DECEMBER 2016
33
Tom Herman is the new head football coach.
CONTENTS FEATURES
33
FOOTBALL
HOOKED HIM!
Welcome to the Tom Herman era. Within 24 hours of Texas losing its final regular-season game to TCU, and the subsequent firing of Charlie Strong, the University of Texas announced Herman as the new head football coach. With his recent accomplishments at Houston and impressive resume, Herman seems to be the perfect choice to lead the Longhorns back to the top. But can he handle the pressure that comes with coaching one of the nation’s elite programs? Senior editor Steve Habel gives the rundown on the Longhorns’ 30th head football coach.
27
FOOTBALL
KNOCKED DOWN
The Texas football team started the 2016 season on a high, defeating then-No. 10 Notre Dame in the season opener. But things change — and in the case of Texas football, quickly. For the third consecutive year, the Longhorns closed their campaign with a losing record, which included a surprising loss to Kansas. Senior editor Steve Habel reviews the final two games of the 2016 season and provides insight into the final days of the Charlie Strong era.
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LEADING OFF
11
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
13
ROUNDUP
20
SPIRIT OF THE MONTH - HELLRAISERS
22
MEDIA VOICES
25
THE HABE ON THE HORNS
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IN SEASON - BASKETBALL, VOLLEYBALL
48
FINAL SCORE
COVER PHOTO: JIM SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS, PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
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JIM S IGM ON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
DEPARTMENTS
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LEADING
OFF
PATRICK MEREDITH/UN IV. O F TEXAS
Despite holding top-ranked West Virginia to its lowest output in a match this season (12 shots), Texas soccer dropped a tough, 1-0 decision to the Mountaineers on a 79th-minute strike by West Virginia midfielder Carla Portillo. WVU outshot the Longhorns by a razor-thin margin of 12-11 and led 5-2 in corner kicks, while Texas managed a 6-4 advantage in shots on the frame. The Longhorns’ six attempts on goal marked the most allowed by West Virginia to any Big 12 opponent this season. Freshman forward Cyera Hintzen guided the Texas offense with four shots, two on frame, while senior goalkeeper Paige Brown made three saves in the contest. Brown’s effort between the pipes resulted in the senior goalkeeper’s first Big 12 Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor.
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DECEMBER 2016
PATRICK MEREDITH/ UNIV. OF TEXAS
#HEISforeMAN: D’Onta Foreman burst onto the Heisman scene with his breakout campaign this season. The junior running back has run wild through opposing defenses, ranking No. 1 in the nation in yards per game and No. 9 in rushing touchdowns. To top it off, Foreman reached more than 100 yards on the ground for the 12th straight week in the loss to Kansas, surpassing Earl Campbell’s school record. Foreman has let his teammates do the talking for most of the season regarding the Heisman Trophy. But he addressed the idea toward the end of the season, telling the media he deserves to be sent to New York for the ceremony. “I have the numbers to be there,” Foreman said. “I’m just as good as those guys they have up there right now.” Foreman’s statistics this year compare favorably to last season’s Heisman winner, Derrick Henry, who took home the prize while playing for national champion Alabama. The Texas City product has over 350 yards more (and counting) than Henry through his first nine games last year.
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DECEMBER 2016
FINDING HIS FOOTING
THE WAITING GAME
EXECUTIVE PROTECTION: Timothy Cole was one of many players who stood by Charlie Strong during his final days at Texas.
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RENT DOMINGUE LINED up from the right hash marks. He took three steps back and two to the left — just as the senior kicker always does when lining up to boot the ball. But this kick weighed heavier on Domingue’s right foot than any other he previously attempted. When the ball sailed end over end through the uprights, Domingue nailed a 39-yard attempt to beat then-No. 8 Baylor. Unfortunately for Domingue, his heroics against the Bears don’t epitomize the rest of his season. It hasn’t come easy for the transfer from LSU, and his struggles are well documented. His woes started with a blocked extra point against Notre Dame in the season opener. The Fighting Irish returned the block for two points, ultimately sending the game to overtime. He’s missed three other extra points this season — all in the same contest. Oklahoma State blocked three PATs on Oct. 1, and the Cowboys returned one of them to the house for two points, too. It’d be easy for any kicker to lose trust in himself if he were to endure the type of season Domingue has had. He made made one of four attempts from beyond 40 yards this year. “Even through all the misses and blocks [Strong] had my back,” Domingue said. “He’s always had confidence in me and it’s helped me get through.”
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Timothy Cole CLOCKWIS E FRO M TOP L EFT: PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS, B ETHANY WALTER/UN IV. O F TEXAS
KICKING IT INTO GEAR: Trent Domingue found his rhythm in Texas’ win over Baylor.
TOWARD THE END of the season, Texas players knew a lot was at stake for their head coach. Senior linebacker Timothy Cole said fans count every win and loss. But in a recent meeting with the press, he pleaded with outsiders to be patient and see the program’s progress. “Just bear with us,” Cole said. “All these guys have our best interest at heart and you want to see us win, but we’ll get that done in due time.” Cole and a pack of Longhorn players surrounded Strong’s press conference after the loss to Kansas to show support for their former head coach. At the time Cole said he hopes administrators, fans and the media get the message. “I wanted to let everyone know how much we care for that man,” Cole said. “We know what he’s trying to build here. I know y’all have been frustrated with how things are going. But things will turn around for the better.”
DECEMBER 2016
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES
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OPHOMORE PUNTER MICHAEL Dickson was named a finalist for the 2016 Ray Guy Award. The annual award recognizes the best punter in college football. Dickson, a native of Sydney, Australia, averaged 47.3 yards per punt through 11 games, the fourth-best average in the country and best in the Big 12 Conference. The school record for best punting average in a season is 46.6 yards per attempt set by Russell Erxleben in 1976. He registered 22 punts of more than 50 yards this season, which is second-most among the three finalists. Additionally, Dickson has four punts of more than 60 yards this season with a career-long of 64 yards. Just a sophomore, Dickson showed off a huge leg with incredible precision. He has had 24 of 57 punts downed inside the 20, including 12 that were downed inside the 10-yard line. He has nine touchbacks and is allowing only 5.2 yards per return on 18 attempts, as the Longhorns rank seventh nationally in net punting average as a team.
A LEG UP ON THE COMPETITION: Michael Dickson is a finalist for the Ray Guy Award.
PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
COACH OF THE YEAR
BEST OF THE BEST: After an amazing 2016 season, Tonja Buford-Bailey was named the Nike Coach of the Year.
THE USATF ANNOUNCED that Tonja Buford-Bailey, who coached four Americans who competed at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, is the 2016 Nike Coach of the Year. Buford-Bailey, co-interim head coach of the Texas track & field team, had an impressive showing from her athletes in 2016, beginning in January all the way through August and the Olympic Games. “Receiving this award is an honor,” she said. “It wouldn’t be possible without the athletes’ commitment to me. I’m thankful to USA Track & Field, Nike and the University of Texas. I’m especially thankful to Gary Winckler, my mentor, who constantly told me coaching was my gift.” The highlight of her year, of course, was her Olympians. Morolake Akinosun won gold in the 4x100-meter relay, running the anchor leg in the semifinal round. Courtney Okolo closed the Games with a gold medal in the 4x400-meter relay. She ran the opening leg in the semifinals and the final — a change from her usual anchor position for the Longhorns, but one she welcomed as she handed the baton off with a big lead after each of her runs. In her first full year as a professional runner, Ashley Spencer had a storybook year with Buford-Bailey’s guidance. At the Games, Spencer ran her way to a bronze medal performance in the 400-meter hurdles, an amazing feat following a collegiate career focused on the 400 meters. Senior Byron Robinson rounded out the group of athletes coached by Buford-Bailey. Robinson finished ninth in the men’s 400-meter hurdles and missed the final by just .01 of a second. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 15
DECEMBER 2016
THE REAL DEAL
WELCOME TO THE FOLD: Rellah Boothe, the No. 3 recruit in the nation, will join the Longhorns next season.
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ORWARD RELLAH BOOTHE, the nation’s No. 3 high school player in the class of 2017 according to ESPN.com, will join the Texas women’s basketball team next season. Boothe, the nation’s No. 1 prospect at the forward position, is a 6-foot-3 recruit out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Boothe is an Ocala, Fla., native who was named to USA Today’s Preseason AllAmerica Team last month. She’s the second top-four national prospect to sign with the Longhorns, joining Chasity Patterson, the No. 4 player according to ESPN.com. Boothe is a versatile left-handed player who can excel at any of the five positions on the floor. “It’s an absolute thrill to finally be able to say that Rellah is a Longhorn,” Texas head coach Karen Aston said. “We built a relationship with her a few years ago. I feel blessed to bring her into the Longhorn family and know she’ll blossom here on the 40 Acres. “Rellah is a phenomenal talent with rare gifts of being able to play multiple positions that match up with her strength, speed and size,” she added. “One of her biggest strengths is that she’s a great teammate.” As a high school junior, Boothe averaged 22.7 points per game, 8.5 rebounds per game and 1.6 steals per game. She was also a member of the gold medal-winning USA U18 team at the FIBA Americas Championship this past summer. In the championship game, Boothe set a Team USA tournament record for free-throw percentage, shooting 9-for-9. 16 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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FANTASTIC FRESHMAN FRESHMAN FORWARD CYERA Hintzen was appointed as the Big 12 Conference’s Freshman of the Year, as well as to both the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team and Big 12 Conference All-Freshman Team. The Garland, Texas, native’s selection as the Big 12’s Freshman of the Year marks the fourth time a Longhorn soccer player has reaped the league’s top rookie accolade following previous honorees Kasey Moore (2005), Kelly Wilson (2001) and Kati McBain (2000). Despite a late start in her initial campaign (she suffered an injury during preseason training), Hintzen managed to score two goals while leading the Longhorns in total shots (46) and shots on goal (19) in 2016. The 5-foot-5 forward set a positive tone by registering her first career goal just 9:38 into an eventual 2-1 victory over UCSB on Sept. 18. She wasted little time making her presence felt once Big 12 play started, managing her first goal at the 8:23 mark to give Texas a lead in a 2-1 overtime loss at Oklahoma on Sept. 25. For the season, Hintzen played in 13 matches with 12 starts, playing a total of 1,005 minutes with 761 of those coming during eight Big 12 contests.
