Longhorns will try to stay in moment against Wildcats
Forget recent history; Strong wants focus on the next play
MANHATTAN, Kan. — Forget about the big picture. That’s what Texas coach Charlie Strong told his players in regard to their season, his future and even Saturday’s game at Kansas State.
Don’t get caught up in what it all means. Focus instead on each individual moment.
“It’s the choices you make, the decisions you make,” Strong said.
Perhaps no one on UT’s roster illustrates Strong’s premise better than D’Onta Foreman, the nation’s second-leading rusher. Every time he touches the ball, Foreman faces a series of little choices, often in quick succession. Should he race to the edge or cut back inside? Should he try to make a defender miss or lower his shoulder and deliver his own blow? And once the opposition gets its hands on him, should he protect the ball, play it safe and live to play another down, or fight for an extra yard?
“If there’s a lot of people around me, I try to fall forward,” Foreman said. “If it’s one or two guys, I feel like I can get out of that.”
Pivotal point
There is a fine line, of course, between determination and stubbornness, just like there is between confidence and self-delusion. But the way Strong views the Longhorns (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) and this pivotal moment in their season, it’s a good thing Foreman believes he can break every tackle. And it’s a good thing in Strong’s eyes that sophomore defensive end Breckyn Hager gets so worked up about every play that he barely can contain his energy when talking about details of UT’s plans for K-State (3-3, 1-2).
“I want to keep saying this one word, but I’m not supposed to,” Hager said.
Hager declined to divulge it, but soon another question about whether
UT’s defense can play better on the road whipped him into a frenzy again.
“We’re going to see which players on defense really want to take control of this team and decide where we want to be this year,” Hager said. “If we want to win every game, well, we gotta go dominate. There, I said it.”
As it turned out, after Hager predicted last Saturday that UT would go undefeated the rest of the season, someone at UT discouraged him from making such bold proclamations again. Even using the word “dominate” was seen as exuding too much braggadocio. But if the defense keeps performing like it did last week, when it limited Iowa State to a pair of field goals, Hager
might soon be able to say whatever he wants.
‘All about the present’
There were plenty of rational explanations for the defense’s improvement. Defensive tackle Chris Nelson said it came down to the little decisions Strong mentioned.
“We had to look ourselves in the mirror,” Nelson said. “The offense had been doing great. We had to do our part.”
The big picture is beyond their control. But the moment is not.
“Just live in the now,” Strong said. “We lost three games. We can’t go back to those games, but it’s all about the present.”