New book details the magical 2005 season
Orangebloods.com publisher Geoff Ketchum makes his debut as an author this month with the release of "The Die-Hard Fan's Guide to Longhorn Football". Whether the book is profiling the birth of the wishbone offense or telling never-before-told stories about Longhorn legend Vince Young, the book makes an effort to showcase the defining moments in the history of Longhorn football in a way that's never been done before. One of the chapters of the book focuses extensively on the journey that the 2005 Longhorn squad took to reach the college football mountaintop.
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Here's a small excerpt from that chapter.
On a sultry summer night in the heart of Austin, Texas, the booming sounds coming from a snow white new model Cadillac Escalade drowned out the sounds of intense, heavy breathing.
Under the bright lights that surrounded the practices fields at The University of Texas, nearby cars sped by along the adjacent I-35 overpass creating a white noise effect behind the shaking baselines that poured from the makeshift practice sound system.
As vehicles full of people continued to spill in, sweat was already pouring down the sculpted bodies of the Longhorns that were warming up for the night's workout.
An incoming freshman approaches senior cornerback Cedric Griffin, who is standing in line waiting for his next warm-up rep. As Griffin stared intently ahead at the action in front of him, nothing could break his concentration from the anticipation of his next battle.
After several failed opportunities to grab Griffin's attention, the precocious freshman steps aside, as he realizes that any attempts to engage in friendly banter with his new teammate is hopeless.
Moments later Griffin is standing inches across from sophomore wide receiver Limas Sweed, who had earlier caught a quick slant against him.
Seconds before Griffin is set to spar with Sweed yet again, a voice booms across the field that can be heard over both the music of Mike Jones and a loud honk from a semi-truck traveling on the upper deck of the highway.
"Hey Ced, are you ready? I don't think you're ready," Vince Young, the team's leader shouts in his immediate direction.
For just a moment, Griffin's concentration is broken, as he quickly glares at Young and flashes what might have been a slight hint of a smile. However, in the time it might have taken to decipher whether or not Griffin had given way to Young's taunt, the action began with the suddenness of the gates opening at a horse track.
As both players engage in a game of cat and mouse, Sweed makes a move towards the outside boundary and as his shoulders turn back towards Young, the ball was already in mid-flight. Just as Sweed lifts his hands to receive the pass, Griffin surges in front of him and knocks the ball violently to the ground.
"I came here to work," Griffin says seriously to nobody in particular.
Within seconds, Griffin is mobbed by fellow defensive backs who want to revel in his defense of Young's aerial assault. After a series of high-fives, Griffin skies into the air and collides in celebration with one last teammate.
It's Young.
Suddenly, a different Mike Jones song is playing from the white SUV and Young is back in the area of his offensive teammates and he's trying to lure junior offensive lineman Kasey Studdard into helping him turn the practice field into a well-lit dance floor.
As a team, this group of Longhorns had arrived with the intent of accomplishing two things – they were going to work and party.
Click here to order your copy of Geoff Ketchum's "The Die-Hard Fan's Guide to Longhorn Football".