Texas Longhorns

Texas continues to produce seasons that warrant backward glances, if only to make sure the past stays put. No one wants to relive that again. But the time has come to look over the shoulder and the damage that 2012 hath wrought, where it all went wrong and why it might get better in 2013.

This week, HornsNation takes a look at the 2012 program. Up today is the defense and how it will leave its mark as the worst in Texas history.

On Thursday, room will be saved for punter Alex King, arguably the most consistent and reliable of the 2012 Longhorns, and the special teams unit.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Goal setting can often be a slightly trick proposition around Texas, with the road maps previously used from 2000-09 apparently gone missing.

But, nonetheless, Longhorns coach Mack Brown, in a bold proclamation, had one goal seemingly above all others -- yes, that included picking a quarterback -- as he entered the 2012 season.

"What we do is No. 1 would be to try to have the best kicking game in America," he said on Aug. 4.

Oh boy. Where to begin?

To start let’s give some credit where it is due. Alex King was the most consistent performer on the Texas football team this year. Sure he is a punter. But he was one of the best in America. So, in that sliver of special teams play, Brown got the best in America.

Texas also blocked seven kick attempts, a mean feat by any measure. And the Longhorns finished a successful 25th in the nation in kick return yards (They were 68th in punt returns).

Everywhere else -- meaning those spots where Texas has some of the best athletes and top speed in the country -- well, in a style that pretty much sums up the 2012 program, in as nice as terms as possible, they underperformed. And just like everywhere else in the Texas program, it is hard to fathom why.

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AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas coach Mack Brown had a simple and straightforward answer about the ills that have hit the Texas kick coverage team.

"The returners have been better than our tacklers."

Well, there you go. See how easy it was to clear all that up.

Couple that answer with a new-found commitment to the always inspiring squib kick and maybe everything will be fine at Texas. But still there is the lingering thought that things should be better than fine when it comes to Texas kick coverage team.

This after all was a celebrated group after the first two weeks of the season. They had dubbed themselves the Wild Bunch. Dalton Santos' legend was growing with every screaming trip he made down the field. Kicker Nick Rose's cannon leg was being canonized. Brown was talking about how he wants his special teams to be the best in the country. And the coach told the media of how Texas had dedicated more time to special teams in the preseason and were now seeing the fruits of its labor.

Then Ole Miss went and returned a kick 100 yards for a touchdown.

It was humid. The players were tired. They should have been subbed more.

Those excuses, offered by those in burnt orange, seemed plausible. Maybe indeed it was an aberration.

Or maybe not. Oklahoma State was forced into three touchbacks. But on its three kick returns it averaged 32 yards. Another kick, a squib, went out of bounds and allowed OSU to start on the 35. (There was some controversy over a missed call on the play. It appeared to hit an OSU player before going out of bounds.)

Against West Virginia, Texas allowed kick returns of 44 and 67 yards before it decided it did not have the athletes or the lane discipline to kick it deep to the Mountaineers. So from that point forward Texas went with squib kicks.

Even then Stedman Bailey picked up a ball at the eight, wove through tacklers and made it to the 24.

Texas is 53rd nationally in kick coverage, allowing 20.37 yards. And for all the talk about Rose’s leg he only has 11 touchbacks in 40 attempts.

The counter to all this is that Texas does have very good returners itself. The Longhorns are 17th with an average of 26.47 pre return and have had a 100-yard score by D.J. Monroe.

This week’s opponent, Oklahoma, is 31st with a 24.63 average. That’s better than Ole Miss (72) and West Virginia (61).

Manny Diaz compares developing a football program to running a company.

Last year, Texas started true freshmen at quarterback (David Ash), running back (Malcolm Brown), receiver (Jaxon Shipley), left tackle (Josh Cochran) and cornerback (Quandre Diggs).

That over-reliance on rookies was far from ideal.

"We'd really still rather somebody show off in the mailroom before we promote him to the next job," Diaz said on the Longhorn Network last week. "Texas, in the last few years, has not had that luxury. We had to start a true freshman at corner last year. We had to promote him already to executive vice president."

The boardroom shouldn't be filled with fresh faces. This season, that isn't an issue. The critical roles are filled this fall, mostly by sophomores and juniors.

Texas played a combined 30 true freshman to start off the 2010 and 2011 seasons. Against Wyoming, 15 newcomers saw the field. Two were junior college transfers who started. Another was senior punter Alex King, a Duke transfer.

That leaves 12 freshmen. Of that dozen, only kickers Nick Jordan and Nick Rose played prominent roles in the 37-17 victory. The rest saw limited snaps or late mop-up time.

If nothing else, that seems like a sign Texas is finally getting away from the depth issues that plagued its previous two seasons.

"I think you're right," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "We're not desperate like we were last year to have to have a freshman win for us."

Expect to see more freshmen hit the field against New Mexico on Saturday. Brown said Texas will need to get Kennedy Estelle snaps to build up depth at the tackle position, and receiver/back Daje Johnson will make his debut after serving a one-game suspension.

Top recruit Johnathan Gray is also expected to earn a bigger workload. Co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite said Texas continues to develop packages that highlight the five-star freshman.

After being relied on so heavily last year, Malcolm Brown is glad to see the Longhorns' depth is expanding. And he knows from experience that the more Gray can be eased into the offense, the better he'll develop.

"We all have to be patient in some way with playing this game," Brown said. "Johnathan is doing a great job in practice, and I know once he gets thrown in there he's going to do great."

Same goes for wide receiver, where Texas has three new potential difference-makers who saw limited time against Wyoming. At nearly every spot in Diaz's defense, he has at least one freshman who could contribute.

Right now, Diaz isn't singling any of them out as future stars. He doesn't have to.

They're showing flashes in practice. They're getting second-string reps in games. Over time, they'll earn their role on the field. That's the natural progression of a football player who isn't thrust into the fire from day one.

Diaz thinks highly of his newcomers. This season, though, he doesn't need them on first and 10. He just needs a few good interns.

"If they can get the coffee the right way we want it," Diaz said, "then we can get them on a bigger job.
"That seems like a small thing. That's a big thing for the development of our football team."