OCTOBER 2017
32
Holton Hill’s contributions against Maryland kept Texas in the game.
CONTENTS FEATURES
32
FOOTBALL
FIVE QUESTIONS: MARYLAND Fans and pundits alike expected for the season opener against Maryland to result in a win for Texas. Unfortunately, the Longhorns came up short with an uneven performance, losing to the Terrapins 51-41. So, what happened? Senior editor and contributor Steve Habel provides his insights on the game and answers five questions everyone was asking at the end.
26
FOOTBALL
NO SURE THING The annual AT&T Red River Showdown is the highlight of the Texas football season for many fans, as it never seems to matter which team is ranked higher or performing better — instead it comes down to guts and who wants it more. This year’s game between Texas and Oklahoma will be interesting to say the least. Both teams head into Dallas with new head coaches at the helm and new playmakers that could swing the game in one direction or the other. Contributor Steve Lansdale previews this year’s game and players to watch.
35
FOOTBALL
GAME RECAP: SAN JOSE STATE A week after the disappointing loss to Maryland, the Texas football team came back with a vengeance against San Jose State. The Longhorns overpowered the Spartans, 56-0, thanks to breakout performances from Chris Warren III, Holton Hill and Sam Ehlinger. Steve Habel recaps the game and selects the most important player.
8 11 13 20 21 25 39 48
LEADING OFF MARK YOUR CALENDAR ROUNDUP SPIRIT OF THE MONTH - TEXAS SPIRITS MEDIA VOICES HABE ON THE HORNS IN SEASON - FOOTBALL, VOLLEYBALL, SOCCER FINAL SCORE
COVER PHOTO: COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
4 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
DEPARTMENTS
6 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 7
8 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 9
OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 11
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
12 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
ROUNDUP
COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
OCTOBER 2017
PLAYING LIKE A PRO: Arnold Palmer, Lydia Ko, Tiger Woods. Not only are these household names of major winners on the PGA and LPGA tours, they also all got their start by winning the U.S. Amateur Championship. Senior Sophia Schubert followed in their footsteps this summer as she captured the 2017 U.S. Women’s Amateur, with head coach Ryan Murphy caddying alongside her throughout the tournament. Schubert became the first Longhorn to win the title since Kelli Kuehne back in 1996. The victory granted her exemptions into four of the five LPGA major championships, including the Evian Championship this September. “Winning the [amateur] was definitely a dream come true,” Schubert said. “I’ve worked my whole life for this and for it to finally happen was awesome.” Schubert has played for the Longhorns since her sophomore year, when she came to Austin after transferring from Auburn. She’s now registered consecutive appearances on the All-Big 12 team, and has consistently led the Longhorns in scoring average.
OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 13
OCTOBER 2017
FRESH START THE FUTURE OF
NO LOOKING BACK: Michael Cantu is leaving Texas to reset expectations and resurrect his collegiate career at Tarleton State.
M
ICHAEL CANTU NEEDS a change of scenery. The Texas Longhorns catcher will complete his final season of collegiate eligibility at Tarleton State, a Division II school in Stephenville. Ranked by Baseball America as the No. 1 catcher in high school out of Corpus Christi Moody, Cantu faced high expectations when he came to Austin — he was refined behind the plate and featured big power potential at the plate. As a freshman, the 6-foot-3, 240-pounder was named to the Big 12 All-Freshman team after leading the Longhorns in walks, but he only hit .249 and didn’t show the anticipated power he flashed in high school hitting only one home run. The following season actually saw Cantu struggle more at the plate, even though he remained in the starting lineup for 35 games — he hit merely .214 and did not hit a single home run. The struggles at the plate continued during his junior season, with Cantu hitting only .222, though he did finally show his power with six home runs. The emergence of junior Michael McCann, who had sat out the 2016 season but became one of the breakout players under new head coach David Pierce, limited Cantu’s time behind the plate. Despite being selected by the Chicago Cubs in the 30th round of the 2014 MLB Draft, Cantu wasn’t selected in last June’s draft. Now he’ll finish his eligibility elsewhere in hopes of resurrecting what was once a promising baseball career.
14 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
FUTURE LONGHORN JORDAN Windle won the men’s platform final at the 2017 USA Diving National Championships, capturing his third title of the meet in the process. Windle compiled 425.70 points through the six rounds of the platform final and outdistanced his nearest competitor by over 20 points. He totaled a meet-best 85.10 points on his third dive, a forward four-and-a-half somersault. Windle tallied his third gold medal of the meet to go with junior national titles in the 3-meter and platform. He finished as the U.S. runner-up in the men’s three-meter. Texas sophomore Jacob Cornish joined Windle in the men’s platform final. Cornish, who competed on platform as a freshman at the 2017 NCAA Championships, took fifth in the final with 360.95 points.
Michael Cantu
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY, COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
DIVING
OCTOBER 2017
OVERCOMING ADVERSITY
A
COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
S THE LONGHORNS took on Maryland, chapter one of the Tom Herman era began. Texas can’t rewrite last season, but with a new era comes a new author. Herman and Co. have spent the past nine months repairing the program. “It’s been a long nine months,” Herman said. “I’m actually relieved a little bit … to prepare for an opponent, to do less media things and to get back to coaching football and preparing to win a game,” Herman said prior to the season opener.
Texas Strong TEXAS HAD 21 players with families affected by Hurricane Harvey, which hit southeast Texas at the end of August. Head coach Tom Herman confirmed that all families were accounted for and safe. With football on the back burner for many, the Longhorns provided relief efforts from Austin and supported the campaign of Houston
But no matter how much preparation the Longhorns put in, every team gets hit with adversity. Whether it’s a loss in the season opener to Maryland or a rumble in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against USC, the Longhorns were guaranteed to hit a rough patch during the season. The way they handle it will determine the course of the season. “The biggest test is when we face adversity, do we respond the way we’re trained or do we respond by falling back into bad habits?” Herman said. “That will be a big crossroad for us to go through.”
Texans star J.J. Watt. Several of the players who hail from the Houston area sent a message to those back home, stating, “The Texas family is thinking and praying for everybody.” Several former Longhorns, including Vince Young and Colt McCoy, provided help as well. Young set up a relief fund, while McCoy donated his boat to former Texas receiver Jordan Shipley to help with rescues in the area. Texas started its season as planned; however, for those affected by the storm, including P.J. Locke, much of the week leading into the season opener was spent balancing the worry about the situation back home. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 15
OCTOBER 2017
A MAGICAL
SHOCK FACTOR: The Texas football team presented Garrett Graf with a full scholarship in the most unexpected way.
T
HE TEXAS FOOTBALL coaches brought in a magician to boost team morale before the season opener against Maryland. One player, however, was shocked to see what the man pulled out of his magic hat. Walk-on senior offensive lineman Garrett Graf was in the spotlight as the magician’s assistant, unaware that it was part of a planned surprise, when the man pulled a card from a top hat with a special message. “On behalf of the Texas football program,” the magician read, “I’m pleased to inform you that you are now on a full academic scholarship.”
The entire room roared with applause and Graf was immediately overcome with emotion. “There are guys here that deserve this just as much, if not more than I do,” Graf said, choking up. “I promise I won’t let you down and I appreciate this more than you can possibly imagine. “This was a childhood dream of mine, just to be here,” Graf continued, thanking the coaches. Now listed at 6-foot-2 and 285 pounds, the fourth-year player didn’t see game action until he played in two games last year.
ON THE RECORD “NO. WE’RE A 5-7 team. We haven’t played a game yet. We’ll pay attention to [the rankings] as we head down the stretch, but right now it’s just a bunch of people guessing, right?” — Tom Herman, when asked about the Longhorns’ ranking in the top 25.
16 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
FROM TOP: COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY UT ATHLETICS PHOTOGRAPHY
MOMENT
OCTOBER 2017
VALUABLE INSIGHTS
FROM TOP: COURTESY OF TEXAS EQUIPMENT, COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
E
VEN THOUGH HE retired over a year ago, Peyton Manning remains a busy man, as evidenced by his visit to the 40 Acres to hang out with the Texas football team and check out the team’s latest equipment. Texas is using cutting-edge technology to track the impact of hits to the head through a partnership with Riddell. Responding to the increased focus on player safety in football over the past several years, the Longhorns installed sensors in the helmet of each player, becoming the first FBS team to do so across the entire squad.
TACKLING CONCUSSIONS: Peyton Manning visited the 40 Acres to see the latest helmet technology leveraged by the Longhorns.
Officially, the program is known as the Riddell InSite helmet monitoring system. The various sensors monitored throughout each helmet measure factors like G-force and direction of hit. That information is then sent to a sensor held by trainers on the sidelines. If the helmet takes a hard enough hit, the trainers will take a look at the player to make sure all is well. In three weeks of preseason camp, senior safety Jason Hall, junior running back Chris Warren III and junior center Terrell Cuney all suffered concussions, which were tracked through Insite.
TIGHT SITUATION
TIGHT END ANDREW Beck will undergo season-ending surgery on a fractured foot he sustained in practice prior to the season opener. As a senior, he was expected to start and play a key role for the Longhorns’ offense this season. After Beck suffered an injury on the same foot during spring practices, head coach Tom Herman sent the Florida native to Portland, Ore., to meet with Nike for a custom shoe to prevent additional injury. The Longhorns now turn to a shallow depth chart to fill in for Beck, giving Herman a high level of anxiety regarding his tight end situation. Graduate transfer Kendall Moore will compete for playing time with freshmen Cade Brewer and Reese Leitao, who’s suspended for the first two games. Herman can also experiment with junior Garrett Gray, a receiver-turned-tight end. The Longhorns will likely use a combination of these players this season.