Cyera Hintzen
DECEMBER 2016
BACK ON TOP
TH IS S PREAD CL OCK WIS E FROM TOP LEFT: SUSAN SIGM ON /UNIV. O F TEXAS , PATRICK M EREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS, SUSAN SIGMON/UNIV. OF TEXAS , UNIVERS ITY OF TEXAS S PO RTS PHOTOG RAPHY , BETHANY WALTER/UNIV. O F TEXAS
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ORDAN SPIETH BELIEVES his victory at the Australian Open will “do wonders” for his career, just as it did when he won the tournament for the first time in 2014. Spieth sank a 10-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole to beat local hopes Cameron Smith and Ashley Hall at Royal Sydney. Former top-ranked Spieth forced the three-way playoff after sinking another clutch par putt on the 18th hole for a 3-under 69. He joined Smith (66) and Hall (66) at 12-under 276 after 72 holes. For Spieth, it was more than winning the tournament for a second time. “The way we played the playoff is going to do wonders for me,” Spieth said. “I’ve been in a bit of stall hitting shots when they mattered. To hit those two shots in there, right where I wanted to hit them and then make the putt is big going forward.” The American added his name to an elite list of multiple winners at the Australian Open, including Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Greg Norman. Spieth improved his record to two wins and a runner-up finish in 2015 from three appearances at the Australian Open. After Spieth’s 2014 victory, he went on to win the Masters and the U.S. Open, then missed the playoff at The Open Championship by a shot before finishing second to Jason Day at the PGA Championship.
A RETURN TO THE WINNER’S CIRCLE: Jordan Spieth (pictured with former Texas great Vince Young) won the Australian Open for the first time since 2014.
IN MEMORIAM: DR. DENTON COOLEY THE UNIVERSITY OF Texas mourned the loss of alumnus, supporter and world-renowned medical pioneer in heart surgery Dr. Denton Cooley (BA, 1941), who died at age 96. Long before “what starts here changes the world” became the university’s mantra, Cooley embodied its essence. A native of Houston, Cooley attended Texas on a basketball scholarship. Majoring in zoology, he graduated with highest honors as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He was later honored in 1966 with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. After finishing his degree, Cooley attended medical school at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and Johns Hopkins University. At Johns Hopkins, he was a part of the groundbreaking operation to correct an infant’s heart, which helped pioneer modern heart surgery. He later conducted the world’s first implantation of a wholly artificial heart. Cooley’s strong connection to Texas and love for his alma mater was evident through his philanthropy. Cooley gave generously and is the honoree of three endowments: the Denton
WHAT STARTS HERE, CHANGES THE WORLD: Former Texas basketball player Denton Cooley became a world-renowned heart surgeon.
and Louise Cooley and Family Centennial Professorship in Nursing, Denton A. Cooley Centennial Professorship in Zoology, and Denton A. Cooley M.D. Endowed Scholarship for athletics. The practice and training facility for the men and women’s basketball teams, Cooley Pavilion, is also named in his honor. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 17
DECEMBER 2016
A SEASON TO REMEMBER
CALENDAR DECEMBER 2016 M BASKETBALL 1: at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Calif., 9 p.m. 3: at Utah Valley, Orem, Utah, 8:30 pm 7: at Texas Tech, Lubbock, 7 p.m. 10: vs. SE Oklahoma, 3 p.m. 18: at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Corpus Christi, 2 p.m. 21: vs. Utah Valley, 7 p.m. 29: vs. East Central, 7 p.m.
W BASKETBALL 1: vs. Texas State, 7 p.m. 17: at Texas, Austin, 5 p.m. 19: vs. Houston, 6:15 pm
Dalton Sturm
20: at Liberty, 6:15 pm
TSA DEFEATED CHARLOTTE 33-14 on Nov. 26 to become bowl eligible for the first time in the history of the football program. Dalton Sturm and Jared Johnson combined for 414 yards passing and three touchdowns, with Kerry Thomas finishing with a school-record 145 receiving yards. This season proved that the Roadrunners are headed in the right direction after going 3-9 in 2015 and 4-8 in 2014. The biggest reason for the turnaround was new head football coach Frank Wilson. For seniors Michael Egwuagu and Jarveon Williams, who were freshmen when UTSA went 7-5 in its first year in Conference USA in 2013, there was uneasiness when Wilson came in from LSU. As the year progressed, the team’s trust in Wilson grew. “I’ve been here for the evolution of the program but I’ve never seen exponential growth like this season,” Egwuagu said. “I’m excited for where this program is headed.” Wilson changed the players’ mindset by taking the focus away from the whole schedule and whittling it down to each week at a time. The common refrain throughout the fall was “this next game is the most important because it is the next game.” That motto didn’t change from game one against Alabama State to game 11 at Texas A&M. The result was a total turnaround in the team’s success. The turnaround didn’t seem possible early in the season as the Roadrunners started 1-3. One of those three losses was a 32-28 decision at home to Arizona State on national television. The first four games taught the Roadrunners to play a full game of four quarters with zero let up. The team’s hard work paid off in October when the Roadrunners knocked off defending C-USA West Champion Southern Mississippi and won on the road at Rice for the first time in school history. “You always want to be in the win column,” Williams said. “It helps momentum and attitude. Playing a full game, beating a well-respected opponent … it does something for the team’s attitude. We’re moving in the right direction.” The Roadrunners' only blip in October was an overtime loss to UTEP. However, UTSA followed the defeat with a convincing win over North Texas. In November, the Roadrunners were at least 20-point underdogs for three straight weeks. They won their first game in November by 20 over Middle Tennessee before falling to Louisiana Tech in a shootout. UTSA then held Texas A&M to its second-fewest points of the season in a 2310 loss at Kyle Field. Through the ups and downs, the Roadrunners have their beaks pointed in the right direction.
M BASKETBALL
Jeff Beverly
HEAD COACH STEVE Henson earned his first career victory as the UTSA men’s basketball head coach with a 69-59 triumph over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 18. Jeff Beverly finished with a season-high 21 points, and Byron Frohnen, in his best showing to date, had 18 points. For the second consecutive year, the Roadrunners started the season 1-3. The team is staying positive as it looks to improve from last season’s 5-27 campaign. 18 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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ALL PHO TOS IN TH IS PAGE: COURTESY JEF F H UEHN/UTS A ATHLETICS
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Kerry Thomas
DECEMBER 2016
TRAILBLAZERS
CLOCKWIS E FRO M TOP L EFT: COURTESY SHARON ELLMAN, S UNBELTS PORTS.ORG, S HARON ELLMAN, SOFTBALL IMAGES: COURTESY GREG ALLMAN PHOTOG RAPHY/UTA ATHLETICS
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CALENDAR DECEMBER 2016 M BASKETBALL 3: at Nor th Texas, Denton, 2 p.m. 5: vs UT Dallas, 7 p.m. 8: at Saint Mar y’s, Moraga, Calif., 9 p.m.
EASONS COME WITH certain expectations: winter means holidays spent with families, spring brings 22: at Loyola Mar ymount, Los Angeles, Calif., 9 p.m. colorful flowers, summer means blast furnace heat in North Texas … and fall means the UT 31: vs. Coastal Carolina, 4:30 p.m. Arlington men’s cross country team is racing toward another conference championship. For the fourth time in the past five seasons, the Mavericks won a conference crown. They W BASKETBALL 3: vs Stephen F. Austin, 2 p.m. claimed the Sun Belt Championship after claiming the title in 2013 and 2015; they won the 7: at Kansas State, Manhattan, Kan., 7 p.m. Western Athletic Conference Championship in 2012. 11: vs. Eastern New Mexico, 5 p.m. UTA finished with 45 points, beating out second-place UL Lafayette (66) by 21 points. The Mavericks’ 16: at Bradley, Peoria, Ill., 7 p.m. winning score topped the meet’s best, which was set by UTA in 2013. 18: vs. Texas A&M-Commerce, 5 p.m. 22: at Texas Tech, Lubbock, 2 p.m. For the second consecutive season, the Mavericks also boasted the individual champion. This year, 29: vs. Appalachian State, 7 p.m. senior Craig Lautenslager crossed the finish line first, in 24:20.9. Junior Michael Guerrero finished fourth, 31: vs. Coastal Carolina, 2 p.m. in 24:37.6, to share First-Team All-Conference honors with Lautenslager. “Whenever you win a championship, it’s a team effort,” head coach John Sauerhage said. “Craig and Mike delivered clutch performances. Now it’s time to head to [NCAA] Regionals.” The UTA women’s team finished fifth, with 141 points. Junior Tori Shelton led the way for the Mavericks, finishing the fivekilometer course in sixth place, crossing the finish line in 18:01.9 to earn Second-Team All-Conference honors. Macey Beazley finished next for UTA, in 22nd place, in 19:27.4. Both UTA teams headed to Fayetteville, Ark., on Nov. 11 for the NCAA South Central Regional. The men’s team placed third, its highest regional team finish ever. Individually, Lautenslager and Guerrero made history, becoming the first UTA runners since 1998 to qualify for the NCAA Championships. They are the fourth and fifth Mavericks ever to accomplish the feat, and the first set of teammates. The two competed at the NCAA Championships on Nov. 18 in Tori Shelton Craig Lautenslager Michael Guerrero Terre Haute, Ind.
