good job of leveraging their skill sets. After that game there are a lot of questions that need to be answered.
JW:
JW:
HI: What do you think of Charlie Strong’s first
season as the head coach?
Given the circumstances, Texas had difficulty trying to develop an identity. Strong had to clean up the
JW:
FROM TOP: UT ATHLETICS P HO TOGR APHY, C OURT ESY HOR NS2 47.COM
program and get rid of the players who weren’t doing things in the best interest of the program. Given those circumstances, Strong did well.
NEW YEAR, NEW PROMISE
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VERY FALL I manage to see quite a few high school football games and this season was no different. In 2014 I saw three Mesquite Poteet games given the importance of Malik Jefferson to the future of Charlie Strong. Everyone knows how important each commitment is to each side of the ball, but who exactly are the Longhorns getting with this talented prospect? Not to spoil the suspense of this evaluation, but Jefferson is a can’t-miss prospect if there’s such a thing. If you start to nitpick you can ďŹ nd small holes in his game, but Jefferson is just as equipped for success at the college level as linebackers like
Honestly I don’t think we had an offensive MVP. John Harris had a great season at the beginning but filtered off there at the end. I find it hard to pick an offensive MVP. Sadly that says a lot about the offense as a whole, but it’s the only response I can give at this point.
HI: What will be some of the key areas for the
Longhorns to focus on in the offseason?
JOHNNY WALKER’S RESUME t Played football and baseball at Texas from 1987-90 t 5XP UJNF "MM 4PVUIXFTU Conference
The biggest issue at this point is to replace the two coaches who have been dismissed in Bruce Chambers (tight ends) and Les Koenning (wide receivers). That will be an important step in helping to develop a new identity for the Longhorn offense. Those two positions are going to be key for pointing Texas back in the right direction, so that’s the most pressing issue at this point.
JW:
C.J. Mosley, Jordan Hicks and Jaylon Smith. Since his sophomore year, Jefferson has learned to harness his speed and explosiveness when pursuing the football. He still over-pursues at times and will overrun plays at points in a game, and he’s inďŹ nitely better when it comes to diagnosing the play, taking good angles and protecting himself against cutback runs. His best attributes are his ball skills and the ability to ďŹ nish plays. Whether it’s interceptions, fumble recoveries, forcing a fumble or making a play in the kicking game, perhaps the thing Jefferson does better than any high school defender is the one that’s valued above all else in the spread culture of the Big 12. The last seven Big 12 champions have either led the league in turnover margin or been in plus territory by a double-digit margin. One extra possession for your offense and one fewer for the opponent can make all the difference between winning and losing in the nation’s premiere offensive conference, and having guys like Jefferson
t $BVHIU UIF HBNF XJOOJOH SFDFQUJPO UP CFBU 0LMBIPNB JO t %SBGUFE CZ UIF "UMBOUB #SBWFT JO UI SPVOE
who excel at taking the ball away from an opponent can help the Longhorns improve on a minus-1 tur nover margin this season. Tie all of this together and Jefferson is, I feel, the ďŹ nest linebacker prospect the state of Texas has produced since Derrick Johnson. Like Johnson, Jefferson will step in and make your defense better from the ďŹ rst snap he takes. In the position Texas is in with Hicks playing his ďŹ nal game, Jefferson has the ability to come right in and start in Hicks’ spot at the WILL linebacker as a true freshman. — JEFF HOWE, JEFFERSON
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MEET THE T-ASSOCIATION The T-Association is an organization made up of former varsity athletics letter winners. An additional designation for the T-Association members is the T-Ring, which is awarded to an athlete who lettered for 2 or more years, who did not compete the last 2 years of eligibility anywhere other than The University of Texas and who graduated from college. David McWilliams, former Longhorn head football coach, currently serves as the executive director for the T-Association. T-Association Mission - The T-Association’s mission is to create and maintain an enhanced atmosphere and structure whereby UT student-athletes become lifetime members of The University of Texas Athletics family and are welcomed, involved and encouraged to participate during and after their college tenure. TAPN Mission - The Letter Winner’s Professional Network exists to unite the members of the T-Association on a professional level by providing networking opportunities and a database of contacts, thereby furthering the opportunities, community, education and success of Longhorn Letter Winners. CONTACT INFORMATION: t-association@athletics.utexas.edu 512.471.6864
THE HABE ON THE HORNS BY STEVE HABEL
Time For Retrospection THE LOSS TO ARKANSAS IN THE TEXAS BOWL PROVES HOW MUCH WORK LIES AHEAD FOR THE LONGHORNS.
EXAS’ DISHEARTENING 31-7 loss to Arkansas in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl was more than a step backward for a football team that had shown improvement throughout the season. The way Texas was totally dominated by a team that entered with an identical record was a prime illustration of just how far the Longhorns have slipped. The loss also proved, once again, that the road to returning the program to its rightful place at the top of the college football heap is rife with obstacles and pitfalls. During the final minutes of the Texas Bowl, it was impossible not to reflect back to the 2008 season when the Longhorns smashed Arkansas 52-10 on their way to a 12-1 campaign and berth (and win) in the Fiesta Bowl. That win came as Texas was in the eighth year of a streak in which it won 10 or more games for nine consecutive seasons. The Razorbacks, in the first year of Bobby Petrino’s four-year tenure as coach, went 5-7 in 2008 and begged out of a rematch with Texas set for the following year, eventually pushing the game back to 2021. A lot has happened to the two programs in the six seasons since Texas last beat the Hogs. The Longhorns — with five consecutive seasons of weak quarterback play that began with the National Championship Game following the 2009 season — have gone 49-29 since 2008, with 13 of those wins coming in 2009. Five straight seasons have passed since Texas has played in a major bowl game; two of those campaigns have resulted in losing records. Arkansas has been through three coaches since that blowout in 2008 and has — in its
T
second season under Bret Bielema — found solid footing in the tough-as-nails Southeastern Conference after a disastrous 3-9 finish in 2013. The Razorbacks are now 43-33 from 200914, having won seven more contests than the Longhorns over the same period and having played in two major bowl games. Does that surprise you? After the Texas Bowl, Bielema lauded the win against Texas as an indication of how his program has turned the corner. Conversely, coach Charlie Strong lamented how his team has thrown away the “Texas” mystique and that the program needed to work to rebuild its pride. Never has the gap between two teams entering a bowl game at 6-6 been so wide. Texas’ blowout loss to Arkansas, a team that finished seventh (last) in the SEC West standings, shows just how much work is ahead for Strong and his staff. That recalls another thought from yesteryear, which really wasn’t that long ago. In the hours prior to the National Championship Game at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 7, 2010, reporters watched Alabama and Texas go through their pregame warmups and talked about how it was inconceivable that — with talent on the field and in the pipeline — Texas could ever NOT win 10 games every year for the foreseeable future. The five seasons that have passed showed just how wrong we all were and proved that once the mighty has fallen, it’s hard for it to get back up. It’s time to get back to work. Just sayin, ya’ know? The Habe is Steve Habel, Horns Illustrated’s Senior Editor. He was the magazine’s first staff member, in 1994, and has covered Texas sports ever since.