MAIN MAN: With Andrew Beck out for the season, Herman is left with a shallow depth chart for the tight end position.
OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 17
UTSA ROUNDUP
OCTOBER 2017
THE STAGE IS SET
CALENDAR UTSA CALENDAR: OCTOBER 2017 FOOTBALL 7: vs. Southern Miss.,6 p.m. 14: at North Texas, Denton, 5:30 p.m. 21: vs. Rice, 6 p.m. 28: at UTEP, El Paso, 7 p.m.
SOCCER 6: at Rice, Houston, 7 p.m. 8: at North Texas, Denton, 1 p.m. 15: vs. UAB, 1 p.m. 19: vs. Western Kentucky, 7 p.m. 22: at FIU, Miami, Fla., Noon 27: vs. UTEP, 7 p.m. 29: at Incarnate Word, 1 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL 1: vs. UTEP, Noon 8: vs. Marshall, 12:30 p.m. 13: vs. Middle Tennessee, 7 p.m. 15: at UTEP, El Paso, 1 p.m. 20: at Rice, Houston, 6 p.m. 22: at Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, Ky., Noon 27: vs. UAB, 7 p.m. 29: vs. Louisiana Tech, 1 p.m.
M AND W CROSS COUNTRY 6: Aggie Open, College Station, All Day 13: Houston Baptist Invitational, Houston, All Day 28: Conference USA Championship, Jackson, Miss., All Day
W
HEN THE UTSA basketball programs tip off their seasons in early November, the men and the women will be at different starting points. The men enter their second year with head coach Steve Henson at the helm. The women will learn the ropes under new head coach Kristen Holt, who took over the program after previous head coach Luby Lichonczak stepped down after four years. “We were fortunate for [Lichonczak] to be a part of UTSA athletics and will always respect his work ethic and loyalty,” UTSA Athletic Director Lynn Hickey said. “We look forward to working with Kristen and buildingg the resources for our program so we can compete for Conference USA Championships and give our studentathletes an outstanding experience both academically and athletically.” Holt and the Roadrunner women will open their season on Nov. 10 at home against Sul Ross State. Henson and the Roadrunner men welcome several new faces, as they’ll have to replace three key players from last year. Lucas O’Brien and Gino Littles graduated at the close of the academic year, and Jeff Beverlyy transferred out of the program. The men’s team, however, returns quite a bit of talent from a team that had a nine-win improvement in 2017. Notable among those returning are sophomore Giovanni De Nicolao and junior Byron Frohnen. UTSA A also welcomes transfers Dante Buford from Oklahoma and Toby Van Ry, who played at Colorado State and, more recently, Northwest Kansas Technical College in Kansas. “There are players who could surprise people,” Henson said of his team’s potential. “We have good depth this season.” The men’s team opens its season on Nov. 12 against East Central.
18 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
Giovanni De Nicolao
ALL PHOTOS IN THIS PAGE: COURTESY JEFF HUEHN PHOTOGRAPHY
DRIVEN: Byron Frohen and the Roadrunners look to build on last year’s successful campaign.
OCTOBER 2017
JUMP START
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS: Zhanelle Gathers recorded one of her best collegiate performances against Houston.
CALENDAR
T
UTA CALENDAR: OCTOBER 2017
HE UT ARLINGTON volleyball team jumped out to its best start since 2013 when junior middle blocker Zhanelle Geathers, a preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honoree, fired a career-high 23 kills and picked up her second consecutive double-double. Her efforts lifted UTA to a five-set victory over Houston to win the UTA Invitational Tournament at College Park Center. The 16-25, 25-23, 16-25, 2520, 15-11 win gave the Mavericks their third consecutive victory, as well as their first under new head coach J.T. Wenger. UTA swept its first two matches, sweeping Southern and McNeese before battling through five sets against the Cougars. “Zhanelle did a great job today,” Wenger said. “She played high and didn’t drag the ball down, which is something we have been talking about and she’s showing that. Her passing was fantastic, especially in the fifth, taking a big chunk of court. It was a great effort.” Geathers, senior outside hitter Qiana Canete and sophomore outside hitter/middle blocker Madison McConnell were named to the All-Tournament Team.
VOLLEYBALL 1: at Appalachian State, Boone, N.C., 11:30 a.m. 6: at Arkansas State, Jonesboro, Ark., 6:30 p.m. 7: at Little Rock, Little Rock, Ark., 6:30 p.m. 13: at Texas State, San Marcos, 6:30 p.m. 20: vs. Georgia State, 6:30 p.m. 21: vs. Georgia Southern, 6:30 p.m. 26: at Louisiana, Lafayette, La., 6:30 p.m. 28: at ULM, Monroe, La., 6:30 p.m.
M TENNIS 1: Rice Invitational, Houston, All Day 1-2: ITA Men’s All-American Championships, Tulsa, Okla., All Day 20-23: ITA Texas Regionals, College Station, All Day
W TENNIS 1-2: ITA Women’s All-American Championships, Pacific Palisades, Calif., All Day 6-8: SMU Invitational, Dallas, All Day 13-16: ITA Texas Regional, Fort Worth, All Day
M GOLF 9-10: Bayou City Collegiate Classic, Pearland, All Day 23-24: Little Rock Intercollegiate, Little Rock, Ark., All Day
W GOLF 1: Wyoming Cowgirl Desert Intercollegiate, Palm Desert, Calif., All Day 16-17: Fred Marx Invitational, Monroe, La., All Day 29-31: Little Rock Women’s Golf Classic, Hot Springs Village, Ark., All Day
CROSS COUNTRY 13: Crimson Classic, Tuscaloosa, Ala., TBA 28: Sun Belt Conference Championships, Boone, N.C., TBA
ALL PHOTOS IN THIS PAGE: COURTESY UTA ATHLETICS
SOFTBALL THE UT ARLINGTON softball team named Peejay Brun the Mavericks’ new head coach on Aug. 22. A veteran of 19 years as a college coach, including six as a head coach, Brun has spent nine of the last 11 years as an assistant coach at Texas State. She takes over in Arlington after former UTA coach Kristie Fox accepted the same position at Nevada-Las Vegas. Between her two stints at Texas State, Brun put together a 63-33-1 record in two seasons as the head coach at University of Hawaii at Hilo. “I’m honored to join a department with strong vision, commitment and enthusiasm,” Brun said. “My experience as a student-athlete
Cat Osterman, a former was one that I absolutely loved, All-American pitcher at from the competition to the Texas and current assistant camaraderie. I am eager to coach at Texas State, said be a part of creating that Brun has the tools and experience for the young drive to succeed in her ladies in our program. It’s new position. an exciting time to be a “In my short time Maverick, and I’m thrilled to working with Coach Brun, be part of the team.” I’ve been able to see how Brun earned second-team Peejay Brun optimistic she is every day,” All-Big West honors while playing Osterman said. “She’s driven to at Hawaii, and played professionally for two years in the Ladies Professional help others meet or exceed their potential, Baseball League before beginning her and will leave no stone unturned. She has an incredible work ethic.” coaching career. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 19
OCTOBER 2017
F
ORMERLY KNOWN AS the Spooks, the Texas Spirits are proud of their rich and long history on the 40 Acres. The Texas Spirits are the oldest female spirit organization on campus. Formed in 1941 as a group of 21 women, the Texas Spirits started as a secret society to unite women across campus and inspire school spirit. “We are the oldest female spirit group, which brings with it a rich history of tradition and a bond that connects several generations of women together,” said Elizabeth Schasel, the current Texas Spirits president. Prior to football games, members used to dress in ghostly garb to spook away bad luck for the football team. The Spooks also sang incantations at pep rallies. “Although we don’t do this anymore, Texas Spirits still holds true to its original intent of embodying and promoting school spirit,” Schasel said. Fast forward to the present, and the Texas Spirits are still very active in promoting spirit throughout campus. On game days, the Spirits advocate and embody the Texas tradition. Members come early and stay late every Saturday. In addition to regular tailgates, the Texas Spirits organize face-painting at the Texas Exes tailgate at the alumni center. The Spirits can be seen all across campus supporting a variety of Texas sports, including basketball, volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s club soccer, hockey, baseball, rugby and quidditch. When they’re not supporting Texas athletics, the Texas Spirits are supporting the university and surrounding Austin communities. “One of the things that makes Texas Spirits so special is our two philanthropies: Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Saint Louise House,” Schasel said. Members log more than 2500 hours of community service each year through service opportunities including Feed My People, Micha 6, the Austin Film Festival and Maplewood Elementary School. Each year, the Spirits host two big events — Band Jam and Mr. Spirit — to benefit their two main philanthropies. Band Jam, a benefit concert, and Mr. Spirit, a pageant event, regularly raise around $15,000 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Saint Louise House, a local transitional shelter for women and children in the Austin area. In addition to their service and spirit, the Texas Spirits are active in social activities across campus. Throughout the semester, the Spirits have a wide variety of social events with other organizations, including mixers, formals, movie nights and boat parties. “Texas Spirits does an incredible job of being a well-rounded organization, and therefore attracting well-rounded women,” Schasel said. “From feeding the homeless to cheering on the football team, or from the dance floor to the sisterhood camping trip, Texas Spirits offers something for every single girl on campus.”
