Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN, Texas -- Seven games into the 2012 season, Texas thought it needed a shift in its coaching assignments.

The kickoff coverage team, heralded in the first two weeks of the season for its stellar play, had gone stagnant in the eyes of the coaches. So to shore up what was considered a weak link with five games remaining, Texas coach Mack Brown shifted defensive coordinator Manny Diaz and defensive backs coach Duane Akina to kick coverage duties.

Things got worse. Texas went from allowing 20.8 yards per return to 26.7 yards per return. Throw out the first two games against Wyoming and New Mexico in which Texas only allowed 12.6 yards per return against overmatched opponents and the numbers are only slightly better -- 23.9 yards per return allowed prior to the change as opposed to 26.7 after the switch.

But there will not be another switch made prior to the 2013 season. Brown said he expects Diaz and Akina to take care of kick coverage. Although he does expect the results to be better. That was part of the reason why Brown brought in his former player Everett Withers to take a look at Texas’ special teams and point out a few things. Withers, who played for Brown at Appalachian State and coach defensive backs at Texas from 1998-2000, is now co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State.

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Sean Adams and Ahmad Brooks discuss Texas' hiring of running backs coach Larry Porter.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Once again Mack Brown decided to pluck an assistant with an SEC background to join his staff.

Larry Porter, who spent last season as a running backs coach at Arizona State, has been tabbed to fill the same spot at Texas, the school announced on Wednesday.

Porter spent five years in that same position at LSU and was credited with being one of the conference’s and nation’s top recruiters while with the Tigers. Between his two assistant coach jobs, Porter spent two years in charge of the Memphis program. He only won three games in those two years before being fired.

As an assistant, Porter has had nothing but success. The Jackson, Miss., native had five players in his five seasons at LSU selected in the NFL draft -- Jacob Hester, Joseph Addai, Quinn Johnson, Charles Scott and Trindon Holliday.

In his one season at Arizona State, Porter was in charge of the nation’s 24th-best rushing attack with 204.5 yards per game. Texas averaged 171 yards per game.

Porter is also known as an effective and tenacious recruiter. At LSU from 2005-09 he was responsible for bringing in many of the players that turned the program into a yearly national title contender.

His handling of the running backs during the 2007 national championship season might have been one of the things that turned Brown’s head as well. That year, Porter used Hester and Holiday -- both future NFL draft picks -- as well as Keiland Williams to average 214.4 yards per game.

Texas has three returning backs in Johnathan Gray, Joe Bergeron and Malcolm Brown. Gray led Texas in rushing as a freshman. Brown, who was injured much of the 2012 season, led Texas in rushing in 2011, his freshman season. Bergeron led the team with 16 touchdowns in 2012.

Porter has also spent time on staffs with current Texas assistants Bo Davis and Stacy Searels, so that could help in making a smooth transition at Texas.