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FOOTBALL REVIEW THIS IS ONLY THE BEGINNING: The 2014 season had many highlights and several lowlights but pundits shouldn’t count out the Longhorns just yet.
The Path to Greatness THE LONGHORNS BUILT A FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE SUCCESS WITH THE 2014 SEASON. BY STEVE HABEL
season began with a new head coach and a purpose of rebuilding Texas tradition. The campaign’s many ups and downs proved that the dividends from the Charlie Strong era might be minimal at first but should be more valuable over time, thanks to a solid foundation and careful planning. This year’s team produced plenty of highlights. The Longhorns won six regular-season games against North Texas, Kansas, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Iowa State and Oklahoma State — five of which were in the relentless, dominating way usually associated with Texas football. Texas’ six losses — to BYU, UCLA, Oklahoma, Kansas State, Baylor and TCU — even had their share of great moments. All six of the teams that beat the Longhorns earned spots in bowl games and Baylor (No. 5) and TCU (No. 6) were among the handful of squads contending for spots in the first College Football Playoff. It’s not a stretch to say the Longhorns could’ve won three of the games they lost — to Baylor, UCLA and Oklahoma — by producing a few more important plays or making fewer errors. Growing up is never easy, but it’s an endeavor that’s taken one step at a time. The Longhorns are on the right track and given some time and a few more playmakers in key positions, it won’t be long before Texas is back among the best in college football. Here’s a look back at the 12 games that comprised Texas’ 2014 regular season.
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HE 2014 TEXAS FOOTBALL
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AUG. 30 TEXAS 38, NORTH TEXAS 7
The Charlie Strong era began with a bang as the Longhorns rode a dominating defensive performance to an easy win over North Texas at RoyalTexas Memorial Stadium. Texas allowed the Mean Green just 94 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers, losing the shutout late in the game when quarterback David Ash fumbled in his own end zone. Wide receiver John Harris set career highs with seven receptions and 110 yards, and Texas used a balanced offensive attack to control the game. Ash was 19-of-34 for 190 yards and a touchdown while running backs Johnathan Gray and Malcolm Brown (two touchdowns) contributed 84 and 65 rushing yards, respectively. The Longhorns won their season opener for the 15th straight year. The Longhorn defense registered a touchdown via an interception return by linebacker Demarco Cobbs, tallied seven tackles for loss and sacked North Texas quarterback Josh Greer four times while allowing just 40 yards in the first three quarters. Texas’ defensive performance marked just the 14th time in history that the defense held an opponent to fewer than 100 yards of total offense in a game. Alas, Ash suffered a reoccurrence of concussion symptoms and never played another down as a Longhorn.
GAME 2 SEPT. 6 BYU 41, TEXAS 7
BYU scored 28 points in a stunning seven-minute stretch of the third quarter and dismantled Texas before a disbelieving crowd of 93,463 fans at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas was able to limit BYU dual-threat BROWN quarterback Taysom Hill to just 280 all-purpose yards in the game after he had 259 yards rushing alone in the 2013 dustup between the two teams. But they couldn’t stop Hill from making the plays he needed when they counted the most, as he ended up with three touchdowns that included a scintillating 30-yard scoring scramble on which he jumped over Longhorns safety Dylan Haines on the way into the end zone. Sophomore quarter28
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HARRIS
GAME 3 SEPT. 13 #12 UCLA 20, TEXAS 17
There was no doubt that Texas was on the upswing after losing to 12th-ranked UCLA in the AdvoCare Cowboys Showdown at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. UCLA backup quarterback Jerry Neuheisel hit Jordan Payton on a 33-yard scoring pass with 3:00 to play to give the Bruins the win. The touchdown came on the play following a 45-yard punt return by the Bruins’ Ishmael Adams, leaving the majority of the 60,479 fans in attendance completely stunned. For a short time in the fourth quarter, the Longhorns looked like they might spring an upset in the House That Jerry Built. Down 13-10 after a mostly lackluster third quarter, Swoopes engi-
HARRIS
back Tyrone Swoopes started for the first time and threw for 176 yards and the Longhorns’ lone touchdown on a 13-yard pass to Harris with 29 seconds to play in the third quarter, long after the game had been decided by BYU’s four-touchdown rush to victory. Jaxon Shipley caught five balls for 36 yards to become the eighth player in Texas history to reach the 2,000-yard receiving plateau. There were some highlights on the defensive side of the ball for the Longhorns. Defensive tackle Malcom Brown had the best game of his career, recording 11 tackles, three sacks and five overall tackles for a loss. Linebacker Jordan Hicks also had 11 tackles and shared in a sack among his two tackles behind the line.
neered a clutch 80-yard, 10-play drive that ended with his 2-yard touchdown pass to Harris and a 17-13 lead with 5:13 to play. But the Longhorns couldn’t work any magic on their final two possessions. The final play began at the Texas 23 with 2:55 to play and netted just three yards before a fourth-down incompletion and then UCLA ran out the clock. Malcolm Brown led the Longhorns with 69 yards on the ground while Shipley had a gamehigh nine catches for 65 yards. The UCLA offense racked up 443 total yards, including 217 on the ground. Neuheisel, who replaced injured starter Brett Hundley in the first quarter, finished 23 of 30 for 178 yards and two scores. Running back Paul Perkins had a game-high 126 yards on 24 carries.
PR EVIOUS PAGE: P AT RICK MEREDIT H/UNIV. OF TEXAS. ALL PHOTOS THIS PAGE: DON BENDER
GAME 1
GAME 4
BLUIETT
SEPT. 27 TEXAS 23, KANSAS 0
The Longhorns found a way to take advantage of Kansas’ many mistakes to walk out of the American Heartland with a shutout — Texas’ first since 2012. Making his third career start, Swoopes completed 19-of-34 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns. Harris and Shipley turned in steady performances, with Harris catching six passes for 89 yards and a touchdown and Shipley making six receptions for 81 yards. Harris recorded a touchdown pass in each of the first four games, becoming the first Longhorn to accomplish that feat since Jordan Shipley (Jaxon’s big brother) had a touchdown reception in each of the first eight games in 2008.
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THOMAS
For the second time this season the Longhorns picked off four passes, matching their effort in the season opener vs. North Texas, as Duke Thomas recorded two interceptions and Quandre Diggs and Hicks had one each. Texas’ two main rushing threats — Gray (13 carries for 44 yards) and Brown (12 totes for 29 yards) — combined for just 73 yards on the ground, 10 yards less than Kansas’ leading rusher, De’Andre Mann (17 carries for 83 yards). Freshman wide receiver Armanti Foreman made Texas’ longest running play, a 30-yard gain, on a reverse. The Longhorns’ three other runners (Gray, Brown and Swoopes) averaged less than 3.4 yards per run.
