I have four things for you before college football kicks off tonight.
1. For me, this season is about process. Playing hard, doing the right things schematically, letting new shoots sprout from where we excised program termite rot. I want to win every game, but that won't happen. This season is a rebirth, but also a stepping stone. Sick individual that I am, I projected forward our roster to 2012. It looks real good. 17 returning starters. 3 in the OL, including our 2 best players. OL depth with a legitimate two deep. Our top 6 WRs returning with 2 freshman VHTs added. Experience at QB - however it all shakes out this year. A stable of RBs that you would slap your mama for: Brown, Bergeron, Monroe, Gray. A promising LB group. 3 DL starters paired with 4 returning starters in our secondary (unless Vaccaro goes early) and quality young guys pushing for starting jobs. In short, our best days are ahead of us. I have very specific things I like to look at in projecting preseason performance and 2012/2013 checks every box. Thank God for our 2010 and 2011 recruiting classes.
2. DeMarco Cobbs broke his forearm. Cobbs was our #4 LB and Diaz had some specific stuff designed for him as a blitzer and general pain-in-the-ass for opposing offenses. Still, we've been lucky with ailments and LB is one area (read: the only) where we can overcome injury. Good luck to DeMarco and we'll see him soon. BTW, anyone else as excited to see MLB Steve Edmond as I am?
3. Killer instinctuals. If we go up big on some opponents this year (a big if), it will be incredibly disappointing if we take our foot off the gas with fullback dives and base defense to condescendingly spare the feelings of the whistles on the other sideline. I'm not interested in fake kneel down fly routes, but if you won't reward your 2nd team by running the real offense and actually developing depth and future starters with real game experience, don't ever talk to me about swagger, attitude, killer instinct, or whatever else you're peddling. Fear did the work of reason for Mack Brown in the offseason. Stay scared if that's what you need to stay hungry. Put in the back-ups and run the offense. The real offense. Anticipatory anger! It's FANtastic!
4. Finally, UT grad Michael Jenkins is a highly successful sportscaster in a Top 10 media market (y'all may remember him in Austin early in his career), funny as hell, and a friend to Barking Carnival. His one minute riff on the Aggies leaving is well worth your time. Hook 'em, Jenk.
Bring it on any and all.