SOFTBALL UT ARLINGTON SOFTBALL signed four high school standouts to round out a recruiting class ranked No. 40 in the nation by FloSoftball.com. The ranking is the best among teams in the Sun Belt Conference. Kjirstyn Murphy is a utility player from Goose Creek Memorial High School in Baytown, Texas. She earned Second-Team All-District Honors in 2013 and 2014 and was named the 2015 Offensive MVP and an All-State honorable mention. Savanna Bonola is a versatile multiposition player from Byron P. Steele II High School in Cibolo, Texas. FloSoftball.com’s No. 46 recruit, as well as a member of USA Elite’s Select 30 All-American 2017 Class, Bonola has a career batting average of .408. The lone out-of-state recruit, infielder Madison Miller comes from Bishop Carroll Catholic High School in Wichita, Kan., where she was nominated for the 2016 Gatorade National Player of the Year award. She also
Savanna Bonola
Kloe Corbin
Madison Miller
Kjirstyn Murphy
earned First-Team All-City honors three times. Catcher Kloe Corbin earned First-Team All-District Honors in each of her first three
seasons at Lampass (Texas) High School. The District 25-4A Defensive Player of the Year is a multi-sport athlete, also excelling in track & field. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 19
DECEMBER 2016
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IN OR LOSE, the Longhorn Hellraisers are always on the sidelines supporting the Longhorns. They’re known as the guys who spell out TEXAS in orange and white letters on their chests before every home football game. The Hellraisers pride themselves on their unwavering support and their ability to raise some hell. The Hellraisers were established during the spring of 1988. Two transfer students, Kevin Kosta Marcantel and Carl Yaquinto, were surprised and disappointed in the lack of enthusiasm from students and fans at home football games. “The spirit around school was at an all-time low and two transfer students thought it wasn’t right that a team, at that time, who had three national championships, had problems with fans being excited,� current Hellraisers president Michael Dwyer said. “They made it their mission to give UT football the support it deserves.� In addition to football, the Hellraisers attend every home volleyball and basketball game. They also support the baseball team, as well as club and various non-varsity sports. “The captains of several club sports teams will contact us when they have a big match and ask for us to come out and support them,� Dwyer said. “We’re always like, ‘Hell yea, we’ll support you!’� Earning the right to stand as a letter is a matter of pride and a place of honor among the Hellraisers — not just anyone can paint up on game days. Upon graduation, members pass their letters to other members. The organization has guidelines and traditions that define who will receive the honor. “Letters are passed down,� Dwyer explained. “When you’re picking them, it will be someone who can represent the organization well, is always energetic and engaged. You don’t want someone who’s upset or affected when Texas loses. It doesn’t matter if Texas is losing — you have to be positive and supportive.� On game days, prior to kickoff, members participate in the Running of the Hill. They start on Guadalupe and turn onto 21st Street, running down Roberts Hill until they reach the stadium gate. Upon entering the stadium, the Hellraisers loudly sing, “The Eyes of Texas� to announce their arrival. Finally, to finish powering up for the game, the current president gives a rousing motivational speech. The Hellraisers are loud, proud and unapologetic. They’re the first ones in the stadium and the last ones to leave. They’re there rain, shine, snow or sleet — painted up and raising hell. “We’re the heart and soul of the student section,� Dwyer said. “We bring excitement to the game. We get inside the other team’s head. We’re a passionate group and it’s our mission to show the UT athletes our support.� 20 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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J’COVAN BROWN WAS a scoring machine for former men’s basketball head coach Rick Barnes. As a senior, Brown averaged 20.1 points per game — almost two times of more than the team’s second-leading scorer. That season, Brown led the Longhorns deep into the Big 12 Tournament. In his junior year, Brown was both an All-Big 12 First-Team selection and All-Big 12 Tournament selection. Prior to coming to Austin, Brown attended and played basketball for Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School in Beaumont and Memorial High School in Port Arthur. With Monsignor Kelly Catholic, he won two 5A TAPPS State Championships—one in 2005 and the other in 2006. Brown chose to play guard for the Longhorns for two reasons: He wanted to play for Barnes and his cousin, B.J. Tyler, was a former Texas player. After spending three seasons on the 40 Acres, Brown looked to take the next step and play professionally. Unfortunately, he went undrafted in the 2012 NBA Draft, as body fat and fitness concerns arose after the Draft Combine. Brown then joined the Miami Heat as a free agent and played with the team during the summer league. After leaving the Heat, Brown looked for options to play professionally overseas. In August 2012, Brown signed a one-year deal with Rethymno Aegean, a team in the Greek Basketball League. Brown was featured in only six games before being released. He later returned home to play basketball with the New York Knicks’ summer league team. After stints with teams in the Dominican Republic League, the Kazakhstan League, and Turkish League, Brown found a home with a 7XUNLVK FOXE 3×QDU .DUß×\DND LQ -XO\
FROM TOP LEF T: B ETHANY WALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS, MATT HEM PH EL/UNIV. OF TEXAS
HELLRAISERS
WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
COMING TOGETHER: Before the final games of the season, the Texas defense started to show real improvement.
ALL THE RIGHT MOVES EVEN IN DEFEAT, TEXAS SHOWED IMPROVEMENT ON DEFENSE
PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
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P UNTIL THE point Charlie Strong knew he would no longer be at Texas, his decision to take over the Texas defense was a positive move. With Strong making the in-game calls, Texas was able to maximize an aggressive, athletic front, leading to a defensive resurgence. The Longhorns held five opponents under their season scoring averages, including giving up only 24 points to a West Virginia offense that averaged 33.2 points per game. And even though the 383 yards the Longhorns gave up sounds like a lot, West Virginia entered the game averaging 510.8 yards per contest. The defensive effort — even in terms of yards — put allowed was outstanding. “We performed well,” outside linebacker Malcolm Roach said after the 24-20 loss to West Virginia. “We kept fighting and tried to put our team in the best [situation] to win.” The defense did its part in recent weeks to put the team in position to win its final Big 12 games. Beginning with the team’s 27-6 win over Iowa State, the second game after Strong took over the defense made the change, the Longhorns recorded 21 sacks and 45 tackles. Texas held opponents to 5.1 yards per play in six games since Strong made the change after allowing 6.4 yards per play through the team’s first five games. The Longhorns also forced 16 turnovers after recording just one takeaway through the team’s first four
games. The defense’s 17 takeaways are tied for the second-most total in the Big 12 this season, which usually leads to big things in the conference. So why have the Longhorns, despite the defense doing the right things, split six games since the defensive staff rearrangement? “We did get four turnovers, but at the end of the day we gave up a few cheap touchdowns,” safety Dylan Haines said. “We have to make teams work for those a little bit more.” Specifically against West Virginia, the Longhorns gave up chunk-yardage plays at the worst possible times and allowed the Mountaineers to make the most of their red zone possessions. Every West Virginia scoring drive featured at least one explosive passing play (16 yards or more) and at least one conversion of a long-yardage situation. The Mountaineers scored two touchdowns on three red zone trips and were 8-of-14 on third downs on the day. It’s those issues that the Longhorns were thinking about after the four-point loss as opposed to the good they did to help the cause. “I guess it’s a step forward,” cornerback John Bonney said. “But whenever you lose it doesn’t feel like a step forward.” The Texas offense was unable to finish its own drives due in part to situational struggles (two touchdowns on six red zone trips, 5-for-17 on third down) that gave the defense little margin for error. That points to the Longhorns’ inconsistencies as a squad more than to any deficiencies the defense had against the Mountaineers. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 21
SOCIAL BUZZ I remember when things got bad at Texas, I damn near would have died on the field for @ESPN_CoachMack and @Coach Akina. — Kenny Vaccaro (@KennyVaccaro4)
DID YOU KNOW?
Keep Strong! He still has two more years on his contract! Nobody is talking about how bad things were when he got here. It takes time to change a culture and it’s changing for the better! Plus these kids are learning how it feels to lose.
If he’s fired, the team will sandbag and we’ll lose current committed recruits. This whole situation is making things worse for the Longhorns.
The thought of rebuilding again when, in one more year, the program could be back in Top 10. He has recruited talent and more committed but if he goes they go!
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A lion does not concern himself with the opinion of sheep. — Dylan Haines (@dylanhaines4)
Our “Reach” was over
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Can I just be lit forever? — The Tower (@UT_Tower)
At some point the players have to be responsible. I guarantee you Strong gave them everything they needed to succeed. — Quandre Diggs (@qdiggs6)
Channel 2500+ YouTube last month Views on the
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I’m getting texts from people saying they are proud of me. The man I have become, I owe it to Coach Strong.
Oh you know, just your basic Texas Christmas tree! — @llexilovesyou
Took my girls to the Texas Men’s Basketball game. My little one wanted to pay homage to the legend Jody Conradt — @LennoxPops
— Paul Boyette Jr. (@PaulBoyetteJr)
I truly believe in this man and his coaching. We let him go and many great players will leave as well.
I understand that there will be some current recruits lost. It happens with every coaching change. No one ever wants to bring up that the new coach will also add his own recruits. I was happy with the Strong hiring three years ago, but you cannot expect to go 16-20 at UT. Brown was ousted for not winning more than that. I wish Strong all the luck in the world and he will be successful somewhere else. Under his direction, there haven’t been any scandals and he has kept the players in check. He’s a classy man.
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So excited to watch my first college game live! — @TheSergioGarcia
Someone is finally big enough sport some of his Longhorn gear — @JHamWells
CLOCKW ISE FROM TOP RIG HT: AL L TW ITTER PHOTO S COURTES Y TWITTER.COM, ALL OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY INSTAGRAM.COM AND RESPECTIVE PHOTO GRAPHERS.