GAME 5
GAME 6
OCT. 4 #7 BAYLOR 28, TEXAS 7
OCT. 11 #11 OKLAHOMA 31, TEXAS 26
Texas held Baylor’s high-powered offense in check for much of the game but the Bears used two key special teams plays and a big second half to propel their way to a win over the Longhorns at RoyalTexas Memorial Stadium. Baylor came into the game ranked No. 1 in the nation in scoring offense (56.8 points per game) and total offense (641.0 yards per game) but the Longhorns’ defense slowed the Bears considerably. Texas held Baylor to season lows in points (28) and total offense (389 yards). The Longhorns totaled 334 yards on offense as Gray rushed for 79 yards and Swoopes completed 16-of-34 passes for 144 yards. Turnovers were costly, however, with Swoopes throwing two interceptions and losing a fumble at Baylor’s 1-yard line. Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty was stymied by Texas’ defense as the senior completed just 7-of-22 passes for 111 yards, though he connected on a pair of touchdown passes. Running back Shock Linwood led the Bears’ offense with 148 rushing yards on 28 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run. Texas averted a shutout with a final 12-play, 92-yard drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from Gray with 2:42 to play. The Longhorns hadn’t been shut out at home since losing to Houston 30-0 in 1976, coach Darrell Royal’s final season on the bench. Only one Texas possession in the second half — the Longhorns’ touchdown drive in garbage time — used more than five plays or gained more than 23 yards.
Swoopes passed for a career-high 334 yards and for two touchdowns while running another against the Sooners. His work to lead a late rally for the Longhorns fell just short as Oklahoma hung on to defeat Texas at the Cotton Bowl in the annual AT&T Red River Showdown. Oklahoma’s offense was stymied for all but seven minutes spanning the end of the third and beginning of the fourth quarters. The Sooners still made enough of the opportunities that Texas gave them, winning thanks to touchdowns on a kickoff return and an interception return that tipped the scales before a capacity crowd of 92,100 on the grounds of the State Fair of Texas. Trailing 31-13 with 12:50 left in the fourth quarter, Texas put together two quick scoring drives to close the gap. Swoopes passed for 72 yards on the first touchdown drive, including a 41-yard completion to Marcus Johnson that set up the Longhorns at the OU 5. Three plays later, Swoopes hit Harris in the corner of the end zone
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for a 6-yard touchdown that made it 31-20 with 8:24 left in the game. The Texas defense followed by forcing a threeand-out and Shipley returned the punt 31 yards to the OU 48. In six plays the Longhorns drove for the touchdown, taking just 1:41 off the clock, with Swoopes running up the middle for a 12-yard touchdown. After a two-point conversion failed, Texas trailed 31-26 with 4:57 to play. But with just one timeout left for Texas, Oklahoma was able to run the clock down to 25 seconds before being forced to punt. The Longhorns took over at their own 20 with 0:18 left and were unable to mount a scoring drive.
SHIPLEY
GAME 7 OCT. 18 TEXAS 48, IOWA STATE 45
OCT. 25 #11 KANSAS ST. 23, TEXAS 0
The 2014 Texas football season took a decidedly downward spiral when the Longhorns were whitewashed by 11th-ranked Kansas State to the utter delight of a raucous crowd of 52,879 at Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan. The loss marked the first time the Longhorns had been shut out since losing to Oklahoma 12-0 in the Cotton Bowl in 2004. Texas sniffed the red zone only once in this game, with its deepest penetration to the Kansas State 14-yard line early in HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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the fourth quarter on a drive that ended in a failed fourth-and-1 conversion. Kansas State quarterback Jake Waters went 19-of-30 for 224 yards and directed five scoring drives. The Longhorns were held to 196 yards of total offense. Swoopes completed 13-of-25 passes for 126 yards and was the team’s leading rusher with 31 yards on the ground. Texas possessed the ball for just 20:46 and was unable to turn any of its 10 drives into points. Kansas State dominated the time of possession by keeping the ball for 19:20 in the first half and 19:54 in the second. Disciplined play once again played a major role in the Wildcats’ win as they surrendered no turnovers and committed only three penalties for 25 yards. On the other hand, Texas coughed up a fumble and racked up 66 yards on seven penalties. The Texas defense, despite holding the Wildcats to field goals on three possessions, allowed Kansas State to convert nine of its 17 third downs, three of them for 13 yards or more.
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The Longhorns beat up Texas Tech before a capacity crowd of 60,961 at windswept Jones AT&T Stadium. Texas dominated in the trenches, especially in the second half, when it outscored Texas Tech 17-0 and whipped the Red Raiders in every aspect of the game. Texas ran the ball for a season-high 241 yards, the most since rolling up 281 against Texas Tech last season. Brown tallied 116 yards on 22 carries — posting the first 100-yard rushing game of the season — with two touchdowns. The Texas defense was credited with a season-best 10 pass
breakups and one sack against the quick-throw Tech attack. Swoopes went 13-for-25 for 228 passing yards without an interception and connected with Harris on a 68-yard play that was the Longhorns’ longest from scrimmage this season. Harris continued to shine, hauling in five receptions for a careerhigh 165 receiving yards, including 123 in the first half. Gray added 76 yards and a touchdown on 16 totes. The game marked the Longhorns’ sixthstraight win over the Red Raiders.
FROM TOP: JESS E D ROHEN, PATRICK M ER EDITH/UNI V. OF T EXAS
The box score for Texas’ thrilling win against Iowa State shows that the winning points came on Nick Rose’s 21-yard field goal with three seconds to play. But the victory — both in the short run against the tougher-than-steel Cyclones and in the long run — really came from the confidence the Longhorns coaches showed in Swoopes. With just 20 seconds to play, the Texas braintrust decided to eschew overtime and put the game in Swoopes’ hands. Two huge, fearless passes from Swoopes — one for 39 yards to Shipley and the other 29 yards to Harris — made Rose’s chip-shot game-winning kick all but academic. The winning score allowed the Longhorns to send the crowd of 92,017 fans at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium home enthused about the team’s continued improvement. Swoopes threw for 321 yards and one touchdown and ran for 95 yards and another score in amassing 416 yards of total offense, a career high and the ninth-highest total in Texas history. Harris’ nine catches for 147 yards were both career bests, while Shipley caught six passes for 92 yards. Brown added 72 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns. The game featured 1,036 yards of total offense and the Longhorns posted a season-best 512 yards on 75 plays.
GAME 10
GAME 11
GAME 12
NOV. 8 TEXAS 33, WEST VIRGINIA 16
NOV. 15 TEXAS 28, OKLAHOMA STATE 7
NOV. 27 # 6 TCU 41, TEXAS 10
The Texas defense held then-No. 24 West Virginia’s high-powered offense in check during a dominating victory at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Texas used a strong rushing attack for the second consecutive week, piling up 227 yards after gaining a season-high 241 in a win over Texas Tech on Nov. 1. Gray had 101 yards on just 10 carries while Brown accounted for 90 yards on 20 rushes. Cedric Reed led a defensive effort that saw the Longhorns hold West Virginia to a season-low in points, well below its season average of 36.1. Reed was disruptive throughout, totaling 12 tackles, four for a loss and three sacks while forcing a fumble. The Longhorns used a big second quarter to build on a 7-3 lead, outscoring the Mountaineers 17-0
In a dominant victory at Boone Pickens Stadium, the Longhorns became bowl eligible after the Texas defense stifled Oklahoma State. On offense, Swoopes passed for 305 yards and two touchdowns against Oklahoma State. He connected on 24-of-33 passes while recording his third 300-yard game of the year to help the Longhorns win their third straight game. The Texas defense stymied the Cowboys ,allowing just 192 yards of total offense in the game, including just 34 on the ground. In the first half, Texas’ defense forced four three-and-outs and allowed just 51 total yards as Swoopes and the offense built a 19-0 lead. The Longhorns pressured Oklahoma State quarterback Daxx Garman constantly, recording seven sacks and 10 tackles for loss while also forcing two turnovers. Malcom Brown led the way with a pair of sacks, and Dylan Haines had an interception and a fumble recovery. Texas accounted for 430 total yards of offense. Gray led the rushing attack with 81 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Rose connected on three field goals for Texas,
Six Texas turnovers — five of which set the table for TCU points — spelled doom for the Longhorns in a Thanksgiving night loss to the sixth-ranked Horned Frogs before an announced crowd of 96,496 at Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. The loss snapped Texas’ three-game winning streak. Swoopes had his worst game as Texas’ starting quarterback, throwing four interceptions (including a pick-six) and fumbling after a sack on a play that led to a return touchdown.
