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1. Joe Bergeron is back, completely out of the doghouse and no longer posing his career decisions to a Magic 8 Ball. "Should I test this new staff, Magic 8 Ball?" All Indications Point To Yes!
2. Charlie Strong probably failed his Toastmasters course. I don't give a shit.
3. David Ash is the guy. Strong thinks he's legit when healthy.
4. Strong graciously praised Mack Brown.
5. He was fired up. I think the amount of media, the attention level, the nearness of Fall camp hit home. He finally got the big job he'd been denied. He won't say it, but I think he has a chip on his shoulder the size of a redwood.
6. Spoke about Swoopes. I detected a subtle intimation that he's not the clearcut #2. Heard is going to push for it.
7. The Hook Em symbol in the locker room is roped off so players can't walk on it. The ropes only come down on game day.
8. He likes the front four on defense a lot. Made a point of mentioning Shiro and Bluiett both. Not an accident.
9. OL is too shaky in pass protection.
10. Starting LBs - Jinkens-Edmond-Hicks. Wants to see more from that group. Aside: Strong spent most of his position coaching career at LB coach. Brian Jean-Mary is going to have a lot of back-up. Mentioned Santos, which suggested to me that Edmond doesn't necessarily have the middle locked up if he shows any regression.
11. Starting secondary: Diggs-Thomas-Thompson-Turner. I expect to see a jump from all four. My opinion: nickel and dime will be wide open competitions. Diggs looks like he lost at least 10 pounds from last year.
12. Hit recruiting. Clearly understands the importance. Not just getting good developmental guys, but securing the blue chips. Takes time to build relationships.
13. Significance and pressure of being first black head coach at Texas?
There's tall shoulders that I stand on and there's people that have paved the way for me, and I've been given this opportunity. It's been a great opportunity. But it's because of a lot of hard work from other people also. And I'm just so fortunate to be in the position. I don't ever look at it as a pressure because I know if you prepare, you have the right preparation, then you're going to overcome all type of pressure.