20 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
FOOTBALL (2012-15)
JOHNSON GREW UP in League City, where he attended Clear Springs High School. The 6-foot-1 speedster was a star in both football and track & field. On the football field he finished his varsity career as a wide receiver with 110 catches for 2,051 yards and hauled in 21 touchdowns. Those statistics earned Johnson several prestigious accolades in the state, including being named to the Austin American Stateman’s Fab 55 and second team All-State by the Texas Sports Writers Association. Johnson was a member of the 2012 Longhorn recruiting class, which featured players like Malcom Brown, Hassan Ridgeway and Johnathan Gray. Johnson scored his first collegiate touchdown his sophomore year against Oklahoma. The following game he caught three passes for 120 yards against TCU, including a 65-yard touchdown. Johnson played in 42 games for the Longhorns and finished his career with 793 yards receiving and four touchdowns. In 2016, Johnson signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent. In September of that year, Philadelphia waived him and assigned him to its practice squad. A week later he was released from the practice squad, but re-signed in December. Injuries played a factor in Johnson’s inability to stay on the roster. Johnson earned his spot on the Eagles’ regular-season roster during the 2017 preseason finale against the Jets. Johnson caught a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dane Evans. He finished the preseason with five catches for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
SOTM: COURTESY TEXAS SPIRITS, WATN: COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
TEXAS SPIRITS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
JOHNNY WALKER REVIEW THE FORMER LONGHORN PROVIDES HIS THOUGHTS ON TEXAS’ PERFORMANCE AGAINST MARYLAND
JOHNNY WALKER'S RESUME • Played football and baseball at Texas from 1987 to 1990 • Two-time All-Southwest Conference • Caught the gamewinning reception to beat Oklahoma in 1989 TODAY’S SPECIAL: Reggie Hemphill-Mapps’ performance on special teams against Maryland caught Johnny Walker’s attention.
• Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1990 (4th round)
COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
• Texas High School Hall of Fame inductee
THE TEAM DIDN’T PLAY WITH THE ENTHUSIASM FANS EXPECTED. IT WAS IMPORTANT TO ESTABLISH AN IDENTITY, AND THAT’S NOT THE IDENTITY TEXAS WANTED TO ESTABLISH COMING OUT OF THE FIRST GAME.
Horns Illustrated: Tom Herman’s debut didn’t go quite as planned. What did you think of the season opener? Johnny Walker: I was disappointed in the overall team performance. The team didn’t play with the enthusiasm fans expected. It was important to establish an identity, and that’s not the identity Texas wanted to establish coming out of the first game. Based off the postgame interview, Herman looked shocked. I don’t think he expected the team to play the way they did, and at the same time didn’t expect Maryland to play and run some of the schemes they did. But at the end of the day, I don’t want to hear excuses. I want the problems to get fixed quickly. I want to see improvement and wins. HI: Which players impressed you? JW: Reggie Hemphill-Mapps did an outstanding job. He stood out — especially on special teams with the
punt return. I was also impressed with Holton Hill. He did a phenomenal job and managed to get a pick six — which the Longhorns haven’t done in a long time. He was also on the receiving end of the blocked field goal that he returned for a touchdown. I was impressed with his overall play and the attitude he brought into the game. HI: What were your thoughts on Texas’ offensive scheme? JW: Last season Texas averaged around 200 yards rushing per game. To come out of the Maryland game with 98 yards rushing was not acceptable. The Longhorns need to be better moving forward. There’s no question we have outstanding running backs on the roster. Most of the pieces from last season are still there (minus D’Onta Foreman), but you still have the same offensive line and a star running back in Chris Warren III. Texas needs to focus on what it did well last season — and be more balanced in its attack. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 21
KICKING IT INTO GEAR: John Burt is ready to re-emerge as one of Texas’ top receivers.
BACK IN THE MIX
T
HE CLIMB BACK for John Burt after a tumble from the top appears close to complete. Burt, the leading receiver (457 yards) and one of the few bright spots for an otherwise forgettable Texas offense in 2015, fell completely off of the radar as a sophomore. A 111-yard performance on six receptions in the season opener against Notre Dame was the apex of a 2016 season in which Burt caught only six passes for 16 yards in nine Big 12 contests. After initially putting aside track in favor of football in the spring, Burt’s refocus and dedication to football has paid off as Texas starts the regular season. Tom Herman said Burt is a player who has positioned himself to be a focus of the offense early in the season. The reasons behind Burt’s decline in 2016 aren’t specifically clear, although one could draw their own conclusions based on what was said publicly and what could be gathered behind the scenes. Injuries played a part in Burt’s going from a reliable receiver who caught 28 passes (16.3 yards per reception) and scored two touchdowns
22 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
as a true freshman to an erratic pass-catcher who recorded 10 fewer receptions (18, 11.2 yards per reception) and failed to record half as many receiving yards as he did in his debut (201). That included a hand injury the previous staff acknowledged publicly and a hip injury that reportedly gave Burt some problems. The biggest issue, however, seemed to be a complete lack of confidence. Burt didn’t look like the same player who played with an edge to him and emerged as the favorite deep threat for thenquarterback Jerrod Heard. Regaining his confidence was something wide receivers coach Drew Mehringer said Burt was working on and needed to accomplish in order to help the Longhorns this season. “He has to develop confidence,” Mehringer said. “That confidence is coming and it’s developing.” If Texas can take the field with Burt locked in and ready to make a significant contribution, the offense will have one of the most legitimate deep threats in the country.
COURTESY JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
THE RESURGENCE OF JOHN BURT COULD MAKE AN IMPACT FOR THE TEXAS OFFENSE
TOP PHOTO: COURTESY JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, TOP RIGHT PHOTOS: COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
A LONGHORN LIFE
M
Y NAME IS Tyres Dickson and I’m a T-Association member from Houston. I arrived at the University of Texas in the 1997 recruiting class. My playing career ended in spring 1998 as a result of an automobile accident caused by a drunk driver. The accident left me paralyzed from the chest down. For the fourth year in a row I won’t be able to attend the home games because of medical issues that confine me to the bed indefinitely. However, when I have tough days, the young men who represent the Orange and White lift my morale. With respect for your limited time, I wanted to make a few points to return the favor. Texas Fight:: As a Longhorn, we fight no matter if it’s in the classroom, on or off the field, or in life. Regardless of the circumstances, we stay positive and fight, until we achieve the desired result. We don’t quit, and we fight proving the authenticity of the university, professors, students, players, coaches (former, current and future), family, friends and affiliates. Our unwavering resolve is the prototype of a winner. The eyes of Texas are upon you and you cannot get away: The boundaries of our extraordinary university are known as the 40 Acres, but they extend throughout the world. For every fan who is in the stands, there are many more who passionately root for you — including the disabled and less fortunate. As fans, we imitate the Longhorn attributes of giving maximum effort, 100 percent of the time. This isn’t meant to be additional stress or pressure — it’s simply part of the responsibility of having such a platform. Exhibit the excellence you’ve been chosen to do individually and as a representative of the University of Texas Longhorns football program. I’ve spent a little over 2 million minutes (three years and 10 months) bedridden. When people ask me how I do it, I tell them two things: 1) my faith, and 2) I’m a Longhorn! Every day that I’ve spent in this bed I’ve thought of and worked toward sitting in my seat at Darrell K Royal– Texas Memorial Stadium — seeing my football brothers compete on the
field, cheering them on, and spending time with my Longhorn family. If I can fight as a Longhorn in this bed for two 2 minutes, displaying the culture of bleeding orange, surely without a shadow of a doubt all of the coaches, players and fans will fight positively for 60 minutes and “all the livelong day.” You’re the best college coaches and athletes that the world has to offer. Let’s get that tunnel reverberating with Longhorns ready to play at their optimal level of performance. Make the big plays that are shown over and over on the Jumbotron. Be great in all that you do, knowing there are people all over the world who are inspired to be great by watching you. We are Texas! Sincerely and Hook ‘em, Tyres Dickson #14 c/o 1997 OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 23
SOCIAL BUZZ Tough people come from tough times. These are my brothers. #HookEm — Connor Williams (@Connorwi11iams)
DID YOU KNOW? The Texas football team’s season opener against Maryland didn’t go quite as expected. After the shocking 51-41 loss, fans turned to the Horns Illustrated Facebook page to speak their opinions. Here are some of the top comments:
Yes, winning will take time, focus and determination. While fires rage up north and floods destroy down south, it’s still just a game. — Vickie Reid Walker
They weren’t focused on Maryland. They thought it would be a walk. Their focus was already on USC. Maryland may not be the best, but they are in the Big 10. — Jason Bell
143K FACEBOOK LIKES /hornsillustrated
My dad was a first responder in Beaumont. He assisted in a rescue that resulted in a Blackhawk chopper landing in our neighborhood. — PJ Locke (@PjLocke4)
Our “Reach” was over
1 MILLION during the week of 9/7 - 9/14 Averaged over
60K VISITS PER DAY OVER 80K POST CLICKS
1300+
INSTAGRAM followers Horns_Illustrated
Yesterday was yesterday. Continue to press play and move forward. Keep positive your breakthrough is on its way. Stay encouraged. — Paul Boyette Jr. (@PaulBoyetteJr)
When people are private on Instagram, I just assume they’re felons. Like what do you have to hide? — Emmanuel Acho (@theEMANacho)
Channel 2500+ YouTube last month Views on the
Things take time. Be patient. — Renee Smith
hornsillustrated.com/
HAS OVER 120K FANS IN TEXAS READ BY FANS IN 152 COUNTRIES IN 2014
You could not have bet me enough money that Shane would have the most carries in week one. — Dom Espinosa (@DomEspinosa)
Special teams and the defense scored three touchdowns. The offense failed to punch it into the end zone multiple times and could not convert on 4th down in two very key moments. Our All-American left tackle had back-toback holding calls, which killed any chance of late heroics and was beaten routinely. Penalties happened too often just like last season. — EJ Bermudez
@KDTrey5 meeting 12 years ago was the best day of my life. #HookEm — @levine_lizzy
24 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
My bro just become a new and proud member of the UT Marching Band! #HookEm — @3hunnadolla
Tailgating with Sheela @UTAustin — @Tequila_Sheela
Met Breckyn Hager! — @rockyknowsbest
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ALL TWITTER PHOTOS COURTESY TWITTER.COM, ALL OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY INSTAGRAM.COM AND RESPECTIVE PHOTOGRAPHERS.