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with big plays on offense and by allowing just 49 total yards. Texas took a 24-3 lead into halftime and a scoreless third quarter followed. With WVU inside the red zone midway through the quarter, Hicks made big tackles on third and fourth down to force a turnover. The final stats will show that West Virginia outgained the Longhorns 448-351 and wasted a ton of scoring chances, especially in the first half. But the Mountaineers had to run 90 offensive plays to get those yards and actually ended up averaging less per snap (5.0) than Texas (5.2). West Virginia had five trips into the red zone but got points out of only three of them, and one of those was a field goal. Texas was inside the 20 three times and scored touchdowns each time — the difference in a 17-point win.
with his final one coming from 44 yards midway through the third quarter to extend the lead to 22-0. Oklahoma State was able to get on the scoreboard with 13:09 left in the game when Garman hit Blake Jarwin for an 8-yard touchdown that capped a 10-play, 61-yard drive. Swoopes directed a 95-yard touchdown drive on the ensuing possession and put the exclamation point on the game with a 45-yard touchdown strike to Armanti Foreman.
The Texas defense held TCU’s high-octane offense to a season-low 368 total yards. For the offense, the matchup marked the first time the Longhorns had six turnovers in a game since a 48-24 loss at Baylor in 2011. It was also the first time Texas had lost at home to Baylor and TCU in the same season since 1933. Foreman proved to be the Longhorns’ top receiving target, posting career highs in receptions (four) and receiving yards (91), including a 73-yard touchdown grab. JANUARY 2015
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FIVE QUESTIONS
BOWLED OVER AFTER LOSING TO ARKANSAS, THE LONGHORNS LEAVE THE TEXAS BOWL WITH A REVISED TASK LIST.
BY STEVE HABEL
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O
WHAT HAPPENED?: Even after a month of preparation, the Longhorns failed to make the plays they needed to to win the Texas Bowl.
NE THING IS FOR CERTAIN FROM TEXAS’ 31-7 LOSS
to Arkansas at the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl on Dec. 29 — a month of homework, a bevy of additional practices and all the positives from winning three of its final five regular-season games did little to mask the fact that the Longhorns, ultimately, were not a very good team. Arkansas — a squad that, like Texas, won six regular games and could have won more — was better prepared, more physical and absolutely dominant over the Longhorns in every aspect of the game. This fact was readily apparent to the record 71,115 fans on hand at NRG Stadium and the national television audience drawn to the matchup by its call to rivalry and the promise of seeing a battle between two teams on a rise. The Razorbacks took the game right to Texas and the Longhorns never answered. The performance turned in by Texas drew the immediate wrath of senior cornerback Quandre Diggs. “There are people in that locker room that don’t deserve to wear the [Texas] uniform,” Diggs lamented after his final game as a Longhorn. “That game was an embarrassment to the program.” Harsh words, for sure, but they hit the mark. The Longhorns finished 2014 at 6-7, with their second losing season since 1997. “[A game like this] is an embarrassment to this program,” echoed coach Charlie Strong, who was as frustrated and angry as he’s been all season. “It should never, ever happen to Texas. Being Texas has to mean something — right now it doesn’t mean much. At some point we have to get pride back into this program.” The Razorbacks, behind an efficient but not overwhelming performance by quarterback Brandon Allen (who was voted the game’s most valuable player), racked up 351 yards, with 191 of those coming on the ground. Allen hit on 12 of his 23 throws for 160 yards and two touchdowns. “What was disappointing was that we were
in the position to make plays and just didn’t make them,” linebacker Jordan Hicks said. “Little things like that pile up and end up killing you — they made plays and we didn’t.” Arkansas turned a short punt and a fortuitous bounce (and recovery) of a fumble after a completed pass into 32-yard field goal by Adam McFain that gave the Razorbacks a 3-0 lead at the 4:32 mark of the first quarter. After a catch by Jared Cornelius for 11 yards on third-and-10 from the Texas 37, Mykkele Thompson knocked the ball free right into the hands of Razorback tight end Hunter Henry, who carried it to the 17-yard line and into easy field goal range. The Razorbacks struck again on the second play of the second quarter when Allen threaded the needle on a 36-yard touchdown pass to Demetrius Wilson over the in-your-shirt coverage of the Longhorns’ Duke Thomas in the end DEFEATING PURPOSE: zone that expanded the Strong told the media Arkansas lead to 10-0. that this type of loss should never happen at The Texas offense, Texas. with Christmas perhaps still in its collective heart, then gifted the Razorbacks another touchdown. Running back Johnathan Gray mishandled a handoff from quarterback Tyrone Swoopes in his own end zone and Arkansas defensive tackle Taiwan Johnson fell on the loose ball for a score that pushed the Hogs’ lead to 17-0 with 8:13 to play in the first half. The Longhorns responded with an eight-play, 44-yard scoring drive that culminated in a 9-yard touchdown scamper around right end by Swoopes to cut the Arkansas lead to 17-7 with 3:59 to play until halftime. Swoopes hit on three big passes on the march, including two to John Harris, and gave the Texas faithful some hope for a comeback. But the Longhorns scored too quickly, allowing the Razorbacks time to march 61 yards on nine plays to a 5-yard touchdown pass from Allen to Keon Hatcher with 24 seconds to play in the half. After a scoreless third quarter, Arkansas (which ended its season at 7-6) added the final nail in the Longhorns’ coffin on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Williams with 11:41 remaining. The scoring run capped a 13-play, 57-yard drive that ate up 8:39 of play bridging the third and fourth quarters. JANUARY 2015
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WAS THE POOR BOWL PERFORMANCE THE LAST STRAW FOR SWOOPES AS TEXAS’ QUARTERBACK? Well, no, because the bottom line is that the Longhorns have no one on the roster with the ability or experience to take the job away from Swoopes. It’s obvious by his absence that the Texas coaching staff had little to no confidence in true freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard, who ran the spread offense in high school and has struggled with Texas’ move to a pro-style attack. If Heard was able to push Swoopes in practice, he would’ve played. Asked after the game if the quarterback position would be up for grabs when spring drills begin, Strong said competition across the board, and not just at quarterback, was the key to his team’s improvement. “It’s going to be a competition at all positions,” Strong said. “We need to get better at [quarterback]. I mean, where can we lay our hat on right now?” Swoopes said he knows he will have to fight, and improve, to keep his job. “I knew that was going to be the situation either way,” Swoopes said. “[The coaches] said they always do that. I’m going to go in and com34
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pete. I don’t have a problem competing and I’ll try to get the job.” “I’m going to continue to work on the things I need to work on and come back in the spring and keep working with the team.”
