Tough decision ahead for Josh Raulerson

When Jake Raulerson committed to Texas on February 3, it was a pretty easy decision. For his twin brother Josh Raulerson, who also has an opportunity to play football at Texas, the decision is not so easy.

Josh Raulerson has been invited to join the Texas football team in 2012 as an invited walk-on, but there are other intriguing options on the table as well. The opportunity to be part of the Texas program is a dream come true for Raulerson, but he also has dreams of someday being a football coach.

A team leader for Celina, Raulerson is so highly-thought of by his high school coaches that he's been told he could have an opportunity to coach in the district as early as next year. In doing so, he could take college courses at a school in the area and get a head start on what he hopes will be his future profession. It's a decision Raulerson continues to mull over.

"I've always wanted to be a football coach when I got older. I love football. I want to be a coach. The coach at my high school, he said they're allowed to hire part-time coaches. He said 'Next year, if you want to come coach here, you can do that, We'll hire you," Rauleson said. "That's a great opportunity in this economy, I'd go to a local college that's like 15 miles away so I'd be getting education and working."

There are still hurdles to be crossed that will determine if the coaching opportunity is available, including the superintendent of the school district needing to make sure the resources are available and approve the hire. While things are up in the air, Raulerson is working like he'll be a Texas Longhorn in 2013, but he'll keep the potential coaching opportunity on the table in the event that things work out.

"I'm still going to train this summer to walk on at Texas. This is a very hard decision for me. I even talked to coach (Mack) Brown about it. I told him, I really, really want to be a Texas Longhorn," Raulerson said. "He's very understanding. He said to go do the coaching thing if my heart is in it, because this opportunity (to walk on at Texas) will be here for me any time."

Raulerson plans to go ahead and apply to Texas in order to make sure his bases are covered. Should he try coaching for a year or two and then decide he wants to walk on at Texas, he knows it will be difficult to come back after a layoff, but he plans to keep working out and training no matter what decision he makes. He won't find out the answer to the coaching opportunity until after Celina's 2012 season ends.

"If it doesn't work out, I'll definitely be going to UT," Raulerson said.

The 5-11, 200-pound Raulerson, an inside linebacker prospect, finds it hard to put into words what it would be like to wear the burnt orange and white. Should he decide to walk on at Texas, Raulerson knows he'd have an uphill battle to climb in order to crack the line-up, but he said he'd be willing to do whatever he could to help the team in any capacity.

"It's indescribable to sit here and think I could run out in front of 101,000 people, listen to Texas Fight. I'm not saying I'm going to go earn a spot, but I'll do whatever I can to help," Raulerson said. "if that leaves me on special teams, that's fine with me. The the opportunity to play for The Univesity of Texas is unfathomable. I don't understand how anybody says no to The University of Texas. Every time I go to a game, I get more torn on this decision. It's an amazing institution, an amazing fan base."

Celina is 8-1 on the season and on track for yet another playoff run. The Bobcats are a perfect 3-0 in district play. Celina is off this week before playing at Argyle on November 9.