Sad thing about it is the fact that Tom Herman even needs to convince these kids to do better. Every game you play is a job interview for the next level if you want it. — Aaron Shelton
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. The T-Association is led by Football letter winner Ricky Brown and Swimming letter winner Jill Sterkel. 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.
COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
CONTACT INFORMATION: t-association@athletics.utexas.edu 512.471.6864
THE LONG GAME
THE LONGHORNS ARE A WORK IN PROGRESS, BUT THAT PROGRESS NEEDS TO TRANSITION TO THE FIELD
P
LENTY WAS SAID in the offseason about how the Texas football team was all but a finished product — like a cake waiting for the icing. But the Longhorns’ 51-41 defeat to Maryland showed that even if the cake is baked, it may have been missing some ingredients. The loss to a middle-of-the-road but wellcoached Maryland team shocked many fans, and the way the Terrapins beat Texas stunned new head coach Tom Herman and his staff. It’s not like this bunch of Longhorns haven’t lost before — after all, most of these players went 5-7 last season for dismissed coach Charlie Strong — but Herman thought he had addressed the bad habits that drove Strong’s teams right out of his charges. “We have to figure out a way as coaches to take the training to the field on game day,” Herman said after the loss to Maryland. “Quite frankly, there were things that happened against Maryland that we as coaches hadn’t seen since spring ball — mistakes in habits and techniques we thought were corrected and replaced by the correct habit. “They showed back up at very inopportune times. We have to do a good job of figuring out how to make sure that that doesn’t happen again.” Herman said the players want to do well and said they responded in the appropriate manner emotionally when they faced adversity during the loss to Maryland. There was no give-up in these Longhorns — something that was a problem in the previous regime. “I’ve had numerous players tell me that in years past, had the team gone down 27-7, there would be guys who would fold up their tents and went home,” Herman said. “And that could’ve gotten ugly. “We have to find a way to take the next step in putting that response into physical action,” Herman added, “and being where we’re supposed to be, every single time. That’s the next step.” Rome wasn’t built in a day and the Texas football team’s rebuilding efforts won’t be a quick fix either. As long as Herman can keep his players moving forward, the Longhorns will improve from week to week despite a schedule in which they play eight teams that went to a bowl game last season.
ABOVE AND BEYOND: Even after losing to Maryland, the team refused to give up on the season.
Beginning with Texas’ week three matchup at USC, the Longhorns will square off against the winners of last season’s Rose, Texas, Sugar, Alamo and Cactus bowls within a six-game span. “This is a process and we’re in this thing for the long haul,” Herman explained after the seasonopening loss. “These nine months of training wasn’t just to beat Maryland. This was to instill a culture, a way of doing things and an attitudinal shift. “Did I think we were ahead of where we showed on against Maryland? Yeah, I did,” he added. All of us did. One veteran reporter predicted that Texas would go 12-1, and most of us who cover the team have opined that the Longhorns will have a winning record and go to a bowl game. Those two predictions are still within reach, but the 12-1 record? Not so much. Texas fight is assured for this team. Maybe a little Texas patience or Texas temperance is on the agenda as well. Herman is in it for the long run and Longhorn fans should be, as well. 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. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 25
READY TO RUMBLE: With new coaches at the helm, anything is possible during this year’s Red River Showdown.
NO SURE THING
W
E ALL HAVE done it before: run into someone you know whom you consider less a friend and more an acquaintance. You haven’t seen each other in a while, but you aren’t strangers. But there’s something different. Something has changed. Something isn’t quite normal.
26 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
This exact scenario will play out when Texas and Oklahoma square off Oct. 14 at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. The Longhorns will see a team across the field that’s familiar, yet somehow different. The Texas players will recognize many of the same players who took part in last year’s game, clad in the same crimson and cream garb with “SOONERS” written across the chest of each opponent.
To find the difference, the Longhorns don’t need to look across the line of scrimmage. Instead, they need to look across the field, from their bench to the OU side. That’s where the difference will be, as for the first time in forever — or, to be exact, since 1998 — the head coach’s headset will not be worn by Bob Stoops, who suddenly resigned in June, offering little more in explanation than comments about how “the time is right” and “the program is in
ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE: COURTESY JESSE DROHEN
THE TRADITION REMAINS THE SAME, BUT THERE’S SOMETHING DIFFERENT ABOUT THIS YEAR’S RED RIVER SHOWDOWN
FORTY YEARS OF THE RED RIVER SHOWDOWN FIRST AS A FAN, THEN AS A REPORTER, HORNS ILLUSTRATED’S SENIOR EDITOR TAKES A LOOK AT FOUR DECADES OF TEXAS-OU
THE TEXAS-OKLAHOMA football game has become a fixture in my life every second Saturday in October since 1977, the past 23 years as a reporter and senior editor of this magazine. I was there for some great Longhorn wins and for the times when Texas couldn’t get out of its own way. Each game forged a memory of its own, likely because of the pageantry involved with its setting and the lore of the rivalry in college football. Oh, and a healthy hate for the Sooners helps a little, too. Here’s a touchdown’s worth (with an extrapoint kick thrown in for good measure) of some of my favorite recollections of the Texas-OU game.
1977 The first Texas-OU game I saw in person (I was a freshman in high school) was a 13-7 win by the Longhorns on a day when legendary running back Earl Campbell threw a halfback pass early on — it was intercepted — and Texas won even though its top two quarterbacks, Mark McBath and Jon Aune, were injured within the Longhorns’ first 16 offensive snaps. Third-stringer Randy McEachern stepped in and engineered who engineered the Texas win. Big pieces of that victory also belonged to Campbell (123 yards and a 24-yard touchdown run on 23 carries), to a goal-line stand led by safety Johnnie Johnson and tackle Brad Shearer, and all-world specialist Russell Erxleben, who had field goals from 64 and 58 yards to go along with 71- and 69-yard punts.
Poona Ford
good shape.” In the role Stoops held for so long is Lincoln Riley, the former OU offensive coordinator who’s so young (34 years old) he makes Tom Herman seem like the grizzled veteran in what will be a battle of new coaches guiding their new teams. Even after Riley ascended to the top of the OU coaching pyramid, expectations were high for the Sooners, who started this year in the top 10 in every preseason poll. If Riley is the youthful question mark on the sideline for Oklahoma, he can ease his rookie nerves by remembering he has a veteran star at quarterback in Baker Mayfield, who earned a trip to New York last December as a finalist for the Heisman Trophy. Yes, the Sooners’ offense is different this season, with three of its top playmakers from last year gone to the NFL (Joe Mixon to the Cincinnati Bengals, Samaje Perine to the Washington Redskins and Dede Westbrook to the Jacksonville Jaguars). But to suggest the Oklahoma offense is without firepower is simply inaccurate.
After all, it might be easy for Riley to call games conservatively while getting his feet wet as a head coach. But after dismissing the advice that he should turn over play-calling duties to an assistant coach while he sorted out the demands of his new job, he guided the Sooners to a 56-7 hammering of UTEP. Oklahoma put up 676 yards of total offense, including 496 in the air. So much for Riley easing his way into this head coaching gig. Critics have pointed out that the Sooners’ postseason hopes have been hampered in recent years by slow starts, including last year’s season-opening 33-23 loss to the Herman-coached Houston Cougars. That’s hard to argue, and Riley said the Sooners made it a focal point in their preparation for the 2017 season. “It’s fun to see this team get off to a great start, which has been a big point of emphasis for this group,” Riley said. “We’ve taken it personal, the way we have played early in the year the last few years, so we know this is one game and one start, but it’s a good start. I’m proud of
1983 Texas was on its way to playing for the national championship — which it eventually lost in a 10-9 upset by Georgia on New Year’s Day of 1984 — and wasn’t about to let the Sooners get in the way, winning 28-16. The Longhorns were ranked second in the nation on Oct. 8 while Oklahoma was No. 8. Forgotten cornerback Mossy Cade set the table for the victory with a key third-quarter interception, and freshman running back Edwin Simmons ran 67 yards for the Longhorns’ final touchdown. The game also featured the final college appearance of Oklahoma running back Marcus Dupree, who had enough of being hit and not being paid for it after suffering a concussion.