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WHAT DO THE STATS SHOW FROM THIS GAME? Texas managed just 59 yards of total offense on 43 plays — the fewest yards by any FBS team in a game this season. The output was just nine more yards than the lowest total ever by a Longhorn team (50, against
Southwestern in 1943), and it took a final, 29-yard drive that ended in an interception to get past that dubious mark. First downs: Arkansas 21, Texas 7. Average yards per play: Arkansas 4.8, Texas 1.4. Thirddown conversions: Arkansas 9-of-17, Texas 3-of -11. Texas had just 46 yards of total offense in the first half, meaning it had two total yards on its five non-scoring drives. Until the Longhorns’ final drive, its previous five possessions netted -19, -8, -7, -4 and -2 yards. Texas had 13 total yards of offense in the second half — that’s a foot less than the distance
SACKED LUNCH: The Razorbacks sacked Tyrone Swoopes three times during the game.
SACKED LUNCH: The Razorbacks sacked Tyrone Swoopes three times during the game.
between the hash marks on a college football field. The Longhorns ran for just two total yards on 18 carries. “You have to have playmakers and you have to have guys up front,” Strong said. “Everything starts with the offensive line and the defensive lines. If you can’t move people on the offensive line, if you can’t create seams in the defense, you’re going to have issues.” Arkansas had seven more rushes (50) than Texas had total plays and ended up with a time possession edge of 41:10-18:50. The Razorbacks had the ball for almost 23 minutes of the second half. “We didn’t execute,” Hicks said. “We weren’t able to get off on third down defensively and that was huge for us. It extended their time of possession. Arkansas had the ball for way too long. They did a good job. I give credit to them.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 46
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WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME? Arkansas, honed and toughened from a stretch of playing some of the best teams in the country via its schedule in the Southeastern Conference, was just stronger (and bigger) than Texas. “We knew Arkansas was going to be physical and we just didn’t match their intensity,” Swoopes said after he threw for just 57 yards and lost 37 yards on three sacks. “We didn’t execute. You need to protect to get a push. Our receivers have to get off the line and run their routes and the running backs have to run hard. We didn’t.” The Razorbacks looked like they wanted the game more than Texas did, but the severity of the discrepancy in desire escaped Strong until it was too late. “You don’t ever expect to go get hammered 31-7 in a bowl game when you’ve had a month to prepare,” he said. The perception from the press box and from the sideline was that the Razorbacks looked like they could’ve done anything they wanted against Texas. It was eerily similar to the outcome of the Longhorns’ bowl appearance in 2013, when Oregon just kept it simple and didn’t embarrass Texas (too much) in a 30-7 win in the Valero Alamo Bowl. If you’re counting at home (and I know you are), the Longhorns have scored just 14 points in their past two postseason appearances. It’s tough to win when you don’t score.
“THE GOALS AT TEXAS ARE THE STANDARDS WE’VE CREATED. IF WE DON’T GET TO THE FINAL FOUR, IT’S A DISAPPOINTING SEASON, WHICH IS SAD IN SPORTS, IN COACHING.” — HEAD COACH JERRITT ELLIOTT
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After a superlative regular season, Texas’ loss in the Final Four leads to an unsatisfying ending. BY STEVE HABEL
END OF THE ROAD T
HEY SAY THAT HISTORY is written by winners and not by those who worked hard and finished in second or third. No one ever really remembers the other three teams in the NCAA championship tournament. This reality takes away from the trio of teams that worked so hard to get to the Final Four, only to walk away without a national title. That’s one of the reasons coming up short hurts so much — finishing behind first establishes a legacy of close finishes with disappointing endings and only diminishes the accomplishments gained along the way. Thus is the burden forced upon the Texas volleyball team. The Longhorns were exemplary for 27 of their 30 matches but lost to BYU in four sets in the semifinals of the NCAA championship tournament on Dec. 18 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City. JANUARY 2015
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BYU, with a frontline that featured 6’7” Jennifer Hamson and 6’4” Amy Boswell, racked up 17 blocks and held Texas to a season-low .162 hitting percentage. The most important blocks came in the deciding fourth set, when the Cougars fought back from a 22-20 deficit and forged a final surge that ultimately doomed the Longhorns. “BYU played exceptionally well and their blocks caused a lot of problems for us,” Elliott said. “BYU proved how important blocking is to winning championships. When you’re blocking like [BYU] and you’re getting first-ball kills like they are, it can be overwhelming. You don’t have an answer. You just keep getting slugged.” The two teams were tied at 24-24 when Hamson, a first-team All-American who led all players with 22 kills and 25.5 total points, jumped high and pounded a kill that was originally ruled out. But the refereeing crew quickly changed the call to a touch by Texas’ Amy Neal, handing a crucial point to BYU. After a Longhorn timeout and a protracted argument by Elliott about the reversed call, Hamson slammed a final kill off the fingertips
of Texas’ All-American outside hitter Haley Eckerman to clinch the win. “We knew BYU was big and that they were the top blocking team [in the nation],” Eckerman said. “BYU came in and knew how to control the game. We fought back; everyone was trying to change things up and get back into it.” Asked directly if Hamson’s kill at 24-24 in set four was touched, Eckerman empathically said it wasn’t. “I can promise you that,” she added. One point does not make a match, but the timing of the changed call was a dagger to the heart of the Longhorns’ comeback hopes. “We were gaining momentum and I told our team, ‘If we get this game, they’re in trouble,’ because Hamson is getting tired, just from the pure amount of swings that she was taking,” Elliott said. “I felt that was going to be a big key. And I felt really good — I saw that ball go out and saw our chance to serve for the match.” The ESPN cameras saw it Elliott’s way, indicating that Neal did not touch Hamson’s kill. Unfortunately there’s no instant replay in college volleyball.
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BYU subsequently was defeated by Penn State in three sets in the title match, granting the Nittany Lions the national championship for the second straight season and for the sixth time in the past eight years. Penn State’s seven titles are more than any other program in women’s volleyball history. “We’re devastated that we didn’t win,” head coach Jerritt Elliott said after the loss. “We thought we had a chance. This is a cruel profession. Only one team walks away the champion. And whether we lost tonight or whether we were to have lost on Saturday, you need to be able to reflect on what we’ve been able to accomplish.” Texas’ trip to Oklahoma City marked the program’s 10th national semifinal appearance, as well as its third consecutive appearance. The Longhorns have advanced to the Final Four six times in the last seven years. The team won the national title in 2012, earning its third NCAA championship. With the loss to BYU, the Longhorns fell in the semifinals to an unseeded team for the second consecutive season.
