Anyone expecting changes at linebacker for Texas will be disappointed for at least another week. Both Mack Brown and Duane Akina seem to be satisfied with the way things are right now.
"The three older linebackers have won a national championship and played really well for us and done some great things," Brown said. "Last year, we didn't have much help for them, so they could wear out easily. Right now, we're able to keep fresh people in the game. That's an advantage we have at Texas that a lot of people don't have."
Bobino no longer gets tired when he runs into either the center or guard on every play. In the past, Killebrew was too tired to hit someone late. Now when he hears the whistle, it's like a starting gun!
Do the coaches watch film? Apparently they do.
"There's nothing on tape that says they should not," said Akina. "And yet the younger ones are playing well, too, and there's nothing on tape that says they should not be playing, either. That's why you see them rolling in and out."
So why aren't the young guys playing more?
"Like a running back out of high school has problems with pass protection, young linebackers have trouble with pass drops," Brown said. "In high school they didn't worry about it. They were just attacking the ball. The discipline in pass drops takes them a little longer."
Brown infamously sat out Cedric Benson his freshman year against OU because he struggled in pass protection. He somehow figured the protection out standing on the sideline because he started every game after that.
But hey, sometimes you need to go with the upperclassman.