1984 Texas was No. 1 and Oklahoma was No. 2. My girlfriend and I won tickets in Texas’ student lottery to sit at the 48-yard line in the first row of the upper deck for what we believed would be one of the greatest games ever. Instead, it rained the whole time and the Longhorns escaped with a 15-15 tie after Texas’ Jeff Ward nailed a 32-yard field goal on the final play of the game. Oklahoma should have won — the Sooners’ Keith Stansbury appeared to intercept Texas quarterback Todd Dodge in the end zone to preserve a win. As multiple people recounted (and replays since have proved), Stansbury snatched the ball out of the air then fell on the ground, sliding out of bounds after the catch because the field was so slick. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 27
Malik Jefferson
the way we competed together and the way we finished the game.” To replace the two-pronged rushing attack of Mixon and Perine, the Sooners unveiled a triple-threat ground game in Abdul Adams, Marcelias Sutton and Trey Sermon; if heralded Rodney Anderson can stay healthy, opponents will have to deal with four quality running backs. But make no mistake — the OU offense, which operates behind an offensive line that is as good as any in the country, will go as far as Mayfield and the passing game take it. Tight end Mark Andrews and receivers Jordan Badet, Jeff Smallwood and Marquise Brown are among Mayfield’s top targets. “I’ve said it a million times in the last couple of months — that’s been a huge focus point
But officials ruled the pass incomplete. As soon as Ward’s kick cleared the crossbar and sailed through the uprights, the rain stopped and the sun came out.
1994 I was on the field for the first time as a reporter for this magazine when Texas made a huge final goal-line stand to beat Oklahoma 17-10. Longhorn linebacker Robert Reed foiled a potential tying or game-winning Sooner touchdown when he held his ground on a reverse by Oklahoma tailback James Allen on fourth-and-goal from Texas’ 3-yard line. Reed forced Allen back inside, and nose guard Stonie Clark stuffed him — the sound of that hit is something I’ll never forget — on the 1-yard line.
2005 Jump forward 11 years. Texas was on its way to another run to the national championship — this time the team got it done — but first it had to find a way to beat Oklahoma. The Longhorns did just that, winning decisively 45-12 to snap a five-game losing streak to the Sooners. Vince Young threw three touchdown passes, two of them to Billy Pittman, and Jamaal Charles ran for 116 yards on nine carries, including an 80-yard touchdown run. The Longhorns’ final touchdown came on a 68-yard fumble return by defensive tackle Rodrique Wright. Before the game, I told Wright that my son said Wright’s character in a PlayStation NCAA Football video game was nothing special. After the game Wright asked me to call my son, then asked him loudly, “How do you like me now?” A classic moment in time.
2008 Texas was again making a run to the national championship game (a journey that would eventually end with a loss to Alabama) and was the underdog when it rolled into Dallas to face the top-ranked Sooners. Trailing the Sooners nearly all game, Colt McCoy and the No. 5 Longhorns grabbed control in the fourth quarter and refused to let go, pulling away for a 45-35 victory. Texas trailed by 11 twice in the first half and by eight in the third quarter before spoiling a fake punt and turning it into a go-ahead field goal. It was the first time all season the mighty Sooners were behind. The lasting memory for me was of Texas receiver Jordan Shipley’s scintillating 96-yard kickoff return touchdown on which the crowd cheered so much that the venerable old Cotton Bowl stadium, with its capacity expanded to more than 92,000 for the first time, felt like it had come off its foundations.
2015 (the extra point) Texas had lost four of its five games heading into the Red River Rivalry matchup with No. 10 Oklahoma and excitement for the game — at least for the Longhorn fans — was muted at best. That allowed me to find, at face value, tickets for the game for my three college-aged children, and we headed north through minimal traffic for the game in the wee hours of the morning on Saturday. Somehow Texas played its best game of the year, winning 24-17 on a sun-splashed afternoon, as Texas rushed for 313 yards and sacked OU quarterback Baker Mayfield six times. Longhorn coach Charlie Strong, who was experiencing his finest hours in a checkered three-season stint in Austin, famously donned the Golden Hat trophy and grinned like the Cheshire Cat, pointing to his supporters with glee.
Dorian Leonard
Kris Boyd
Shane Buechele
for us, getting [Mayfield] settled in with those guys and you can’t get settled in if you don’t trust them,” Riley said. “You have to give them chances. Their confidence is going to grow, Baker’s confidence in them is going to grow and that’ll be, obviously, a good thing for us.” Defensive coordinator Mike Stoops still coaches the same style of relentless, swarming defense for which he and his brother are known. There are times when it can get the Sooners in trouble, when sending pressure at the quarterback leaves voids in the middle of the field. But it’s also a system that has won a lot of games for Oklahoma. The Sooner defense traditionally is very good, and at times elite, although not in the past few years. Last season, after giving up 59 points and 854 yards to Texas Tech — in a game Oklahoma actually won (66-59) — the defense stiffened, surrendering fewer than three touchdowns per game over the final six weeks in the pass- and points-happy Big 12. Pundits hail Ogbonnia Okoronkwo as the next in the long line of great OU pass rushers after a 2016 season in which he led the defense with nine sacks — no one else had more than 2.5 — and 12 tackles for loss. He leads a defensive front seven that thrives on sending pressure in waves, but the strength of this year’s Oklahoma defense should be in the secondary, where veterans Steven Parker, Will Johnson and Jordan Thomas all return after combining last season for 156 tackles and four interceptions. The wild card of the defense might be Caleb Kelly, a do-everything hybrid who can play linebacker, safety or cornerback — offering the kind of versatility that will allow Stoops to move pieces around in order to try to create mismatches. Names and faces are new, on the field and on the sideline. But maybe the more things change, the more they really do stay the same — after all, it’s still the Cotton Bowl in October, and it’s still Texas and Oklahoma. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 29
Texas Offensive Line
AT&T RED RIVER SHOWDOWN:
I
N 2016, TEXAS and Oklahoma played a game for the ages, with OU winning a 45-40 shootout. Who might come up big in this year’s game? Here are the players who will make an impact in this year’s contest.
BAKER MAYFIELD Oklahoma quarterback Against the Longhorns last year, Mayfield completed 22-of-31 passes for 390 yards and three touchdowns — a common occurrence for Mayfield, who ended up in New York as a Heisman Trophy finalist. Lincoln Riley, who took over as OU’s head coach after the sudden resignation of Bob Stoops, has made no secret of the fact that he plans to ask a lot of Mayfield 30 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
(who adds insult to injury by being a native of Austin). The Sooners have a lot of talent, but look for Mayfield to take to the air early and often all season long.
carry the load in the Texas running game in 2017, including against Oklahoma, when Tom Herman and his staff will hope Warren’s size and power will help wear down the Sooners’ defense.
CHRIS WARREN III Texas running back
ABDUL ADAMS and RODNEY ANDERSON Oklahoma running backs
The Longhorns mustered 180 rushing yards against the stout Oklahoma defense last year, with D’Onta Foreman — now a Houston Texan — turning in 159 of those yards. Warren, who at his listed size of 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds has more than enough bulk to power his way through defenses, was Texas’ second-leading rusher last year with 62 carries for 366 yards (5.9 yards per carry). Warren is expected to
As much as Texas lost in the rushing game when the Texans drafted Foreman, Oklahoma lost more when stars Samaje Perine was drafted by the Washington Redskins and Joe Mixon was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals. After the tandem ran 51 times for 262 yards in Dallas last season, the Longhorns will be glad the two are now in the NFL. Adams is
COURTESY JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Breckyn Hager
Chris Warren III
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY DON BENDER
the more highly touted of the pair, but don’t be surprised if they share the load in the OU running game this season.
TEXAS OFFENSIVE LINE Bob Stoops might be gone and replaced by his former offensive coordinator, but the Sooners always have featured a high-pressure defense. A year ago, Oklahoma managed four sacks against Texas, and there’s no reason to believe defensive coordinator Mike Stoops will alter his philosophy. If anything, until Warren III proves he is able to lead the Texas ground game as effectively as Foreman did, expect opponents — including the Sooners — to send even more pressure at quarterbacks like Texas’ Shane Buechele.
MYKEL JONES Oklahoma wide receiver The hangover many Longhorns felt after last year’s loss might have had less to do with the overpriced beverages at the Cotton Bowl and more to do with seeing Oklahoma’s Dede Westbrook catching 10 passes for 232 yards and three scores. Westbrook is now a Jacksonville Jaguar, and while redshirt junior tight end Mark Andrews is the top returning receiver after a season in which he caught 31 passes for 489 yards, Jones is thought to be the heir apparent to Westbrook’s title as the Sooners’ top deep threat.
BRECKYN HAGER Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson is the headliner for the Texas defense, but if the Longhorns are going
Baker Mayfield
to have success against Oklahoma in 2017, they have to pressure Mayfield into making mistakes. Jefferson had 5.5 sacks a year ago, but Hager edged him out for the team lead with six. Drawing far less attention, but also of critical importance, were Hager’s team-
high 13.5 tackles for loss. Coaches regularly say that a strong front seven makes the entire defense — including the secondary — more effective, and that pressure against the run and the pass starts with the underappreciated Hager. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 31
STOPPING POWER: Maryland limited Lil’Jordan Humphrey to three passes for 16 yards and one rush 21 yards.
FIVE QUESTIONS
MARYLAND
T
HE SEASON OPENER shouldn’t have been this difficult for the Texas football team. But the No. 23 Longhorns found out Sept. 2 in a 51-41 loss to Maryland at Darrell K RoyalTexas Memorial Stadium there’s still plenty of work to do before a real football turnaround can take place on the 40 Acres. In a game of momentum swings created by big plays by both teams, the difference for Maryland came down to the two things the Terrapins could control — keeping their poise and running the football. Meanwhile, Texas couldn’t get out of its own way — even when it was getting breaks by the handful. The wild game featured three special teams touchdowns, two of those by the Longhorns, and another Texas score on an interception return. Still, the Longhorns opened the Tom Herman coaching era in Austin with a thud.