KILL JOY: BYU blocked the Longhorns from reaching their goal of attaining a second national title. (Opposite) The Longhorns’ spirits were high after BYU’s kill was initially ruled out; (above) Amy Neal and Chiaka Ogbogu; (top right) Haley Eckerman; (left) Texas fans supported the team until the very end; (left bottom) head coach Jerritt Elliott protested the reverse call — a call that ultimately caused the Longhorns to lose the match.
“We were able to get our middles going and change the transition game,” Elliott said. “[BYU was] starting to slow down physically. We were hoping to get into that fifth set and get more of a charge. Our passing was picking up and we did some nice things.” “It’s hard to lose the way we did but
we know that we fought and that that game could’ve gone either way,” Eckerman said. “If we would’ve gone into a fifth set, I think that with our fight, we knew that we could take over that game.” Texas got a career-high 14 kills and a career-best hitting percentage of .500 from middle blocker Chiaka Ogbogu (also a first-team All-American) and nine kills each from Khat Bell and Eckerman, the team’s two senior leaders. Eckerman hit just .033 in her final match for the Longhorns, her worst production of the season. “This is a competitive group,” Elliott summarized. “We’ve been in this situation five out of the six times we’ve been to the Final Four and we’ll learn from the experience. We’ve got to look at some things and see where we need to get better.” Fans should remember the 2014 Longhorns as a team that won its fourth straight Big 12 championship and became the only school in the nation to advance to the NCAA Regional finals for nine consecutive seasons. “The goals at Texas are the standards we’ve created,” Elliott said. “If we don’t get to a Final Four, it’s a disappointing season, which is sad in sports, in coaching. We reached two of our goals — to get back to the Final Four and win the Big 12.” The accolades for Texas read like a great resume. The Longhorns appeared in the top six
of the AVCA Coaches Poll in all 14 weeks and defeated nine of their 10 opponents who were ranked in the AVCA Top 25. They outhit 28 of their 30 opponents, racking up hitting percentages of more than .300 in 13 matches, better than .400 in four matches and over .500 in one match. Eight different players led Texas in hitting percentage this season. Texas held opponents to a .200 or lower hitting percentage in 24 of 30 matches and either outblocked or tied its opponent in blocks in 27 of 30 matches. This year’s Big 12 title was Texas’ fifth in the last six years, its eighth overall league title and its 21st conference championship (including 12 in the Southwest Conference). Eckerman and Bell, the Longhorns’ only two seniors, won Big 12 championships in all four seasons they played on the 40 Acres. “I’m proud of what this team has accomplished this year and what Khat and Haley have done for this program,” Elliott said. “It’s always hard when you’re not ending the season with a W. Right now it’s time to rest and reflect. It’s been a long, long season.” Elliott and his staff will eventually dissect the wins and losses and find ways to make the Longhorns even better. “I’ll give [the staff and players] a list of questions about every little part of our program — how I coach, what our practices are like, how our travel is, things that helped us get to the point, things that maybe we didn’t do well — to get over the hump to win,” Elliott said. “That’s what you do,” Elliott added. “You pick up the pieces, build a new puzzle and try to figure it out again. That’s the fun part.”
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YOUNG GUN
UPFRONT AND CENTER: After Imani McGee-Stafford was sidelined with an injury, Kelsey Lang stepped into the starting role at center.
B A SK ET B A L L
KELSEY LANG DESPITE BEING IN THE LIMELIGHT, KELSEY LANG STAYS HUMBLE.
BY JESSICA BURROLA
ELSEY LANG is making a name for herself. But don’t expect the sophomore center to confirm this statement — with all of her recent recognition, Lang continues to remain humble about her performance out on the court. The 2014 season called for several changes to this year’s basketball team, including Lang at center. After junior Imani McGeeStafford was injured during the preseason, the Longhorns looked to Lang to step up and accept the starting role. Moving into a starting role on a team with high expectations can be daunting. Texas started the season ranked in the top 10. The Big 12 voted the squad as a preseason favorite to walk away with the conference title. And Lang was now in the center
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of it all. When the Longhorns faced Tennessee on Nov. 30, Lang took the court with the hope to break the team’s five-year losing streak against the Vols. By the half, Texas led 30-20, with Lang contributing 12 of those 30 points. She was 5-of-7 shooting in the first half. Tennessee was 7-of-29 as a team. The Longhorns asserted their dominance and took the game 72-59. Lang recorded double-digit
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points (18), leading the team in scoring and rebounds against Tennessee. In the press conference following the game, Lang remained humble, claiming she’d rather pass than shoot the ball in a big game. “I’m the kind of person who would rather make the pass,” Lang admitted. “I’ve never really looked to score. This year, that’s been one of the main things [I’ve been working on] — looking to score
before I look to pass.” Her high school record says otherwise. Before arriving on the 40 Acres, Lang played for Woodlands High School, where she was named to the 5A All-State Team. She averaged 14 points, eight rebounds and four blocks per game during her junior season — the same season the Highlanders reached the 5A regional semifinal. Head coach Karen Aston
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saw Lang’s potential and looked to bring her on for the 2013-14 season. “Kelsey had a load of potential coming out of high school,” Aston commented. “It was just a matter of her gaining an understanding of the physical nature and the speed of the game.” As a freshman, Lang averaged 14.4 minutes across 34 games and ranked second on the team in blocks (32). She reached double-figure points five times and double-figure rebounds once during last season. Coming into this season, the Texas coaching staff pushed Lang to take more shots, in comparison with her freshman year, when she passed the ball more often. She’s clearly listening, and her statistics show her improvement. As of Jan. 1, Lang had started in every game this season and reached double-figure points in eight of the first 12 games. She also leads the team in scoring after the team’s first seven games.
“She’s mentally tougher because of the work she put in over the summer,” Aston said. “Scoring is a mindset for a post player. They have to be determined that they’re going to outwork their opponent, they’re going to get their shot and get the position to get their shot.” Lang was named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week on Dec. 1. This marked her first major award of her collegiate career. Lang earned the honor after
her performance against Tennessee and UT-Pan American. In the win against UT-Pan American, she posted 20 points with seven rebounds and a block in 27 minutes of play. “People weren’t as surprised as I was,” Lang said about the award. “I’m a team player and I never expected that. It was a great honor.” The conference isn’t the only organization recognizing her accomplishments. Along with
Aston, the rest of the team understands that Lang is a key asset to their success. “Kelsey has advanced so much as a face-up player and a defender,” Aston said. “It’s fun to say we have a lot depth in the paint, because we do.” Her skills and confidence have shown she can overcome the pressure to perform. And while her name becomes a trademark of women’s basketball, Lang will continue to refer to herself as a team player. “When we found out that Imani was going to be out for the first part of the season I had to change my mindset into being an offensive threat,” Lang said. “My teammates and coaches have helped me so much. I have gained confidence because they have confidence in me. I couldn’t do what I do without my teammates giving me the kinds of passes that they give me. They’re the reason I have so much confidence in my offensive ability.”
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IN SEASON
THE CHANGELING: Kendal Yancy considered himself a casual player last season. This season, with the direction of his coaches, he’s more aggressive and improving his stats across the board.