The Monday following the loss to Kansas was an emotional day for the Texas football program, as now former head coach Charlie Strong met with the media amid rumors about his future at Texas. Here’s what our Facebook followers had to say after the press conference:
JOHNNY WALKER REVIEW THE FORMER LONGHORN DISCUSSES THE HEISMAN, THE TEXAS DEFENSE AND CHARLIE STRONG
JOHNNY WALKER'S RESUME • Played football and baseball at Texas from 1987 to 1990
MISSED OPPORTUNITY: Missing a bowl means missing additional practices — something the Texas defense could have benefited from.
• Two-time All-Southwest Conference • Caught the game-winning reception to beat Oklahoma in 1989 • Drafted by the Atlanta Braves in 1990 (4th round)
PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
“
THE CORNERBACK PLAY HAS IMPROVED AND THE DEFENSE HAS PUT MORE PRESSURE ON THE QUARTERBACK. STRONG IS, WITHOUT QUESTION, CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST DEFENSIVE COORDINATORS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL.
”
Horns Illustrated: D’Onta Foreman is one of the top running backs in the nation. Does he deserve a trip to New York for the Heisman ceremony? Johnny Walker: If you look at the competition Foreman has gone up against — as opposed to the running back from San Diego State — it’s clear he deserves that trip. Louisville’s Lamar Jackson is the obvious frontrunner, but Foreman has made a valid point with his accolades. When you start receiving accolades from opposing teams, that’s when you know you’re good and accomplished something. Whether or not Texas’ record will hurt his chances is a good question. The Heisman is supposedly awarded to the best college football player — not the best team. However, records do weigh into who wins. With that said, after listening to the players and coaches who played against him this season, I think he’s one of the top three players in college football.
HI: Kris Boyd emerged as a playmaker in the secondary toward the end of this season. What do you like about his playing style? JW: Boyd is using his athletic ability more, and playing more man coverage. Playing closer to the line and using his big frame allowed him to play more physical. He’s building confidence. Sitting back and playing more zone coverage takes away from the defensive backs' ability to use their athleticism. It causes them to be cautious and less aggressive. He isn’t the only one in the secondary who improved. P.J. Locke and John Bonney made some incredible plays in this last part of the season.
HI: Since Charlie Strong took over as the defensive playcaller, the defense improved. What do you attribute to the unit’s overall improvement? JW: The cornerback play improved and the defense has started putting more pressure on the quarterback. Strong is, without question, considered one of the best defensive coordinators in college football. However, there’s a difference between being a defensive coordinator in the SEC, the ACC,
HI: How important are the extra practices that come with winning a bid to a bowl? JW: Any additional practice time benefits a football team. The defense would have benefited the most had the Longhorns gone to a bowl. It would have given the players a better opportunity to buy into Strong’s system and continue to progress. It’s tough to take on the role as the defensive playcaller in the middle of the season, so those extra practices would have benefited the team.
and being one in the Big 12. There’s an adjustment period. Strong has acclimated to expectations and what his defense needs to do against these nohuddle, hurry-up spread offenses in the Big 12 conference.
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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
THE BOTTOM LINE THE NEED TO WIN FORCES TEXAS’ HAND, RESULTING IN A NOT-SO-SURPRISING COACHING CHANGE
O
NE OF THE final images I will take with me from the defunct Charlie Strong era was the scene on the southwest edge of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Nov. 25 some 45 minutes after the Longhorns suffered a season-ending 31-9 defeat at the hands of TCU. Here, on Black Friday, with the empty, cavernous stadium as a backdrop, three pairs of workers rolled racks of unpurchased Longhorns merchandise — jerseys, t-shirts, jackets, hats, plastic foam “hook ‘em horns” hands and the like — out of a sales tent and out of sight. It was money left on the table that Texas never found a way to pick up, mainly because people don’t buy that stuff when you’re fielding a losing team. College football is a winning business. When the Longhorns stopped winning regularly, they started losing business and the dollars that go with it as the brand became tarnished. Texas officials announced a crowd of more than 99,000 for the game against TCU, but there were about 30,000 empty seats, meaning 30,000 bottles of water, soda or beer and boxes of pizza, hot dogs or nachos were never sold or made. Multiply that number by the other four home games this season where many seats remained empty and just think about the lost revenue; it’s actually mind-boggling. Strong may have been hailed as a molder of young men, a builder of character, principles and pride. But he didn’t produce enough victories — just 16 in his 37 games on the 40 Acres over three years — and that’s what cost him his job. Wins equal business, business equals dollars and dollars equal success. The bottom line is…the bottom line. I’m not going to sit here and tell you firing Strong was the wrong thing to do. There was obviously something lacking in his time here, either the ability to convince his players that every game was important or a disconnect between understanding they could win and knowing they should. And something had to be done for the Longhorns to field consistent winners on the gridiron, a nearbirthright that many of us who have been associated with Texas football through the years have come to expect. It wasn’t long ago when fans were shocked if the Longhorns didn’t win 10 games in a season. Now, stumbling to a winning record and a minor bowl game would be seen as a blessing. That’s not acceptable. So Tom Herman, a man with Texas ties but just two years of head coaching experience, takes the Longhorns’ reins. More than 300 people, about 45 members of the press, showed up at his introductory press conference the day after Texas fired Strong. The conference had to be an eye-opening experience for him, and the fun (read: pressure and expectations) is only beginning. The glare of the cameras, which will only get brighter as the years go on, showed the fine bead of sweat on Herman’s brow as he explained why he was the right choice to push Texas back to where it rightfully belongs. When asked why he loved to coach, he responded with an answer that one would expect. “It’s because of the players, the impact I can have on them, the way we can build them up as husbands, fathers and employees,” Herman said. Those words could’ve easily been lifted from Strong’s final press conference at Texas, in the minutes after the loss to TCU. But Strong was not there on Nov. 27 to point that out or to again defend his stance and work for the past three seasons. Then Herman said something that, without realizing it, could’ve had a double meaning. “None of us ever get into coaching for the money.” It’s always about the money, Coach. Just ask the man packing his things down at the far end of the stadium. 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. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 25
KNOCKED DOWN AFTER STARTING THE SEASON ON A HIGH NOTE, THE LONGHORNS FALL FLAT AGAINST KANSAS AND TCU
DON BENDER
A
TEXAS AT KANSAS
FUNNY THING HAPPENED to the Texas football team on Nov. 19 when it traveled north to the cold plains of the Sunflower State to face a hapless Kansas — a squad that hadn’t won a Big 12 Conference game since 2014. The Longhorns, with six wins and bowl eligibility in the balance, were expecting a walkover, but instead found themselves in a tussle that went down to the final minute...and then to overtime. And then it got worse. Kansas kicker Matthew Wyman nailed a 25yard field goal in overtime to hand the Jayhawks
NOV. 19 | 21-24 (L) an unlikely, near unfathomable, 24-21 victory over Texas before a chilled-to-the-bone crowd of 25,673 fans at Memorial Stadium. The winning kick came after Texas quarterback Shane Buechele threw an interception, his third of the game, on the Longhorns’ possession in overtime. It was Texas’ season-high sixth turnover in a mistakeplagued contest. Kansas took over and drove to the Texas 3-yard line with five, up-the-middle runs by Ke’aun Kinner. When Wyman’s kick split the uprights, the Jayhawks snapped a 19-game conference-losing streak and garnered their
first win over the Longhorns since 1938. The Jayhawks got a 36-yard field goal from Wyman with 7 seconds to play to send the game into overtime after driving 52 yards in 51 seconds without a timeout. The game-tying march was aided by a 15-yard roughing-thepasser penalty on Texas’ Jeffrey McCulloch. “When you have opportunities to win the game and you don’t, it’s hard to win a game,” then-Texas head coach Charlie Strong said. “We were up, 21-10, in the fourth quarter. We needed to make a key stop. The game was there for us — there was no reason for us not to go out and finish the game. The guys are DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 27
hurting in the locker room. There isn’t much that can be said.” The loss wasted a record-breaking performance by Texas running back D’Onta Foreman, who rumbled to 250 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 51 carries — the most in program history. But the workload, as well as Foreman’s accumulated carries this season, took its toll. He fumbled twice and both were key plays in the Jayhawks’ victory. Texas wasted no time lighting the scoreboard as Buechele threw a short pass to Jacorey Warrick, who made a quick move to his left against the Kansas defender and ran away with a 75-yard touchdown and a 7-0 Longhorns lead 11 seconds into the game. Tyrone Swoopes fumbled on a scramble at the Texas 33-yard-line on his only drive at quarterback after Buechele was forced from the game after taking a big hit by the Jayhawks’ 28 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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Tevin Shaw. But Kansas showed its ineptitude by bobbling the center snap on a simple sneak while attempting to convert a fourth downand-1 play at the Texas 34, re-gifting the ball to the Longhorns without taking advantage of a golden opportunity. Buechele returned to the game after missing one series and promptly uncorked a pass that was intercepted by the Jayhawks’ Fish Smithson when he underthrew Jerrod Heard on a deep ball. But Kansas could do nothing with the turnover, eventually punting the ball back to the Longhorns. A second Buechele interception — and the third Longhorns turnover in three possessions — was returned by Brandon Stewart for a 55yard touchdown and allowed Kansas to tie the game at 7-7 with 5:04 remaining in the second quarter. Stewart jumped the route on a pass intended for Dorian Leonard and, with nothing
PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
TEXAS HOLD'EM: The Texas defense faced an uphill battle against Kansas, thanks to a' season-high six turnovers.