32 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
The Longhorns’ uneven performance against a Maryland team picked to finish fifth in the Big 10’s East Division dispelled any resurgence of Texas football. But Herman said there was no sign of doubt or here-we-goagain from his team after the loss. “We have to do better,” Herman said. “We are our own worst enemy right now. We responded in the right mental and attitudinal way but the execution and the self-inflicted wounds are things that are difficult to recover from, if not impossible.” Texas quarterback Shane Buechele passed for 375 yards and two touchdowns and ran three yards for another score. Buechele connected with 10 different receivers in the game, but was sacked five times as the Longhorns struggled to run the ball despite returning four starters on the offensive line. “We moved the ball well but we made crucial mistakes and penalties that cost us the chance to grab the momentum of the game,” Buechele said. “We have to learn what we did
wrong and move on. We have a good mindset — we are cocky but not arrogant — and we will keep that attitude going forward.” Texas outscored Maryland 102-0 in three previous meetings, but the Terrapins made up for that in spades on Sept. 2. The Terrapins offset the unexpected with a steady game from quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome, who passed for 175 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 64 yards and another score before suffering a knee injury late in the third quarter. With Pigrome out of the game in the fourth quarter, true freshman backup Kasim Hill led a scoring drive that gave Maryland a 44-34 lead. Hill converted a third-and-19 pass before running three yards for the crucial touchdown. “There was a lot of back and forth,” Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin said. “Every time it got close, our guys responded well. That’s what it takes. To be a team that competes for championships, you have to be able to do that on the road.”
COURTESY JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
TEXAS STUMBLES IN ITS SEASON OPENER AGAINST MARYLAND
Ty Johnson added 132 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries for the Terrapins. Maryland outgained Texas 482-473 despite running just 58 plays to 84 for the Longhorns. The Terrapins enjoyed a 263-98 advantage in rushing yards. Maryland put the game out of reach via a 12-yard touchdown run by Jake Funk with 2:08 remaining and snapped a 17-game losing streak to ranked opponents. Pigrome ran 25 yards for Maryland’s first touchdown, hit D.J. Moore for a 20yard score and found Taivon Jacobs on a 46-yard touchdown pass in the first half. The Terrapins also got a 71-yard blocked field goal return by Antoine Brooks for a score, while building a 27-7 lead midway through the second quarter. The Longhorns didn’t have any defense or special teams touchdowns in 2016; it took just 1:20 of the game to score their first defensive touchdown this season. Texas’ two touchdowns in the first half came from its defense, special teams and defensive back Holton Hill. Hill was in the right place at the right time twice on Maryland’s mistakes, intercepting a tipped pass on the Terrapins’ first drive and scooting untouched for a 31-yard touchdown return. In the second quarter, Texas defensive tackle Poona Ford blocked a field goal attempt by Maryland’s Adam Greene and the
ball bounced right into Hills’ hand before he set sail for a 65-yard touchdown return that kept the Longhorns in the game. Greene converted a 26-yard field goal late in the half to push the Terrapins to a 30-14 advantage at halftime. Maryland outgained Texas 271-171 in the first half and owned a whopping 167-28 advantage in rushing yards. The Longhorns had five penalties in the first two quarters — three that directly stopped drives — and Buechele was sacked three times. Texas crawled back to within 30-27 in the third quarter on a 23-yard touchdown pass from Buechele to Armanti Foreman and a 91-yard punt return touchdown by Reggie Hemphill-Mapps. But the Terrapins answered on a 40-yard touchdown run by Johnson to stall the Texas comeback. Buechele cut the Maryland lead to 37-34 with his 3-yard touchdown keeper near the end of the third quarter, setting the table for a furious fourth quarter. WHY DIDN’T THE LONGHORNS RUN THE BALL MORE? With four starting offensive linemen back from a team that opened holes for D’Onta Foreman’s 2,000-plus yard campaign last season, as well as for hammerhead running backs Chris Warren III and Kyle Porter, many thought Texas would be a run-first team.
Instead, the Longhorns ran 31 times for 98 yards, with Buechele — the last person on the team who needs to accumulate hits — carrying 15 times, almost double the rest of the team combined. “I don’t know going in we said, ‘Hey! We’re going to run Shane 15 times,’” Herman said. “I think we called runs [for Buechele] — off the top of my head, maybe three. The rest were either scrambles or pulls on reads.” Warren III ended up leading Texas with 31 yards on six carries and looked hungry for more. Porter — who started the game — had eight carries for just 21 yards. Texas also gave carries to wide receivers Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Jerrod Heard out of the wildcat formation. “Chris averaged 5.2 yards and Kyle’s average wasn’t great,” Herman said. “I have to see those 14 carries. We knew after the first few series that the fronts and coverages Maryland was giving us were designed to have an extra hat in there for the run, which is why we started throwing the ball more.” Texas wide receiver Collin Johnson said the plan going into the game was to pass, even though Maryland’s strength was its ability to get to the quarterback. “The coaches said passing was a great option for this game,” Johnson said. “Swing passes were a big part of our game plan. It was open. I think we averaged nine yards? We averaged a long run every screen pass.”
OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 33
GAME CONTROLLER: In addition to throwing for 375 yards and two touchdowns, Shane Buechele also carried the ball 15 times.
WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST SURPRISE IN THIS GAME? You mean besides the fact that Texas lost? The play of the Texas special teams was a surprise, both good and bad. 34 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
LONE STAR: Freshman Reggie HemphillMapps had a breakout performance against Maryland.
Yes, the Longhorns blocked a field goal and ran it back for a score, had a punt return for a score, and showcased All-American punter Michael Dickson, who averaged 58 yards a kick on two punts. But Texas also had a field goal blocked and run back for a touchdown, missed another field goal, muffed a kickoff return and allowed Maryland a 62-yard kickoff return. Talk about evening things out — wow. “It’s hard to get excited,” Herman said. “There were some good things but special teams, to me, was much like the other two sides of the ball. There were positive things we can draw from and then really untimely selfinflicted wounds.” WHO WAS THE BREAKOUT STAR OF THIS GAME? Well, Hill did have two return touchdowns, but that was mostly about being in the right place at the right time. Our vote has to go to Hemphill-Mapps, who caught about anything that came his way (seven receptions for 69 yards) and showed electric moves and speed on his 91-yard punt return touchdown. That was the Longhorns’ first score off a punt return since 2015 and the third longest in school history. “Like I said about Reggie a while back, he can just roll out of bed and play football,”
Collin Johnson said about his teammate. “He’s an athlete and a great weapon to have on this team.” As with everything else in this game, Hemphill-Mapps had some good plays and some bad. The referees flagged him for an offensive pass interference penalty in the second quarter, which wiped out a catch that would’ve given the Longhorns a first down deep in Maryland territory. Two plays later, the Terrapins blocked a field goal they returned for a touchdown. “It was exciting because it’s been two years since I’ve played competitive football,” Hemphill-Mapps said. “I was redshirted last year, so now I get to compete against another team instead of my teammates.” WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE LONGHORNS? Texas evened its record with a win against San Jose State and impressed fans with a nearupset against USC. The Longhorns will need to maintain their attitude and momentum, as they won’t play another home game until Kansas State visits Oct. 7. Between now and the Kansas State game, the Longhorns face off against Iowa State on the road next. After Kansas State, Texas goes to Dallas to play Oklahoma, hosts Oklahoma State and then travels to Baylor and TCU.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: COURTESY JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, COURTESY PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
WHAT WAS THIS GAME’S BIGGEST PLAY? After all the blocked kick touchdowns, returns, big runs and penalties resulting in called back scores, the most important play was when Maryland’s Hill converted his third-and-19 pass to Moore early in the fourth quarter to keep the Terrapins’ scoring march alive. At that time, Maryland led 37-34 and was ready to fold. If Texas made a stop there, it had about nine minutes to grab the lead and take control of the game. What went through Herman’s mind as he watched the game slip away? “‘Why can’t we get out of our own way?’” he said. “That’s where the big-time introspection and self-criticism has to come on these next 24 to 48 hours. We have to find a way to stop beating ourselves. We have to execute the way we trained to execute when live bullets are flying.” Durkin had another take on the situation — his was about players rising up to make a play. “We went about our business when Hill went in,” Durkin said. “No one said a word. Kasim came in there and handled the moment. That’s a hard spot, a true freshman coming into his first-ever college football game on the road and its 3rd-and-19, and he goes and strokes the ball. That tells you a bit about him.”
OFF AND RUNNING: Chris Warren III rushed for 166 yards and two touchdowns against San Jose State
GAME RECAP
SAN JOSE STATE ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE: COURTESY JESSE DROHEN
THE LONGHORNS BOUNCE BACK IN THE SECOND GAME OF THE SEASON
N
OW THIS IS more like it. There’s nothing like a blowout win over an overmatched opponent to rekindle hope. Texas’ 56-0 victory over San Jose State on Sept. 9 before a sun-splashed crowd of 88,117 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, however, was more than the token beat down. The contest was an awakening of sorts — just a week later than the Longhorns, head coach Tom Herman and the fans expected.