B A SK ET B A L L
MOTIVATED BY THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM, KENDAL YANCY IS BRINGING A WHOLE NEW ATTITUDE TO THE COURT THIS SEASON. BY STEVE LANSDALE
H
E’S THE FIRST ONE
in the gym and the last one to leave. He’s known for his relentless work ethic and excellence in the classroom. But that wasn’t always the
case. Kendal Yancy made certain changes between his freshman and sophomore years to reach the point he’s at today. A native Texan, Yancy attended Berkner High School in Richardson and played under the watchful eye of basketball coach Jason Petty. Under Petty, Yancy ascended to greatness on the basketball court.
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During his senior year Yancy was the No. 85 prospect on the ESPN Top 100 list and the No. 107 prospect on Rivals.com. He averaged 12.2 points per game, 6.6 rebounds and 7.8 assists in his final high school season. He guided Berkner to a 33-6 record that same year, as well as to the program’s second-ever state tournament appearance. The Rams lost to Fort Bend Travis in the state
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semifinals, but Yancy led his team in scoring and was later named to the 5A UIL All-Tournament team. He also earned a spot on the 2013 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches 5A All-State team. As he started to look at colleges, Yancy took an interest in Texas, mainly due to the fact that Rick Barnes stood at the helm of the men’s basketball program. “Coach Barnes grabbed my
attention,” Yancy said. “His swagger, how he approached the game and his knowledge was appealing.” “I wanted to stay close to home,” he added, “plus it’s Texas and there’s a lot of value in that.” Yancy credits his successful transition from a frosh player to a more seasoned athlete to Barnes. Between his freshman and sophomore seasons, he’s become con-
THIS SPR EAD FR OM LEFT: BETHANY WALT ER /UNIV. OF TEXAS, BETHANY WALTER/ UNIV. OF TEXAS, DON BENDER
State of Confidence
sistent and confident in his game. Reflecting back on his first year on the 40 Acres, Yancy referred to himself as a casual player. This season, Barnes has pushed him to be a more aggressive player week in and week out. “There’s a big difference because I’m more confident out there,” Yancy said. “The game is a little bit slower now and I am starting to see a lot more.”
high — and shot 50 percent from the field. He scored 12 points, went 2-for-3 from behind the arc and grabbed six boards. And while Yancy credits his newfound confidence to Barnes, another person has continued to push him to work harder his entire life. Terrel Harris, Yancy’s brother, played basketball for Oklahoma State between 2006 and 2009 be-
Yancy, he learned how to pay attention to detail and work hard from his older brother. “My brother has been pushing me ever since we were young,” Yancy said. “He’s like a little voice in my head. A lot of people say I’m too hard on myself but I just think about my brother. If I’m not going hard, I can hear my brother saying, ‘You need to go harder, you need to do this, you need to do that.’ I
“A lot of that confidence comes from having more experience and watching more film,” he added. “I’m also more mature this season.” Yancy is seeing more action and minutes on the court in 2014, especially after Isaiah Taylor’s injury. As of mid-December, Yancy has averaged 21.5 minutes per game and has improved his numbers and averages across the board. He improved his shooting percentage from 40.9 percent to 41.3 percent. His free throw shooting has improved drastically from 55.9 percent to 84.6 percent. He’s also improved his rebounding (3.8 boards per game) and assists (2.2 assists per game) numbers in his second year. His best game of the season (as of mid-December) came against Saint Francis (PA) on Nov. 25. Yancy was featured on the court for 34 minutes — a season-
fore heading to the NBA. He played for the Miami Heat from 2011-2013 and was a member of the 2012 NBA championship team. In 2013 he moved to Charlotte to play for the Hornets organization. But even with his hectic schedule, Harris maintains his role as Yancy’s mentor. According to
picture him getting on me and think about what I’d do if he was around.” Successful players have one or two things that push them and drive them to take their game to the next level. For Yancy, he has Barnes and his older brother. But he also has his mother.
“I think about my mom and the situation that she’s in every time I step on the court,” Yancy said. “I know she doesn’t have everything that she deserves, so I’m trying to give back to what she deserves. She deserves a whole lot and that drives me everyday.” With the motivation to reach his full potential, Yancy worked throughout the offseason on his weaknesses. “I’m trying to get my speed back,” he said. “I lost a step in the transition to the college level. I also lost a step from the surgery I had on my ankle. In the past I wasn’t mature enough to work on that but now I’m starting to realize what I need to do to strengthen it and get quicker in the game.” This season Yancy isn’t just confident with his own game, but he’s confident in the team. The 9-1 start through the Longhorns’ first 10 games this season assures him that this squad can make things happen this season. “Everyone has different things they bring to the table — Demarcus Holland’s defense, Jonathan Holmes work ethic, Prince Ibeh and Cameron Ridley’s ability to block shots,” he said. “Every thing they bring to the table is valuable. We need everybody for a championship.”
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IN SEASON
SETTING EXPECTATIONS: Cat McCoy arrived to Texas with the purpose to make something happen this season — freshman or not.
VOL L EY B A L L
The Real McCoy FRESHMAN CAT MCCOY IS ALL ABOUT KEEPING (SOME) TEXAS TRADITIONS.
BY SARA BETH PURDY
OR THE PAST several seasons, the Longhorns’ starting libero has hailed from Hawaii. But in 2014, a Texas native disrupted that tradition after not holding anything back during preseason play. Although just a freshman, Cat McCoy won the starting position from junior Kat Brooks shortly after stepping onto the 40 Acres. “We were immediately drawn to Cat early on because of her personality,” said head coach Jerritt Elliott when McCoy signed with the Longhorns last fall. “She is feisty, competitive and extremely driven. Cat continues to do a lot of work on her own and that’s a testament to her commitment to the game.” Perhaps fate brought McCoy to Texas, as both her first and last name seem to follow inline behind other great athletes with
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similar names. She’s one of the three “Cats” on the volleyball roster, which includes senior Khat Bell and Brooks. And even though she holds no relation to one of the Longhorns’ favorite quarterbacks, the last name “McCoy” brings a sense of nostalgia to many Texas fans. “It would be cool to redefine that name,” McCoy said of
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sharing a name with quarterback Colt McCoy. And she’s already working toward accomplishing that goal. On the court, the 5’7” freshman from Southlake, Texas, blends in with the upperclassmen. McCoy plays with the same ferocity and energy that, for most, takes two or three years of experience at the collegiate level to develop.
She hasn’t let the fact that she’s the youngest player on the court get in her way. “They told me to come in and be fearless,” she said. “You can’t come into a program like this and think you can’t do something. I don’t think about how I’m a freshman. I think about how I’m like everyone else on the court.” CONTINUED ON PAGE 47
SUSAN SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
F
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Texas Bowl
4
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 34
5
WHAT’S AHEAD FOR THE LONGHORNS? Texas needs to find a way to pick up the pieces and heal its deeply wounded pride. That work will begin immediately, with a core of players and a coaching staff that recognizes what needs to get fixed and understands the urgent mandate under which to get it done. “At the end of the day we need to do a better job recruiting and coaching,” Strong said. “Losing six games — it will never be the standard here. It should never happen.”