but clear air in front of him, sped off and scored without being touched. Foreman fumbled the ball on Texas’ ensuing drive (that’s four turnovers in four possessions, folks) at the Longhorns’ 43 and Kansas drove 25 yards in five plays to a 36-yard field goal by Wyman that handed the Jayhawks a 10-7 lead at halftime. “It’s all about ball security, about releasing the ball without the interceptions — all things that are correctable,” Strong said. “We have been good on offense all year. We haven’t had that many turnovers all season long.” Texas outgained Kansas 189-119 in the half, but the rest of the statistics between the two teams were virtually even. The fact that Texas was down by only three points at halftime after committing four turnovers gave the orange-blooded faithful a measure of hope, and the Longhorns found their stride in the third and early fourth quarters when they took a 21-10 lead. Edwin Freeman atoned for an earlier dropped interception by hauling in a tipped pass at the Kansas 38-yard line to set the table for a two-yard touchdown run by Foreman and a 14-10 lead at the 11:27 mark of the third quarter. Foreman carried on the final seven plays of the drive, picking up 28 yards on the go-ahead march. Texas had a chance to add to its lead later in the third quarter after starting inside Kansas territory. Domingue, who had been anything but automatic, pulled a 31-yard field goal attempt to the left, wasting a 10-play, 32-yard drive. The Longhorns pushed farther ahead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Foreman that produced a 21-10 lead with 13:34 to play. The scoring run came at the end of a nine-play, 46yard drive that began with a Kansas fumble. Foreman was responsible for 35 yards on the march on seven rushing attempts. The Jayhawks responded with an 80-yard, 10-play drive that used 2:48 of the clock and ended in a 1-yard scoring run by Khalil Herbert. Kansas’ Steven Sims then rolled around right end, avoided Texas defensive back Dylan Haines in the backfield, and sauntered into the end zone for a 2-point conversion that cut the Longhorns' lead to 21-18 with 7:48 to play. Foreman fumbled on his 46th carry of the contest at the Kansas 13 when the Longhorns were driving to salt away the game. He later was stopped on a fourth-and-5 play with :58 left in the fourth quarter, allowing the Jayhawks a chance to drive within field goal range on a final possession. “Being able to go toe-to-toe with Texas and get the win speaks to the direction our program is headed,” Kansas coach David Beaty said. “What resilient guys we have. I’ve always said it — we have the right guys in this program. I can’t say enough about our defense. They put us in the position to win.”
DON BENDER
TEXAS VS. TCU
NOV. 25 | 9-31 (L)
MISTAKES, POOR EXECUTION and big-game pressure are hurdles a young, inexperienced football team should overcome early in the season — especially when the coach is under fire to keep his job. The fact that the Texas football team was still having problems with the basics in its final regular season game is what ultimately doomed the Longhorns. The lethargic 31-9 loss to Texas Christian University on Nov. 25 before an announced crowd of 99,065 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium spelled the end of the Charlie Strong era on the 40 Acres. Everything was on the line for Texas and its beleaguered coach. A win would have granted the Longhorns a spot in a bowl game, given the team extra practices and perhaps saved Strong’s job (although the latter might have been a stretch). Prior to the game, multiple reports said university officials had already decided to fire Strong; however, he did have an opportunity to save his job if the Longhorns were to decisively win against TCU. Instead the Longhorns laid an egg, dropping Strong’s record to 16-21 in his three seasons at Texas. And the morning after he was let go, with Texas willing to eat the $10.7 million Strong was owed, the University of Texas was ready to start with someone new. Texas ended its tumultuous season at 5-7, marking the first time since 1936-38 the Longhorns had three consecutive losing campaigns. “We never quit on one another this season,” Strong said. “Our record doesn’t speak for how good we are. What we’ve been going through … [there’s] just too much pressure placed on [the players]. This season is only going to make our guys stronger and a better football team.” With the win, the Horned Frogs became bowl eligible with a home game remaining on Dec. 3 versus Kansas State. TCU outgained Texas 487-407, had 25 first downs to the Longhorns’ 19 and won despite converting just one of 11 third-down attempts. FBS-leading rusher Foreman ran for 165 yards on 31 carries for the Longhorns, racking up his 13th straight 100-yard-plus rushing game. He became the first second running back to rush for more than 2,000 yards (Ricky Williams in 1998). Foreman was denied on a fourth-and-1 dive at the goal line by the TCU defense in the second quarter. “I definitely scored there,” Foreman said. “I don’t know how the officials missed that.” TCU drove 75 yards in eight plays on its first possession to a 4-yard touchdown run by former Texas A&M quarterback Kenny Hill Jr. and a 7-0 Horned Frogs lead. Hill completed
all six of his passes on the march for 65 of the yards. The Longhorns answered on their ensuing possession when Domingue converted a 21-yard field goal three plays after a 48-yard freshman-to-freshman bomb from Buechele to Devin Duvernay. Domingue had a chance to cut into the lead again at the 9:09 mark of the second quarter but missed to the right on a 38-yard attempt. The kick was the seventh field goal he’s missed this season. He also had four extra-point kicks blocked this year, adding up to a subpar season for the senior transfer from LSU. DeShon Elliott’s interception of Hill late in the second quarter allowed Texas to set up shop in the TCU red zone. The Longhorns, however, had to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Mitchell Becker that brought Texas to 7-6 with 2:25 to play until halftime. Texas dominated the first-half statistics, outgaining TCU 254-102 (remember the Horned Frogs had 75 on their opening drive). The Longhorns had a 115-22 advantage in rushing, a 139-8 edge in passing and a sevenand-a half minute edge in time of possession. But they were still losing on the scoreboard. TCU added to its lead on the opening drive of the third quarter, moving 79 yards in 13 plays to a 28-yard field goal by Brandon Hatfield. The key play on the march was a 25-yard pass from Hills to Desmon White that sent the Horned
Frogs to the Texas 12-yard line. Texas answered with a 31-yard field goal by Becker three plays after a 44-yard run by Foreman. With 9:30 left in the third quarter, Texas had 300 yards of offense and still didn’t have a touchdown. Hill stumped the Longhorns — and left Haines grasping for air — with a nifty 41yard scoring run at the 7:49 mark of the third quarter. The touchdown pushed the Horned Frogs lead to 17-9. After a 74-yard punt by Texas’ Michael Dickson forced the Horned Frogs' to start an early fourth-quarter drive on their own 3-yard line, TCU used its reserve quarterback, Foster Sawyer, and running back, Trevorris Johnson, to engineer a 97-yard touchdown drive that salted away the win. Johnson scooted, untouched, around the left end for a 5-yard touchdown run one snap after Sawyer hit Daniel Walsh on a 24-yard pass to push the TCU lead to 24-9 with 9:18 to play. A 70-yard dash through the fatigued Texas defense 1:46 later by TCU freshman scatback Darius Anderson finished off the scoring and, ultimately, the Longhorns. “We didn’t do anything offensively in the first half,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said. “We needed to run the football and get the quarterback involved and we did both in the second half. That changed the game because we were getting stops on defense.”
THE LONGEST YARD: Officials denied D'Onta Foreman a fourth-and-1 attempt across the goal line. The score would have helped close the gap against TCU. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 29
SO LONG, CHARLIE: After a tumultuous career, Texas said goodbye to Charlie Strong.
THE END OF AN ERA
I
N A RESULTS-DRIVEN atmosphere, there’s no substitute for winning. The University of Texas illustrated that statement in broad, definitive strokes Nov. 26 when Charlie Strong was fired as the Longhorns’ coach. Under Strong, the Longhorns compiled a 16-21 record over three largely disappointing seasons where they earned just one bowl game appearance,
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suffered their share of embarrassing losses and never received an iota of luck. Strong knew what he was getting into when he came to Texas — a sputtering but not broken program that needed a change at the top and to be placed on the straight and narrow. He also knew he needed to make his mark while dealing with the harshest of spotlights and scrutiny.
Ultimately, Strong failed to produce the victories he needed to finish the job he started. He’ll be lauded in Longhorn lore for his work to rebuild the foundation of Texas football, for recruiting players he says will be good enough — and soon — to win the national championship and for an unrelenting passion to make sure the players leave Austin as complete, real men.
DON BENDER
AFTER THREE LOSING SEASONS, TEXAS CLOSES THE BOOK ON THE CHARLIE STRONG ERA
Here’s a look at the highlights and lowlights of Strong’s tenure at Texas:
JAN. 5, 2014 Strong becomes the 29th head football coach at the University of Texas and the first black man to hold a men’s head coaching job in school history. AUG. 30, 2014 In Strong’s first game as Texas coach, the Longhorns beat North Texas 38-7 but lose starting quarterback David Ash and starting center Dominic Espinosa to seasonending injuries.
NOV. 15, 2014 Texas goes to Oklahoma State and beats the Cowboys 28-7, earning a bowl berth in Strong’s first season. DEC. 29, 2014 Arkansas humiliates Texas 31-7 in the AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl in Houston as the Longhorns finish the season at 6-7. It’s the only bowl game Texas earns in Strong’s tenure on the 40 Acres. OCT. 10, 2015 A week after losing 50-7 at TCU — the fourth time in five games to open the season — the Longhorns find a way to overcome Oklahoma, beating the Sooners 2417. In the process, Texas hands OU its only loss of the regular season. Afterward, Strong celebrated on the field at the Cotton Bowl while wearing the Golden Hat trophy and smiling like the Cheshire Cat. All signs pointed to a corner turned by the Longhorns.
eligibility and has some corners of the 40 Acres talking about a contract extension for Strong.
NOV. 19, 2016 The Longhorns lose to woeful Kansas for the first time since 1938, 24-21 in overtime, and afterward Strong’s countenance, voice tone and body language during a torturous four-plus-minute press conference indicate that he knows he’s on the way out. Media reports over the next two days say that Texas officials have already decided to fire Strong but will allow him to coach the Longhorns’ regularseason finale at home against TCU.