This win also acted as a rebooting of Texas running back Chris Warren III, who scored twice and racked up 166 of Texas’ 406 yards on the ground. With his help, the Longhorns shrugged off a ragged start and swamped a clearly-out-of-its-league San Jose State team. The victory was Texas’ first of the Herman era, as the Longhorns’ overall depth, size and talent overwhelmed San Jose State. Texas outgained San Jose State 623-171 and had six rushing touchdowns. “That’s what it should look like when you’re playing well on both sides of the
ball,” Herman said. “I’m proud of our guys for tuning out the noise and the distractions they could’ve allowed to creep in after last week’s showing. “They came to work ready to go, focused, locked in, but relaxed,” Herman added. “There was a quiet confidence in them.” The Longhorns (1-1) struggled early on but used its rushing attack — and namely sophomore Warren III and third-string quarterback Jerrod Heard — to take control of the game with three touchdowns in the first half. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 35
Jerrod Heard
Heard, who has worked mostly as a wide receiver this season, ran nine yards for Texas’ first touchdown at the 2:56 mark of the first quarter as the Longhorns forged a 7-0 lead. Warren III then ran 41 yards for a score at 2:12 into the second quarter to push Texas’ advantage to 14-0. Heard added to the lead with a 3-yard touchdown run with 16 seconds to play before halftime as the Longhorns built a 21-point cushion at intermission. True freshman Sam Ehlinger (15-of-27 passing for 222 yards and a touchdown) got the start for the Longhorns in favor of sophomore Shane Buechele, who bruised his throwing shoulder in Texas’ 51-41 loss to Maryland. Buechele was ruled out of the game 30 minutes before kickoff. Montel Aaron led the Spartans (1-2) with 104 yards passing. Fans would be hardpressed to find anything else remotely positive about San Jose State’s performance. “Texas is better than us,” San Jose State coach Brent Brennan said. “There were some chances for us in the first half when we could’ve made it interesting, but the Longhorns kicked our butts, fair and square. Texas called some good plays in the run game and we missed tackles at the point of attack.” Texas outgained San Jose State 310-100 in the first half, including a 186-38 advantage on the ground, and owned 19:48-10:12 edge in time of possession before halftime. The Longhorns kept their foot to the pedal in the third quarter, driving 92 yards in 36 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
Chris Warren III
16 plays to a Kyle Porter 3-yard touchdown run that extended their lead to 28-0. Texas held the ball for 6:35 of the quarter during the march, which featured 12 runs and two short completions. Texas’ defense also got in on the fun, scoring on a 45-yard Holton Hill interception return with 48 seconds remaining in the third quarter. The score marked Hill’s third touchdown this season on a return (he had touchdowns after an interception and a blocked field goal in the opener against
Maryland). Texas didn’t have a single defensive or special teams score in the 2016 campaign. Warren III added his second touchdown of the game early in the fourth quarter, carrying a defender and guard Patrick Hudson into the end zone on a 9-yard touchdown run. Ehlinger got the first touchdown pass of his Texas career early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard shovel pass to Armanti Foreman. Another true freshman, running back Toneil Carter, scored the final points of the game on a 4-yard run with 2:46 to play.
Sam Ehlinger
Holton Hill
but expects even more from the 6-foot-2, 250-pound running back. “We all knew his ability was there, but he’s been banged up and missed some time for us,” Herman explained. “He’d be the first to tell you that he’s not a finished product. He made a lot of yards on some runs because he’s a [big] guy
that ran hard. He still has work to do in terms of seeing the holes open up. “But I was really proud. Chris is a guy that, in nine months, has made a commitment to running tougher, stronger and lower. You saw that today. That was good, to see him take his training to the game field.”
WHO WAS THE GAME’S MOST IMPORTANT PLAYER? The nod goes to Warren III, who showed the combination of hard-nosed running and athleticism he first showcased at the end of the 2015 season, when he broke freshman running records and led the Longhorns to wins over Texas Tech and Baylor. Warren III ran through San Jose State defenders, jumped over them and sprinted past them. “It was playing ball — that’s all it is,” Warren III said. “It’s good to come out and play ball because that’s why you’re here. Today, I saw us executing better than we did last week. We played a lot harder this week too. We played for each other and that helped us get it today.” Asked if the Longhorns needed the kind of win they produced against San Jose State, Warren III had an interesting response. “I don’t know because last week we needed that too,” he said. “We needed both games. We needed the adversity and the success. We needed both. Last week and this week. You need adversity because you need to know how to respond when the games get tougher. Not every game will be easy and not every game will go your way.” Herman said afterward that Warren III showed flashes of brilliance in practice OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 37
PHOTO CREDITS
IN SEASON
EYE ON THE PRIZE: Connor Williams remains focused on giving everything he has to his team this season.
THE BIGGER MAN ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE: COURTESY DON BENDER
TODAY HE’S ONE OF TEXAS’ BEST PLAYERS. AS A TEENAGER, CONNOR WILLIAMS WAS BULLIED
S
TANDING NEXT TO Texas junior offensive tackle Connor Williams when he’s at ease is nothing like lining up opposite him on the football field. The off-the-field version of Williams resembles a friendly, respectful kid; but put a helmet and shoulder pads on him and expect mayhem to ensue. Williams, who stands 6-foot-6 and weighs in at a slimmed-down 310, has started 23 of 24 games for the Longhorns over the past two seasons (he, like many of the Texas starters, was sidelined at the UTEP game last year). He’s become the
surest thing at left tackle in the game, and the Longhorns’ chances for success this year will be dependent on how much of the load Williams can handle. You won’t hear Williams toot his own horn. He doesn’t need to — plenty of people are happy to proclaim that the Texas junior might be the best offensive lineman to ever play on the 40 Acres. Those same pundits say that Williams will be a sure NFL first-round draft pick whenever he decides to move on to the next level of the game. After being a first-team freshman All-American and an honorable mention All-Big 12 selection in his first year at Texas, Williams became OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 39
PHOTO CREDITS
40 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
the first Texas sophomore offensive lineman to ever earn first-team All-American honors (as named by the Football Writers Association of America, the Walter Camp Football Foundation, CBS Sports, Phil Steele, and USA Today) in 2016. Kudos and constant notice aside, Williams took the bull by the horns and became a vocal leader in the first nine months of Tom Herman’s time as the Texas head football coach. “It’s easy for elite workers to come in and do their own thing,” Herman said. “They’re self-motivated. I told [Williams] it’s his job as a team leader to make sure he’s bringing somebody with him and that he’s teaching that person, whoever it is that day, how to do things.” This year is a big year for Williams. Whether it’s speculation about his NFL future or how he’ll elevate his game under a new group of coaches, the buzz surrounding Williams is massive and, at times, overwhelming for a young man who’s more shy and goofy in the locker room than a me-first, type-A personality. NFL.com listed Williams as the 10th-best college football player of 2017. His accolades are a bit over the top — pundits compared him to the 49ers’ Joe Staley and the Falcons’ Jake Matthews because of his dominance as a “mauling run blocker and athletic technician in pass protection.” Williams is one of four offensive linemen selected to the preseason watch list for the Maxwell Award, which goes to college football’s top player. But Williams hasn’t always been the type of player, or person, we see today. He revealed that, despite his size and streak toward nastiness if provoked, he was bullied as a teenager, a victim to those who tried to build themselves up by mocking and picking on others. In Williams’ case, a childhood speech impediment and a less-than-ripped physique made him a target.
Friday and Saturday nights, nobody wanted to hang out with me. I always hung out with my family. They’ve always been there for me, so those are the people I turn to.
PH OTO CREDITS
- Connor Williams
“Most of the time I ate lunch in the library by myself because they kicked me out of the table because I was so fat,” Williams said. “Friday and Saturday nights, nobody wanted to hang out with me. I always hung out with my family. They’ve always been there for me, so those are the people I turn to.” In those days, Williams was the last kid picked for games when he even got to play. He remembers walking the track during recess because no one picked him for football. “I learned to put my head down and be quiet,” Williams said. “I was always the quiet kid that no one wanted to talk to.” Something took ahold of Williams in middle school — he got tired of the bullying. Williams began a regimen that included P90X, regular running and workouts at the local YMCA, which his father monitored. Williams learned and endured, channeling whatever pent-up anger he had held and unleashing it in the gym and on the field. Eventually, Williams became muscle, the taunts turned to cheers and the bullies wouldn’t dare look at him. He played football at Coppell High School, and for a while he was fodder for the bigger, stronger players on his team. Williams switched to left tackle from tight end as a senior and earned a three-star rating OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 41
42 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
PHOTO CREDITS
STANDING TALL: Connor Williams worked hard to get where he is today.
while scholarship offers from the nation’s best football programs filled his mailbox. Through it all, Williams’ demeanor remained the same, and he’s still soft-spoken and respectful. “I’m not a mean person,” he said. “It’s just a switch when the helmet comes on. I’m not sure where it comes from.” Williams, unlike many Texas recruits, wasn’t a ballyhooed signing coup. Scout.com ranked him as the nation’s No. 38 offensive tackle prospect in the 2015 recruiting class, while ESPN had him at No. 65, and 247Sports.com had him at No. 75. But former Texas offensive line coach Joe Wickline liked Williams’ flexibility and ability to change direction, as well as his football smarts and understanding of schemes. Things have gone up since then for Williams, who seems to improve with every practice. “Williams is the best left tackle we saw last year,” one Big 12 defensive coordinator said. “He’s different. He might be the best tackle in the country. He’s long, athletic, has the wingspan, and he’s nasty.” According to Pro Football Focus, Williams allowed one sack in 23 career games encompassing 423 pass block attempts, which is tied for the best pass blocking efficiency in the nation over the past two seasons. He graded as the No. 1 pass blocker and No. 3 run blocker in college football last year. In 2016, Williams allowed fewer quarterback pressures (four) than any other tackle in the Big 12 and tied for second-fewest pressures allowed among all FBS tackles. This season, Williams has put in the work to become even better, toiling with Texas’ new strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight to lose 19 pounds of body fat and gain 12 pounds of muscle. He also increased his bench press, squat and power clean by 60 pounds each. Williams also made his mark off the gridiron, earning a spot in Texas’ prestigious McCombs School of Business and maintaining a 3.67 GPA. His meticulous nature, which has helped him twice earn spots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll, carries over to the way he approaches his craft on the field. “Every play I’ll write notes on where I can improve,” Williams said. “Certain plays, different flaws — if I can see it, I’m sure a defensive lineman can see it, so there’s always something to work on.” Many experts are projecting Williams as a potential first-rounder in the 2018 NFL draft. If that happens, he’d become the first Longhorn offensive lineman to be selected in the first round since 2002, when Mike Williams (no relation) went fourth to the Bills. Williams would also become the first Texas offensive lineman drafted since 2008. “It’s a long streak and it would be awesome to end it, but that’s not something I’m focused on,” Williams said. “I’m focused on the season, my team and being the best player I can be.” OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 43
IN SEASON
FOOTLOOSE: Thanks to her soccer background, Lexi Sun leverages her quick feet to gain strategic positioning on the hardwood.