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SETTING EXPECTATIONS: Caption about senior performances
Strong said “no” when asked if he planned to make changes to his coaching staff after the loss to Arkansas. Two days later, however, he announced that assistants Bruce Chambers (tight ends) and Les Koenning (wide receivers) had been relieved of their duties. A national search for their replacements is currently underway. “Les and Bruce are good men and good football coaches,” Strong said. “It’s unfortunate that it didn’t work out but we need to make a change and head in a different direction.” Between now and Sept. 5 (when the Longhorns open the 2015 season against Notre Dame), the team will need to find answers to several outstanding questions. Who will emerge as the team leaders? Who will be the starting quarterback? Can a revamped defense play as well as it did this season and carry the team as Strong prefers? Don’t expect a break from the schedule. Six of Texas’ first seven games in 2015 are against teams that played in bowl games this season and the Longhorns will need to wait until Dec. 5 to play Big 12 Conference champ Baylor in Waco. Strong said the lessons learned from this season — especially the loss to Arkansas — produced a robust missive for the coming offseason. “It will be a strong message,” he said. “Nobody’s making a play. We’re not blocking anybody. We’re not running the ball. We’re not protecting the quarterback. There are no playmakers.” “I don’t want to say something to them that I may regret later,” he added, “but the message will be very clear to them.”
ALL PHOTOS THIS PAGE: PATR ICK M ER EDITH
HOW DID TEXAS’ SENIORS PERFORM IN THEIR FINAL GAME? The results from the seniors showed that no one stepped up to make plays or turn the tide against Arkansas. Running back Malcolm Brown had 25 yards rushing on seven carries and caught a pass for a 7-yard loss. Wide receiver John Harris led the team with four catches for 36 yards but had two costly drops, while Jaxon Shipley caught just one pass (on the Longhorns’ final drive) and returned one punt for four yards. Linebacker Steve Edmond had nine tackles that included Texas’ only sack (for a 6-yard loss) while defensive end Cedric Reed and Hicks also had nine stops. Diggs had five tackles and Thompson added four, but neither had a pass breakup. Hicks admitted that the loss to Arkansas has left a sour taste in his mouth. “We went 6-7, with a great opportunity to go out there and prove a point,” Hicks said. “It’s disappointing, especially as a senior to go out like that. But you have to hang your head high, continue to work and tell these young guys to not end things like that in the future. They need to keep working to get this program back where it’s supposed to be.”
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 44
McCoy is working to live up to the legacy of the liberos that came before her. Following Sydney Yogi and Sarah Palmer, both top-notch liberos and fan favorites, is not an easy endeavor. “Sometimes there’s pressure putting the [libero] jersey on,” Elliott said. “She hasn’t flinched since she’s put it on. We knew she was talented but you never know until they get into these types of situations.” In her first year as a Longhorn, McCoy has played in 27 matches going into the NCAA regional weekend in Minneapolis, Minn. Through those 27 matches, McCoy registered a team-high 327 digs with 59 assists and 18 service aces. She
PATRIC K M ER EDITH/UNI V. OF T EXAS
SETTING EXPECTATIONS: Cat McCoy arrived to Texas with the purpose to make something happen this season — freshman or not.
also scored 19 points for the Longhorns. Earlier this season McCoy was named to the All-Tournament Team for the 26 West Longhorn Classic, a tournament that the Longhorns hosted in August. Following the regular season, she was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team thanks to her successful performance on the court. “We’re pleased with her progression,” Elliott said. During her last year at Southlake Carroll High School, McCoy helped her alma mater to a regular season record of 44-1 and final record of 46-2. The Dragons missed the 5A state championship, dropping a semifinal match to San Antonio Churchill, which then went on to win the tournament. Because of her successful senior season, McCoy was named one of Volleyball Magazine’s Girls 30 Underclassmen to Watch. In addition, she was named All-District MVP and an Under Armour High School All-America First Team
honoree. McCoy also played for the Texas Advantage (TAV) 17 Black, a club team. “Fortunately, through both her high school and club programs, she’s played at a very high level for quite some time,” Elliott said. “This experience should prove useful as she makes the transition to the next level.” Earlier this year, McCoy was a member of the 2014 USA Volleyball Junior National Team. In Guatemala, the USA Junior National Team took gold at the U20 North, Central America and Caribbean Volleyball Confederation (NORCECA) Continental Championship, which is held biannually. In the face of the heavy tournament schedule
and offseason matches, McCoy credited the hard work with helping improve her mental focus and readiness for collegiate play. “Getting that international experience was awesome,” McCoy said. “I wanted to come [to Texas], be competitive and not be intimidated by anyone.” With freshmen like McCoy playing at higher levels than most upperclassmen, the future looks bright for the Longhorns. Any worry that Texas would start to descend after so many years at the top seems far off. Despite her success and popularity among the fans, McCoy remains humble about her position with the Longhorns. All of her hard work and hours spent in Gregory Gym are aimed at winning and giving the seniors one more national championship before they leave the 40 Acres. “I expected to come in, work hard and do whatever I needed to do for the team. Whatever my role was, I wanted to come in and play my best for the team,” McCoy said. “I want to help this team win, especially for the seniors. I come to practice and work as hard as possible.”
Horns Illustrated (ISSN 1096-2573), Volume 22, Number 1. Copyright © 2015 by Texan Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Published nine times a year (monthly in January, February, March/ April, May, June, July, October, November and December) in the United States by Horns Illustrated, 1505 Ridgecrest Drive, Austin, TX 78746. Subscription inquiries: Send new or renewal notices or change of address (send both old and new addresses) to Horns Illustrated, P.O. Box 50069, Austin, TX 78763. Allow 6-8 weeks for change of address. Subscription problems: Call 855-246-7677. Subscription costs: U.S. and its possessions, one-year basic rate, $49.95. Periodicals Postage Paid at Austin, Texas, and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER – send address changes to Horns Illustrated - P.O. Box 50069, Austin, TX 78763. Tel. (512) 626-8513. Publisher disclaims all responsibility to return unsolicited editorial matter, and all rights in portions published vest in publisher. Letters to Horns Illustrated magazine or its editors are assumed intended for publication in whole or in part without permission from the writer. Any similarity between persons or places mentioned in the fiction or semi-fiction and real places or persons living or dead is coincidental. Single copies: $4.95 in U.S. JANUARY 2015
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FINAL SCORE
In 2010, Jerritt Elliott and the Texas volleyball program signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the nation. The class included middle blocker Khat Bell and outside hitter Haley Eckerman. Their debut with the team came during the 2011 season opener against Pepperdine in front of a crowd of 3,163. Fans didn’t know it at the time, but they were witnessing the start of an era in Texas volleyball. Fast forward to 2014, where both Bell and Eckerman are wrapping up their careers as two of the best, most awarded volleyball players to ever step foot in Gregory Gymnasium. Throughout their four years, they have gathered an impressive series of accolades. The duo has seen volleyball’s Final Four in two out of three years, racked up a 104-13 record (that’s an 89 percent winning percentage) and was a major contributor in the program’s first National Championship since 1988. After a win over No. 24 Oklahoma in Norman this year, they became the only players in Texas history to win a Big 12 Championship every year over a four-year period.
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ALL PHOTOS THIS PAGE: PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
AN INCREDIBLE JOURNEY