NOV. 25, 2016 Texas makes mistake after mistake and TCU takes advantage, eventually wearing down the Longhorns in a 31-9 Horned Frogs win. Afterward, Strong talks about his desire to return for another year, but many of his answers in his press conference are in past tense, as if he knows he had coached this team for the final time. NOV. 26, 2016 Strong is fired by Texas. Later that afternoon, school officials announce that former Houston coach Tom Herman has accepted an offer to become the Longhorns’ next coach.
OCT. 31, 2015 The Longhorns lay an egg in Ames, losing 24-0 to a usually hapless Iowa State. About that turned corner…never mind. DEC. 5, 2015 Texas goes to Waco and barely beats a Baylor team that’s basically without a quarterback for the final three quarters. The win (23-17) gives the Longhorns a 5-7 record and Christmas with the family instead of a bowl game.
SEPT. 4, 2016 The Longhorns outlast 10thranked Notre Dame 50-47 in double overtime and Texas fans worldwide hail that Strong finally has the team on the right track. Notre Dame goes on to finish the season a disappointing 4-8 (maybe that win wasn’t so big, after all) while Texas climbs to 11th in the ensuing Associated Press poll, marking Strong’s first appearance in the rankings while at Texas.
OCT. 8, 2016 After losing on the road to California and Oklahoma State and an off week, Texas drops its third straight game, falling 45-40 to Oklahoma in Dallas. The hot seat for Strong to keep his job gets a little hotter. NOV. 5, 2016 Texas wins its third straight game, a 45-37 shootout at Texas Tech, that puts the Longhorns within a victory of bowl DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 31
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WELCOME HOME: After starting his career under Mack Brown, Tom Herman returns to Texas as the new head football coach. (From left: Mike Perin, Tom Herman, Greg Fenves)
HOOKED HIM! TOM HERMAN TAKES THE LEAD FOR TEXAS FOOTBALL
FROM TOP: JIM S IGMO N/UNIV. OF TEXAS
A
MERE 16 HOURS passed between the end of the Charlie Strong era and the hiring of the hotter-than-a-twodollar-pistol Tom Herman. In Herman, the Longhorns get a head coach who’s young and enthusiastic but relatively inexperienced. Herman was a head coach at Houston for just two years; however, he went 22-4 and won all six of the games his team played against ranked opponents. If you’re among those who think Texas acted a bit too quickly in its decision, University of Texas president Greg Fenves would like to reassure you. “What’s important in the end is that we got our man,” Fenves said. “And that man is the hottest coach in college football today, and he’s here to lead the Longhorns.” When asked by reporters if Texas considered anyone else for the position, Texas athletic director Mike Perrin was definitive in his response.
“Herman was our choice after meeting with him [Friday] night, and I’m impressed with everything he did to get to this point in his career — he’s the clear choice,” Perrin said during Herman’s introductory press conference. “When you look at the pedigree of someone’s training, the discipline they bring to the practice of their craft, and the discussions I had with Tom about all of that, I was convinced that he
could do the job. I remain convinced. He’s an exceptional talent. I’m delighted to have him here.” Texas moved quickly to get Herman into the fold in the wake of LSU courting the coach in the week between the Longhorns’ nearly unthinkable loss to Kansas and when Texas played TCU with a bowl spot still on the line. On Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Day, internet reports began to surface that Herman was headed to LSU. The news accelerated the process for Texas and Fenves. He said he already had Herman in mind if things didn’t work out with Strong. “I turned off my Twitter account a week ago,” Fenves said with a sly grin. “Coaching changes happen quickly, and we knew we would have to be ready to act if needed. Based on my assessment, it became clear to me that Tom Herman would be our target. We were waiting for Friday, the end of the season. I had my plan. I don’t let the distractions of media or social media affect my planning.” DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 33
THE HISTORY OF HERMAN The press release announcing Herman’s job history shows a coach with a proven record of success and a definite upward trend. Herman’s two-year stint at Houston produced the fourth-best record in the FBS in that span. He became just the fourth head coach in NCAA history with at least 13 wins in a rookie
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season and just the fifth head coach in NCAA history to win the first 10 games of his career. After the 2015 season, which ended with a 38-24 win over No. 9 Florida State in the Chickfil-A Peach Bowl, Herman was named a finalist for the Eddie Robinson and Bear Bryant Coach of the Year Awards, while also being chosen as the Football Writers Association of America’s First-Year Coach of the Year and the American
Athletic Conference’s Co-Coach of the Year. Houston ended the 2015 season ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press and USA Today/ Coaches polls — its highest finish since ranking No. 5 in 1979 — and and finished in the top 10 for just the sixth time in program history. This year, Herman guided his program to a 9-3 record, including wins over then-No. 3 Oklahoma and then-No. 3 Louisville. Herman’s Cougars join Alabama as one of only two teams in the nation with double-digit wins over two top-10 teams this season. Prior to his arrival at Houston, Herman helped develop record-setting and explosive offenses in each of his 10 seasons as an offensive coordinator, including three seasons as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Ohio State. With the Buckeyes, he won the 2014 Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach while learning the game from coach Urban Meyer. He helped the Buckeyes win the 2015 College Football Championship (following the 2014 season) with third-string quarterback Cardale Jones in wins over Alabama and Oregon, and a Big Ten Championship win over Wisconsin. “From Coach Meyer, I feel like I went to head coaching school for three years,” Herman said. “There were a thousand things I took away from him, but I think probably the biggest one is the practice of alignment. “We’re in an age that our student-athletes are bombarded with messages,” Herman added. “When they walk in the building, every message that’s thrust upon them, from a sign on the wall to an interaction with an academic counselor, the expectations and the management of the program has to be aligned. You have to be aligned in everything that you do or the kids [will find] a way of going off the reservation a bit.” Herman, who was named the 2013
JIM S IGM ON/UNIV. OF TEXAS
Once Perrin and Fenves made their decision to fire Strong after the loss to TCU, it was a race against time — and other potential suitors — to land Herman. Perrin fired Strong the morning of Nov. 26 and announced less than an hour later that Herman would become the 30th head football coach in school history. This may go down as the fastest coaching hire in recent years, but the workings of this deal were going on behind the scenes for quite a while. “Now we’re home and I can’t wait to get started,” Herman said. “The University of Texas is a place — a special place — that deservedly holds a seat among college football elite. “We will win championships,” he continued. “We’ll build men of character. Our players will graduate, and we will do it all with integrity and with class. As we do it all together, this is not about one coach. This is not about one season or one team. This is about honoring all of those who have worn the burnt orange and white and who support this great university.”
Rivals.com Big Ten Recruiter of the Year and national Top 25 recruiter, arrived in Columbus after spending three years as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Iowa State under head coach Paul Rhoads. He spent 2007 and 2008 as offensive coordinator at Rice on the staff of David Bailiff. During his two seasons with the Owls, Rice’s offenses broke more than 40 school records. In his second season the Owls won 10 games and went to a bowl for the first time since 1954. Prior to Rice, Herman directed offensive attacks for two years (2005-06) at Texas State (also under Bailiff), where the Bobcats led the Southland Conference in total offense. The 2005 Texas State team ranked eighth nationally in scoring and made a run to the FCS semifinals in the school’s first appearance in the Division 1-AA playoffs. “From Coach Bailiff, I learned how to love your players,” Herman said. “Love them and make sure that they feel that love. In our program, we spell love as T-I-M-E — time. You can’t just say it. You have to do it, and you have to spend an inordinate amount of time with your players for them to feel love.” Herman also worked four years (2001-04) as an assistant coach at Sam Houston State as special teams’ coordinator and wide receivers coach, helping them to a pair of conference titles and trips to the FCS semifinals and quarterfinals. The job with SHSU was his first after his time as a graduate assistant at Texas under coach Mack Brown, where he assisted with the offensive line on the Longhorns’ Cotton and Holiday Bowl teams. He received his coaching start in 1998 as a wide receivers coach at Texas Lutheran. “I credit Coach Brown for his inclusivity,” Herman said. “He included the high school coaches. He included the former players. He included so many people in this great program that, prior to coach Brown getting here, probably were not included and felt a bit disenfranchised. “He has an unbelievable way of leading people and managing people,” he added. “Just sitting in that staff room for two years, you just watch the way that he managed people, and it was very eye opening.” Herman was born in Cincinnati and still has family there. He was raised in Simi Valley, Calif., and he played collegiately as an all-conference wide receiver at California Lutheran, in Thousand Oaks. He graduated in 1997 with a degree in business administration. Herman and his wife, Michelle (who met while they were at Texas), have a daughter, Priya, and two sons, TD and Maverick.
final press conferences as head coach, he also spoke about the intense expectation of success put on the players to win to help him keep his job. Herman said that he and his players would not buckle to those kinds of pressures. “Pressure is that uneasy feeling that you feel when you’re unprepared,” Herman said. “Pressure is self-inflicted. We’re prepared for this job. We’re prepared for success and adversity. I don’t feel any sense of pressure at all.” Strong said in late-season interviews that whoever coaches at Texas in 2017 and beyond will win 10 games and a national championship very soon. Those are pretty lofty goals to set for Herman and his staff, especially with a team that’s accumulated just 16 wins in its 37 games
over the past three seasons. “There’s never going to be any greater expectations from anybody outside of our program,” Herman said. “The biggest expectations we’ll always have for the University of Texas will be from within. “This program is going to be hard — winning is hard,” Herman added. “They don’t hand out championship trophies. None of that will change because the blueprint doesn’t change; it always works as long as the people put in the necessary effort and energy. The plan can only be screwed up by people and the decisions they make. “If we recruit good players, like we’re going to do here at Texas, and if you execute that plan, for the love of the guy next to you, for the love of your position coaches and for the love of the program, then great things will happen.”
HANDLING THE PRESSURE As the Longhorns lost their final three games and guaranteed themselves a third-consecutive losing season, Strong repeatedly discussed the “noise” around the Texas program. During his DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 35
HE GOT GAME: Entering his senior season, Kendal Yancy will continue to be an offensive force for the Longhorns.
