“Don’t just stand there, do something!” I guess that’s what Chris Del Conte was thinking when he offered up this explanation for Texas’ disastrous season under Steve Sarkisian in the “Forty Acres Insider”
. . . it’s important that we discuss the reality of the situation facing Coach Sark and our Football program. It came up in Monday’s press conference and is something we’ve talked about. This isn’t to cast any blame or make excuses; it’s just factual that we have some real depth issues. As injuries mount, it’s even more glaring. When you look at it, 52% of our 2018 signing class and 46% of the 2019 class are no longer here. That’s nearly half of the student-athletes from two classes that were ranked as the third-best in the nation and should be making up the juniors and seniors on our roster today. Overall since 2018, we’ve lost 33 percent of the last four classes. That’s a lot of attrition to manage. And when it rains, it pours. We had 25 guys miss practice last week due to a flu bug and virus and missed three others who were out due to COVID-19 protocols.
Well, Chris, you forgot to mention all the 11am starts. You know our boys like to sleep in so 11am is not ideal. And, just when the boys were getting used to waking up early to play at 11, they had to play two straight night games. One of them on the road!
Anyway, I would speculate that Del Conte didn’t actually write that statement. But did he read it before it was released? Maybe some of my journalist and public relations friends and relatives can help me here.
I can’t remember what we were talking about when I was in my teens and my father posited the idea, don’t do something, just stand there. Seems like Chris Del Conte would have been wise to take that tact in this circumstance.
Del Conte’s statement brings an Abraham Lincoln quote to mind. “The man murdered his parents, and then pleaded for mercy on the grounds that he was an orphan.” After all, Del Conte supervised Tom Herman for three years and issued a statement on December 12 last year that Herman would be the Texas coach in 2021 then fired him three weeks later. Real good for program stability Chris.
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Speaking of attrition, former UT and NFL defensive back Rod Babers, on his daily Austin radio show, compared and contrasted Texas’ player attrition since 2014 with Oklahoma’s. Texas’ was in the mid 40% range while Oklahoma’s was just marginally lower at about 40%. That works out to about eight more players since 2014 that left Texas than left Oklahoma. Let’s see here, since 2014 Oklahoma has won 84 games, Texas 52. Oklahoma has won six Big 12 Championships. Texas has won zip, zero, nada championships since 2014. Seems like Oklahoma deals with attrition better than Texas.
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As a Texas fan, what concerns me is the possibility that Steve Sarkisian is just a poor gameday coach. Yes, he’s a good play designer. Maybe he’ll be a good recruiter and maybe he’ll foster a great “culture.” But I have seen nothing this year that suggests he’s anything but a liability on gameday when the bullets are flying.
West Virginia
The actual start time is 12pm Eastern Standard Time. So, it’s not really an 11am start. So, the Horns have that going for them, which is nice.
Steve Sarkisian has settled on Casey Thompson as the starter. Hudson Card is not quarterback 1A.
Jordan Whittington returns after a four-game absence.
Texas wins 38-34.
Hook ‘Em,
W.E.
Willie Earl Songs of the Week.
Needs no introduction.
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