Mack Brown doesnt rule out adding a QB
There has been a ton of speculation lately about if Texas would add another quarterback to the class of 2012 - maybe even a junior college or graduate transfer.
On Friday night at Texas' annual football banquet, I asked Mack what the prospects were for adding a quarterback to incoming freshmen Connor Brewer and Jalen Overstreet as well as returners David Ash and Case McCoy.
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"I don't know. We're looking at it right now because our quarterbacks are still young," Mack Brown said. "It's funny. Right after the Baylor game, everyone scattered.
"Everyone goes recruiting. We didn't have our first staff meeting until this morning.
"Today, we were just talking about the possibilities of what would be out there or what we'd look at. Or do we just continue in the light we're in now? We'll have another staff meeting Sunday and pull together some more thoughts than we have right now."
I followed up by asking if Mack would be inclined to take a junior college quarterback or graduate tansfer (like a Dayne Crist, who will apparently visit Kansas now that Charlie Weis is the coach).
"I don't know," Brown said. "I think those are things we're looking at. We've taken two junior college players in our first 13 years.
"And obviously we are looking at some now. That's kind of a new road for us to look on. We are not going to become a junior college program. It's to fit a need. If you find the right guy and find the right student, that's something we'll have to look at Sunday."
MACK SAYS EVERYONE'S ALL IN: Major Applewhite has been reported as a candidate to replace Charlie Weis at Florida under Will Muschamp.
Brown said he thinks his coaching staff will return as well as juniors Kenny Vaccaro and Alex Okafor.
"This bunch is really focused on getting this fixed. The coaches are talking about not looking around. They're staying because they are committed to making it work. The players are talking about it.
"You have to think that Alex Okafor and Kenny Vaccaro are two guys who could look around. But right now I'm not feeling like either one will even sniff it. I think they are ready to win a bowl game, go back to practice and have a great year next year."
HOLIDAY BOWL HYPE: Brown just returned from a press conference in San Diego, site of this year's Holiday Bowl. He noticed something about Cal fans.
"Cal is still mad over 2004," Brown said, referring to Texas edging out Cal for a berth in the Rose Bowl. "Our guys were 10 when that happened."
LOOKING BACK: Brown was asked to review the 2011 season.
"After looking at it, you always want to win as many games as you can," he said. "But the purpose of this year was to get out of the funk we were in last year and get headed back in the right direction, and we did that.
"We had chance after chance. We had a chance to win against Kansas State. We didn't play very well at Missouri. We had a chance to beat Oklahoma State. I wanted to see our work ethic get better and see our toughness get back.
"And I was talking to our coaches today. There was so much change last year. Everything will be better in the spring. The coaches will know each other better. It will be easier to make adjustments. We may not have coaching changes, unlike last year when we had six.
"I think this recruiting class may be better than last year's, and last year's was unbelievable. So I think we are headed on our way back in the right direction."
Mack said he had a ton of fun coaching this group. He also pointed out that this year's seniors will have a 71 percent graduation rate - the highest of the Mack Brown Era.
"I probably had as much fun coaching as I've had in any a year," Mack said. "It's not all just about what the scoreboard says. They've set the tempo for where this program is going.
"I said at the beginning, 'If they're going to get us, they better get us now because we are about to be back on top."
LOOKING FORWARD: Mack talked about going to the Holiday Bowl in 2003 and how it set the table for great seasons in 2004 and 2005.
He talked about going to the Holiday Bowl in 2007 and how it set the table for great seasons in 2008 and 2009.
Then Brown said this:
"So this Bridgepoint Education Holiday Bowl (against Cal) is the step that will lead this group to another national championship in the next two or three years."
The words were met with thunderous applause.
AND THE WINNERS ARE: Award winners at the banquet ...
***As voted by the coaches:
Lan Hewlitt Academic Award - Emmanuel Acho
Coca-Cola Solid Citizen Award - [/db]Foswhitt Whittaker[/db]
Frank Medina Rehabilitation Award - Blaine Irby
Dr. Nasser Al-Rashid Strength and Conditioning Award - Kheeston Randall, Emmanuel Acho, Blake Gideon and Keenan Robinson
***As voted by the players:
DX Bible Most Team Spirited Offense - Cody Johnson
Clyde Littlefield Most Team Spirited Defense - E. Acho and Gideon
Joseph W. Moore Tenacity Award for Defense - Keenan Robinson and Kenny Vaccaro
Frank Denius Most Valuable Special Teams Player - Jamison Berryhill and Justin Tucker
D. Harold Byrd Tenacity Award for Offense - Mason Walters, Cody Johnson and David Snow
Mike Campbell Most Valuable Defensive Player - Keenan Robinson and E. Acho
Darrell K Royal Most Valuable Offensive Player - Fozzy Whittaker
George "Hook" McCullough MVP - Fozzy Whittaker
Roy Williams - Joe Jamail Leadership Award - Fozzy and Blake Gideon
Team Captain Award - Fozzy and Blake Gideon