YOUNG GUN: LEXI SUN
M
OST VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS rely on their legs to soar through the air to spike a ball. Lexi Sun, on the other hand, uses her footwork to make an impact on the front line of the highly ranked Texas volleyball team. The freshman outside hitter swiftly found her footing in volleyball thanks to her former sport. Sun grew up playing soccer in California, but when her height spiked she transitioned to volleyball and excelled. “It was good to start with soccer and understand how to use my feet at a young age,” Sun said. The nuances to moving around, awaiting a pass from her setter and gaining position in an advantageous spot at the last second gives Sun an upper hand when pitted against a stout and smart defense. A peripheral awareness of the setter, fellow hitters, and the opposition is key to any outside hitter’s success within an offense.
44 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
“There’s anticipation and excitement because you’re not sure who will set, so you get ready every time to make the approach,” Sun said. “I need to be aware of my surroundings. That’s usually when I start looking at the block, where the defense is and what I can do to get a point.” Sun isn’t the only one shining as a freshman. Fellow first-year players Brionne Butler and Olivia Zelon, along with Ashley Shook and Sun, form a formidable foursome that will shape the club for years to come. Several factors play into the group’s early success, including the fact that Butler and Zelon both were on campus last spring, while Sun attended summer school on the 40 Acres. All three were well acclimated before preseason even began. Though Shook took the traditional route and started this fall, she also ramped up as the other three freshmen made sure to integrate her seamlessly. The four take regular trips to places such as Boba Express, strengthening their bond off the court as well.
ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE: COURTESY SUSAN SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
A FORMER SOCCER PLAYER, SUN BRINGS A UNIQUE SKILL SET TO THE TEXAS FRONT LINE
I think the team aspect of it — obviously soccer is a team sport — but there’s a lot more energy and emotion that goes into volleyball as a team. Being able to make those relationships was something that was important to me and something I fell in love with.
HIGH HOPES: Lexi Sun has set expectations to compete for a national title before the end of her collegiate career.
wanted me to but it wasn’t my thing. When I got too tall, my parents made me switch and try volleyball and I literally cried and screamed.” The closeness of her teammates on and off the court in volleyball engulfed her and she hasn’t looked back. “I tried it out for one year and fell in love with it,” she said. “I think the team aspect of it — obviously soccer is a team sport — but there’s a lot more energy and emotion that goes into volleyball as a team. Being able to make those relationships was something that was important to me and something I fell in love with.” Texas may have had times when it wasn’t quite the cohesive unit on the floor, but with new talent such as Sun and a refocus on the culture, the team is working together as it moves through the regular season. “With our motives this season, people will remember us not as a team, but a team that doesn’t focus on labels or expectations,” she said. “We play for each other and improve together. That’s important.”
“We’re the only ones living in the dorms so we usually walk to and from practice together and go to dinner together,” Sun said. Returning members from last year’s team all strive to strengthen the culture built by head coach Jerritt Elliott. In doing so, they place a focus on making the freshmen feel at home. “This is a super close-knit team,” Sun said. “The coaches, staff and girls have done a great job of making us feel comfortable and at home. They got us used to the culture and system of Texas.” Part of Sun’s focus early in the season has been on the defensive side of the ball, where she’s utilized nimble feet and keen awareness. “I’ve been working on that a lot,” she explained. “[Assistant head coach] Erik [Sullivan] and Jerritt are working with me to get used to the system and playing within it. What we ran in club is basic. Now it’s the specific places I have to be at different times and getting to the position I need to on time.” The ever-present excitement on the floor helped Sun fall in love with volleyball even though she believed soccer was the only sport that could ever hold her heart. However, she had a sudden growth spurt as a kid and her parents switched her to volleyball, which did not take at first for the now 6-foot-4 Sun. “I played soccer for 8 years and loved it,” she said. “I tried basketball because my dad OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 45
IN SEASON
THE CONDUCTOR KAYRA DOLLAS WENT FROM UNDERCLASSMAN TO ON-FIELD COACH THIS SEASON
F
OR SOME, THE term, “on-field coach” is sometimes viewed as an exaggeration when referring to a player. Yet, in the center of all things Texas soccer, veteran midfielder Kayra Dollas could quite easily be called the Longhorns’ on-field coach this season. “I take on a leadership role based on the fact that I’m literally in the middle of the field,” said Dollas, who’s also a team captain. Head coach Angela Kelly can’t argue with that statement. She empowers her players to act like coaches on the pitch because she sees herself more as a manager than a coach.
46 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017
“Players make so many decisions on game day,” Kelly said. “You want them to be decision makers. You want them to be light and creative. At the highest level, [soccer coaches] are called managers and that’s true.” Texas is relatively young this season, with only two seniors on the roster, both of whom began the year injured. Though just a junior, Dollas stepped up and became the Longhorns’ all-around leader capable of coaching the team as it transitions from defense to offense. Dollas — who notched a game-tying goal in Texas’ third game of the season against Little Rock — is growing into her role on the fly, as she’s one of the few veteran presences on the team.
ALL PHOTOS IN THIS ARTICLE: COURTESY BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
STEPPING UP: With only two seniors on the roster this season, Kayra Dollas quickly found herself in a leadership position.
CHANGE MANAGEMENT: As a midfielder, Kayra Dollas can see the entire field and manage the team as it transitions from offense to defense.
“By holding that center midfield position, I get to see the whole field so I can conduct the people in front of me or people in the middle, helping them position-wise,� Dollas said. “I am able to help them on and off the field, especially the freshmen. I love playing midfield.� Dollas has a hand — or foot, rather — in the Longhorns’ ability to continuously create pressure on the opposition, whether stymying an attack or quickly moving into offensive mode. And though she won’t boast about her standing on the squad, her teammates and coaches recognize her ability to bond the entire team. “She’s becoming more vocal as a leader,� Kelly said. “She organizes our set pieces in the back and midfield, as well as our defensive sets. I’m pleased with how she’s matured into such a fine young lady. She’s one of our group leaders, one of our team leaders as chosen by the team. That’s special her peers view her as that.� The Longhorns have depth, but the majority of upperclassmen are sidelined due to injury. The team is without its seniors, and junior Alexa Adams is still working her way back from last year’s torn ACL. However, by midseason all three may return to the field and start contributing again. “We’re progressing well and the freshman class has helped a lot,� Dollas said. “Our girls will return, and without as many injuries and everyone coming to practice, we will be more competitive. It will help in the games.�
Adams, Dollas’ best friend on the squad, is back playing but only received spare minutes during the preseason and beginning of the regular campaign. Relying on her own experience when she tore an ACL her junior year in high school, Dollas continues encouraging her friend to recover properly. “It takes a toll on [Adams] because she’s used to playing the majority of the game,� Dollas said. “I tell her, ‘Make it your territory, get ready.’ So even if they do have her come out for five minutes, the opponent is scared of her.� Keeping perspective and having respect for each other is vital to this year’s team. “Our goal is to create a secure environment where all our players feel respected, are able to take risks without the fear of failure and have the freedom to play once they get into the match,� Kelly said. Dollas echoed those sentiments, smiling while talking about her teammates and the hope around this season. “This team is about respect,� she said. “We have respect for our coaching staff and each other. That comes a long way because we hold each other accountable for our goals, we have a better mentality, and we all push each other harder. It helps us because when we get to a game we’re already prepared. Our teammates are pushing us harder than any opponent will ever push us.�
Horns Illustrated (ISSN 1096-2573), Volume 24, Number 5. Copyright Š 2017 by Texan Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Published seven times a year (monthly in January/February, March/April, May/June, July-September, October, November and December) in the United States by Horns Illustrated, 9417 B Solana Vista Loop, Austin, TX 78750. 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, $39.00. Periodicals Postage Paid =P QOPEJ 1AT=O =J@ =@@EPEKJ=H I=EHEJC KBł?AO POSTMASTER – send address changes to Horns Illustrated - P.O. Box 50069, Austin, TX 78763. Tel. (855) 246-7677. 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 EJ PDA ł?PEKJ KN OAIE ł?PEKJ =J@ NA=H LH=?AO KN persons living or dead is coincidental. Single copies: $4.95 in U.S. OCTOBER 2017 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 47
48 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
OCTOBER 2017