YOUNG GUNS S
OME PEOPLE SAY that youth is wasted on the young. In the case of the Texas men’s basketball team, however, don’t expect them to make such a mistake. With a squad that features seven underclassmen among its top 10 players, Texas head coach Shaka Smart needs to make sure he gets the most out of this talented but largely untested group. Texas carries a roster with just two seniors who logged significant playing time last season. Looking back on last year, in a 20-13 campaign 36 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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that ended in a heartbreaking loss to Northern Iowa in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64, Texas hit the court with a squad heavy with underclassman. “We have a young team after we lost a lot of guys from last year,” Smart said. “We’re excited about our possibilities with this year’s team. “Everyone has asked what the keys are to this season this year,” he continued. “It’s all about growth, maturation and understanding what goes into winning and then having a willingness and a level of discipline to follow that process.”
Texas doesn’t return a single player who averaged in double-figure scoring last year. Two sophomore guards, Eric Davis Jr. (7.4 points per game) and Kerwin Roach (7.5 ppg), are the Longhorns’ top returning scorers. “This year, there will be more interchangeable parts, particularly on our perimeter with different guys playing the pointguard position and playing off the ball,” Smart said. “We’re going to have to play point guard by committee, and that will be interesting to follow.” The college basketball world’s attention is
BETH ANY W AL TER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
TEXAS ROARS INTO 2016-17 WITH A WEALTH OF YOUNG TALENT
James Banks
Eric Davis Jr.
focused on the Longhorns’ talented freshmen quartet — forward Jarrett Allen, center James Banks and guards Andrew Jones and Jacob Young — which ranked as a top 5 national recruiting class. Those four players combined to register 62 of the team’s 95 points and 29 of the team’s 50 rebounds in a combined 113 minutes during the Longhorns’ exhibition win against Angelo State. All four freshmen reached double digits in scoring (Young 21, Jones 17, Allen 14, Banks 10). “Because we have a lot of young guys who don’t know what the season is like, they’re willing to give it their all,” Texas senior guard Kendal Yancy said. “They’re willing to improve and grow every day. The energy they bring is good for the team in general.” As talented as Texas will be in the season’s early going, the Longhorns will only improve as the season progresses, Smart said. “It’s not a basketball Xs and Os thing as much as these guys figuring out how much as a team they need each other,” Smart explained. “Especially for these freshman guys who were the center of everything in their high school world and the sophomores who are now in a different role.” 40 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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Tevin Mack
Kendal Yancy
DON’T FORGET ABOUT THE SOPHOMORES AND SENIORS Roach, Davis and fellow swingman Tevin Mack made a real impact on the team as freshmen in 2015-16. This season, they’ll be the Longhorns’ backbone. Roach should produce highlight reel plays thanks to his quickness and out-of-the-gym leaping ability. However, he’ll have to distribute the ball more while running the point, even part time. Davis is a continual 3-point shooting threat and Mack plays well inside and out. Of the three, Mack was the least ballyhooed when he first came to the 40 Acres but is considered the glue that holds the team together. “For Tevin, it’s all about mindset — and by that I mean can he put himself in the right frame of mind to do the things that go into success for him and his team,” Smart said. “If he can, he’ll be a terrific player. He can be a guy that puts up double figures. He’s a guy that can help his team in many different ways. He has length. He’s a likeable guy and guys like being around him.” Yancy has the most experience on the team and brings savvy and toughness on both ends
Andrew Jones
of the floor. He connected on 41 percent of his 3-pointers last season and led the Longhorns in scoring the first two games of the season. Two other seniors — transfers Shaquille Cleare and Mareik Isom — give the Longhorns veteran big bodies to augment their two freshman frontcourt players. Cleare has slimmed down 30 pounds from last year and carries less than eight percent body fat into the season. Isom, a graduate transfer from Arkansas-Little Rock who’s eligible to play immediately, hit 40 percent of his 3-pointers last season and will stretch the oppositions’ interior defense all the way to the arc. FROSH QUARTET HITS THE RIGHT NOTES Allen, an Austin native, didn’t sign with Texas until June. The 6-foot-10 likely eventual lottery pick was ranked 15th in the 2016 class, per ESPN.com. He’s a rare blend. Allen is long and athletic, has great size and can run the floor. “Jarrett’s a phenomenal player, and he’s only getting better,” Smart said. “He has a good touch around the basket and has great natural instincts. He’ll make an impact right away. We’re going to play him at multiple positions.
Jacob Young
ALL PHO TOS IN TH IS S PREAD: BETHANY W ALTER/UNIV. OF TEXAS
Jarrett Allen
“The exciting thing about Jarrett is as good as he is, there’s so much room for growth,” he added. “He’s just now learning how hard he can work as a player.” Banks, a four-star center from Atlanta, will help Texas in the middle and give Smart another option as he works to replace the departed Cameron Ridley and Prince Ibeh. Allen and Banks both played on the Under-18 United States national team (coached by Smart) that won gold in the 2016 World Championships in Chile. Jones, a four-star guard and top-30 prospect, should be interchangeable with Roach, Davis and Mack to give the Longhorns one of the nation’s most athletic and explosive backcourts. Young is the rawest of the Longhorns’ freshman class, but Scout.com considered him the nation’s 13th-ranked shooting guard. “Jacob is an explosive combo guard with major shot-making ability,” Smart said. “His work ethic, competitiveness and passion for the game fit extremely well in our program.” TEXAS PICKED THIRD IN THE BIG 12 In a preseason vote, the league coaches
picked the Longhorns to finish third in the Big 12 Conference. Kansas claimed the top spot in the poll, earning nine first-place votes and 81 points. West Virginia received 65 points in the poll, while Texas garnered 59 points. Rounding out the poll in descending order were Iowa State, Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech (tied for seventh), Kansas State and TCU. Eastern Washington coach Jim Hayford was a little overwhelmed by the Longhorns after his team was trounced 85-52 on Oct. 17. “We don’t see athletes in the Big Sky Conference like we saw tonight,” Hayford said. “Texas is extremely athletic and they’re playing well together very early in the season, which was a bit of a surprise. You could hear them talking to each other on the court, working through what we were trying to do to them. I’m impressed with the basketball culture coach Smart has developed here.” Smart said he knows more about what to expect as the Longhorns’ coach and running the gauntlet of the conference’s round robin schedule. “I love Texas — it’s a great place,” Smart said. “This league is fun. It’s a great challenge.
Kerwin Roach Jr.
What I’ve learned is in the Big 12 you obviously have to have an understanding of what other teams are doing and what other coaches are doing. You’d be crazy not to steal some of the stuff that’s successful at other places.” Smart configured his schedule to help his young players get their feet under them before the conference juggernaut, with six of its first eight games at the Frank Erwin Center to begin the year. Smart said the team and coaches have an unspoken agreement that they’re going to come together as a team. All players and members of the Longhorn coaching and support staff took part in a four-day Navy SEAL Team PT training session in September to add to that team-building process. “In some ways, this year’s team has more of the makeup that we want to have, but at the same time, we have a long way to go from a standpoint of maturity, growth, and understanding of what truly goes into winning,” Smart said. “But I do like the fact that we’re highly competitive. Everything starts there; regardless of how you play you have to have a level of competitiveness and a level of fight.” DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 41
STEPPING UP TO THE CHALLENGE: McCarty has the opportunity to step up and lead the Longhorns this season.
TRANSITION GAME PATRICK MEREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
AFTER SAYING GOODBYE TO A GROUP OF TALENTED SENIORS, KAREN ASTON LOOKS TO HER YOUNGER PLAYERS TO CARRY THE PROGRAM’S SUCCESS
F
OR ALL OF the highs associated with coaching college sports — and there are many — the profession also brings an array of lows, including saying goodbye. The end of one season turns into anticipation for the start of the next, but each new year starts with something of a void, as those athletes whose college careers ended are visibly absent. And like coaches everywhere, Texas women’s basketball head coach Karen Aston and her staff have to deal with that absence every year. Yet as Aston starts her fifth season at the helm, she admits last year’s senior class has been the hardest to
replace. Center Imani Boyette, forward Brady Sanders, and guards Celina Rodrigo and Empress Davenport accounted for an average of 27.8 points (39.1 percent of the Longhorns’ average of 71.1) and 17.2 rebounds (41.3 percent) per game. The 6-foot-7 Boyette had more blocked shots (104) by herself than all of her teammates, who had 84 combined. Rodrigo led the team with 140 assists, and Davenport was third on the team with 76; the rest of the team accounted for 291. But to Aston, last year’s senior class represented far more than the numbers it put up to fill up the stat sheets.
