One anonymous Big 12 coach hit Texas football with a big Horns Down with this comment.
Steve Sarkisian’s Texas football program may be turning heads on the recruiting trails of late, but the Longhorns do not have the respect of his Big 12 coaching brethren just yet.
Several Big 12 coaches spoke anonymously to Athlon Sports on what they really think about the other programs in the league. Incredibly candid, but this is the kind of stuff you can never say publicly. Regardless, it is still greatly appreciated. Of all the anonymous quotes said about the 10 Big 12 programs, none were more revealing, or downright hilarious, as was the Texas comment.
The Longhorns may look good on paper and in their crisp uniforms, but Texas is fooling no one.
"“When they get off the bus, nobody in college football looks better. Then they play you, and it all comes back down to earth. Bottom line, there’s no dressing it up — they didn’t play hard defensively last season,” said one anonymous Big 12 coach about Texas to Athlon Sports."
The damning part is this team continues to show no grit or mental toughness in competitions.
"“I don’t know if it’s because they didn’t have all the pieces they needed or there was a cultural issue transitioning from the last staff, but they either chose not to play hard or didn’t know how to,” continued the anonymous Big 12 coach to Athlon Sports. “Either one is possible. Culturally, not enough has changed there. You look at Red River tape and they’re on fire, or they’re trying to be. Watch them after three losses, and they’re over it.”"
Not since the peak Mack Brown days have the Longhorns been a consistently strong college team.
The question remains if “All Gas, No Breaks” will get Texas to where it needs to go, or if it will go crashing off the interstate at breakneck speed due to overall lack of control, or any awareness.
Texas football eviscerated in a public square by this anonymous Big 12 coach
Admittedly, it has never been a question of talent on the Austin campus, but rather, a lack of development in that department. Not to say the players who rock the burnt orange now are as entitled as guys were from yesteryear, but Texas is so in need of a culture change, it is quite sad really. In Sarkisian’s first season in Austin, the Longhorns could not even achieve bowl eligibility…
Still, Texas is seen as a top-four team in the Big 12 this season. The Longhorns should go around 8-4 and be in the mix with the likes of Baylor, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State on potentially getting to Arlington. Texas could be as good as 10-2, but that is going to require either Quinn Ewers or Hudson Card to carry the offense when Bijan Robinson needs a breather on the sidelines.
Ultimately, it all starts with Texas doing an infinitely better job of closing out games. Learning how to win in adverse conditions is never easy, but that is what it is going to take for Sarkisian’s boys entering year two together. Should it be more of the same monkey business in Austin, Texas’ move to the SEC will hit the Longhorns like a ton of bricks. Unfortunately, we can all see it coming.
2022 is a great time for Texas to come out and prove all of their doubters how wrong they are.
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