“Maturity has been the hardest part to replace,” Aston said. “You could go down to the individual skill level, but what I miss the most is their maturity, how they practiced and their approach to preparation. That’s missing from practice this year — we have good days, and we have other days when we look terrible. “[Last year’s seniors were] the first group that had been with me all four years,” she continued. “They had an understanding of what we wanted and how things were done. They were iron women. We have a lot of young players this season. We have freshmen and sophomores who don’t know how to come in and go to work every day quite yet.” DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 43
It’s a huge goal of ours to win the Big 12 — that hasn’t been done since I have been here. It has to be on our players’ minds. Making the Final Four is our ultimate goal. If you get that far, anything can happen. - Coach Karen Aston
Brooke McCarty
Joyner Holmes
“This team is close,” Aston said. “That’s a great thing, but it can be bad if no one steps up. Ariel might be the one willing to do that. She’s an upperclassman and she knows what we want. It’s going to be up to her and the older players to show the younger players the way we do things.” Among the players who will need to step into a larger role is transfer Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau, who led Gulf Coast State College to the National Junior College Athletic Association Division I National Championship — picking up co-Most Valuable Player honors in the process. This season, she’ll be counted on to log major minutes in the low post for the Longhorns. Fans might mix her up with another new post player — her twin sister, Khaléann, who transferred from Vanderbilt. But it’s AudreyAnn who’s expected to make the biggest impact, at least initially. “Audrey-Ann will be leaned on heavily because we don’t have much depth in the paint,” Aston said. “She’s mature and consistent in how she approaches the game.” In what has become a normal occurrence at Texas, the Longhorns are welcoming a trio of elite freshmen: guard Alecia Sutton, guard/ forward Jada Underwood and guard/forward Joyner Holmes. The Longhorns took a cautious approach with Sutton, who recently returned to the floor 44 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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ALL PHO TOS IN TH IS PAGE: BETHANY W ALTER/UNIV. O F TEXAS
The most noticeable change in this year’s lineup is in the middle, where the imposing Boyette has moved on to the WNBA’s Chicago Sky. But replacing Rodrigo, a fouryear starter at point guard, might be the most critical alteration to the Texas lineup. Running the team in Rodrigo’s wake is junior Brooke McCarty, the team’s leading scorer last year with an average of 11.8 points per game. “We know Brooke can score — I’m not worried about that,” Aston said. “But Celina was more than that. She was a great leader. What we knew we always had with Celina, and Empress, was work ethic. We knew we would get constant effort and constant practice habits.” Junior Ariel Atkins will join McCarty in the backcourt this season. Along with McCarty and Boyette, Atkins was the third Longhorn to average double-digit scoring last season, with an average of 11.2 points per game. She also was fourth on the team in rebounds (3.9 per game), fifth in steals (37) and fifth in assists (34). But according to Aston, Atkins’ biggest contribution very well might be one that won’t show up on a stat sheet. With the departure of last year’s seniors, the Longhorns lost their most vocal players, the ones willing to get after their teammates, when necessary. This year, the team is exceptionally close, and Aston admitted that she has wondered who will step up and hold the team accountable.
Audrey-Ann Caron-Goudreau
Karen Aston
ALL PHO TOS IN TH IS PAGE: PATRICK M EREDITH/UNIV. OF TEXAS
Ariel Atkins
Alecia Sutton
will think it’s on top of the world.” Aston acknowledges that for all of the young talent on the Texas roster — and there’s a lot of it — the idea of playing such a rigorous schedule is daunting. “I do worry about that,” Aston said. “But you can try to get them ready for it, to take one game at a time and bring this team along. It will be a challenge because we’re young in a lot of areas. However, at the end of the day, when we get to tournament time, there won’t be much we haven’t seen.” The 2016-17 Longhorns can be viewed in different ways. Is this year’s team a powerhouse in training, a collection of youngsters with enormous talent but enough youth to make
Joyner Holmes
mistakes that could be maddening all season long? Or is this the newest installment of a program that annually makes a run at the Big 12 title and then drives deep into the NCAA tournament, hoping for a national championship? “We have talked in-depth about how we want to go to the Final Four, and how when you get there, it’s about matchups more than anything,” Aston said. “We made the Elite Eight last year and we hope to go that far again. “It’s a huge goal of ours to win the Big 12 — that hasn’t been done since I have been here. It has to be on our players’ minds. Making the Final Four is our ultimate goal. If you get that far, anything can happen.”
after tearing her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) as a high school senior. Underwood arrives with less fanfare than her fellow freshmen, but is expected to play a significant role. “Sutton is coming off an ACL tear, and has only been at full speed for a month,” Aston said. “I expect her to contribute as we get closer toward conference play. We need to ease her back into the game because she missed so much time.” Holmes, Aston said, has a chance to be a special player. “Joyner is the most ready because her physical gifts are special,” Aston explained. “She’s 6-3, and has speed and power that’s unusual at that size. She can handle the ball like a guard and she’s strong. She just needs to learn how to make plays on the perimeter.” The Longhorns always play a tough schedule, but this year’s schedule looks like a real gauntlet that includes many of the nation’s top programs. Before even getting to the rigors of the Big 12 schedule, Texas will face national heavyweights Stanford, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Tennessee and Connecticut. “You promise kids in the recruiting process that they’ll get the chance to play in premier games, and these are those games — the games that will eventually make us tough,” Aston said. “I’ll have to handle it if we have a hiccup, but if we have a good game, the team DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 45
IN SEASON
LEADING BY EXAMPLE: Prieto-Cerame’s focus and positive mindset continue to resonate with the Texas volleyball team.
REACHING NEW HEIGHTS PRIETO-CERAME IS ENDING HER COLLEGIATE CAREER ON A HIGH NOTE
P
AULINA PRIETO-CERAME IS enjoying herself this year. Since the senior outside hitter transferred to Texas three seasons ago from Penn State, Prieto-Cerame started to grow both as a player and a person. This year, however, she’s extending her reach. The Puerto Rico native, who grew up in Miami, Fla., returned to her roots this summer, proudly representing her country at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. After returning to Austin this fall, she continued maintaining her 46 HORNS ILLUSTRATED
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grounded mindset and focused on positively impacting everyone around her. “It’s about having a grateful heart, thinking of the things you’re grateful for and not the things you can’t control,” Prieto-Cerame said by phone prior to the Longhorns' game at Iowa State on Nov. 12. “Sometimes you press so much or let it carry on. It’s about not letting yourself take yourself so seriously. “I’ve loved my experience here,” she added. “It’s easy to go back to enjoying the right kind of attitude this team brings.”
ALL PHO TOS IN TH IS S PREAD COURTES Y JOSE MENDEZ
Keeping with the present, the senior outside hitter finds herself boosting her team up throughout its 2016 campaign. And as much as she gives to her teammates, they are there to support her as well. “Ever since I got here I’ve seen how I’ve progressed as a person and a player,� Prieto-Cerame said. “Texas has helped me become better. In that process, I’ve been able to give more to my teammates, helping them to enjoy themselves and enjoy playing together.� Prieto-Cerame is also making an impact on the court this season, coming in second on the team in both points and kills. Her boundless enthusiasm and dynamic play aren’t the only things buoying the Longhorns at home matches. Her raucous boyfriend — the Longhorn baseball team’s junior catcher Michael Cantu — can be heard bringing relentless energy to the grandstands. The duo display genuine kindness that helps infuse those around them, and Prieto-Cerame says their relationship has been a big part of her growth. “He’s an amazing person — very influential,� she said. “He reminds me not to take myself so seriously,� she said. “That’s been one of the greatest keys. He’s a great human being and I look up to him and look to him for advice. “And he’s our biggest fan,� she continued. “He gets crazy up in the bleachers and it’s been great to have his support. I give a lot of credit to him and his influence on me.� Prieto-Cerame became a rising star in volleyball when her family moved to Miami. As a three-year captain for Palmer Trinity School, she helped the team win the Miami Dade District 16 Championship, as well as the regional championship. She was a two-time Miami Herald Player of the Year and ranked No. 7 in her class by PrepVolleyball.com. Prieto-Cerame has traveled the world throughout her career and she hopes to continue that trend. She currently has her eye on securing a playing career abroad. “I want to play pro,� Prieto-Cerame said. “I’m seeing what offers I
Ever since I got here I’ve seen how I’ve progressed as a person and a player; Texas has helped me become better. In that process, I’ve been able to give more to my teammates, helping them to enjoy themselves and enjoy playing together.
get. Right now my main focus is winning the Big 12, seeing where we can go and ending on a great note.� With a slew of newcomers and greater depth up and down the roster, the team went through a feeling-out process to start this season. But as the team advanced and evolved, Prieto-Cerame’s play stayed steadily superior. “We had great leadership from seniors this year, and it’s more of seeing how we can help the newcomers build confidence,� PrietoCerame said. “I focused on that toward the beginning of the year and the more focused and happier that I am, the more focused and happier the rest of the team is. So it’s leading by example. It’s not always easy because sometimes it’s not such a good day.� Prieto-Cerame is a positive person, but it’s true — bad days happen. That was the case when the Longhorns lost to Iowa State 3-2. However, the team should still be in contention to make the Final Four when push comes to shove, and the Longhorns’ eyes are still on that ever-elusive national championship. “We’ve grown this season but we went through a lot of trials,� she said. “The Big 12 has improved. We had a tough preseason and it tested us from the start. We’re looking to end the Big 12 on a good note and see how the tournament goes.� Opponents will fear Texas’ tried-and-true offense when tourney time comes. However, the defense is what those same foes look at when trying to plan for an advantage against the Longhorns. According to Prieto-Cerame, team communication will improve the defense and the Longhorns’ overall play, and carry the team to a 2016 title. “In the beginning of the season you could feel the team had a different personality, with new people on the court and how personalities played out,� she said. “We were getting a feel for our team identity. Through the trials we’ve had and talks with one another, we realized it’s the most fun when we play for each other, have fun and let loose.�
Horns Illustrated (ISSN 1096-2573), Volume 23, Number 7. Copyright Š 2016 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. DECEMBER 2016 HORNS ILLUSTRATED 47
FINAL SCORE
UNTOUCHABLE PATRICK MEREDITH/UN IV. O F TEXAS
Texas junior D’Onta Foreman passed Earl Campbell in the record books on Nov. 19. With a 19-yard run in the third quarter of the game against Kansas, Foreman recorded his 12th consecutive 100-yard rushing performance. This milestone moment also meant that Foreman passed Jamaal Charles (1,619 yards) for fifth place on Texas’ single-season rushing list. Foreman was last held under 100 yards by Iowa State on Oct. 31, 2015. A contender for the Heisman Trophy, as well as the Doak Walker Award and the Walter Camp Player of the Year honor, Foreman entered the Kansas game with 1,613 yards and 13 touchdowns on 241 carries.
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