Texastrong

I was wondering how you guys felt. I posted here when Strong was hired and at the time didn't say much. I can tell you, he left a dumpster fire at Texas and all we can wonder is how he won all those games at UL. The kids for the most part loved him, but, that is because he was very easy on them. He started out by running off a bunch of players and we thought he was going to be just what the program needed. But as soon as he did that he started letting the kids run the program again. Special teams was his baby, yet, they were pathetic. When you lose to Kansas. you need to look for a new career. And no, he does not need to be a DC either. I am not even sure he likes the job anymore.

When Strong came to Texas, he first brought S Watson over to run the offense, which was a ball control offense, and was designed to help "protect" his defense. After his first year in the Big 12, he found out he had better score points and not worry so much about playing keep away. 2015 saw the worst defense in the History of the program, while, playing a very slow offense. (Offense was an abomination, including Watson being fired after the first game) He hired Gilbert to bring in the Bear Raid offense, which was designed to move fast. His first half of the year saw even worse defensive numbers, and at that time, he fired his longtime sidekick Bedford and took over the defense himself. He told the offense to take more time calling plays and the defense got a little better under his guidance, with slower paced offense on the other side. He will insist that the offense not run tempo. He wants an offense that gives his defense time to rest.

I agree, it is really a bad fit for USF, unless the Big 12 expanded and added some other teams in the Florida area. I know it has been a logistic nightmare for WV. I think the chances of UT and OU leaving the Big 12 are 90% or better. I am not sure where they will land, but, I expect Texas goes to the Pac or Big 10 and maybe OU to the same conferences, or, to the SEC. Expect OSU to follow OU, and Texas Tech to follow UT. I would hope OU and Texas stay together, but not sure. There has been talk of a PAC division including UT, Tech, OSU, OU, Ariz, ASU, Colorado and Utah. I hate the PAC and would hate the Big 10 almost as bad. If this happens, expect the teams left in the Big 12 to look to a Conference like the AAC to expand and add them. IMO the Big 12 is dead.

Not sure, but, I know he eats thumb tacks for breakfast right before running 6 miles in the snow. ***This was in response to the question if he ate steak and milk every day.

Adding USF would open up a lot of fertile recruiting grounds to Texas schools. However, I don't see the conference expanding until Texas and OU decide what they are going to do. I seriously doubt either team will be in the Big 12 after their obligation is up in 6 years. As far as WV, they have been a competitive program in football, but, not sure how much revenue they are adding to the conference. To me, a school like USF or Cincinnati would add a lot more TV sets to the conference. UH really never had much of a chance IMO to be included this time around, they bring very little as far as revenues and they have a hard time selling 30,000 tickets on Saturday even with the program doing pretty good. I think if USF keep winning, they will have some good opportunities in the next 5-10 years.

Lots of talk on the Boards about this series, it could be a vindication tour for either team, depending on the outcome.

It s prohibited by the NCAA and it is illegal. They do not condone it in Austin, but, we all know many schools are very careful how they administer their test etc. In other words, they tell student athletes there will be a test on such a such a day. I read that testing under Strong was five times more prevalent than the testing under Mack Brown which was basically mandated by the NCAA. I would not worry about it too much, he will be tough at first to find out which players are serious about playing for him. He is going to require your football player to make their grades and be good student athletes. I don't think you will find his core values to be out of line, every Texas fan I know respects him for this. And believe me, parents of the students want their kids to go play for him.

It is pretty well documented that his defense took a big step back in year two and three. He did have a good defense his first season, relative to his last two years. Why? His base defense is the 3-3-5 and the past two years, he had absolutely terrible LB play. He brought in guys that could run like a deer, but, did not know how to shed blocks, which, we all know if critical in playing the position. When he demoted Bedford, the defense got better. But, they also slowed down the offense and were not in HUNO as much. There were players who played better as true freshment than their Soph year, which was puzzling. Was it a soph slump, or, problems within the locker room? I did hear rumors that they did not like the new DB coach and the DB's just were confused and not playing 100% for him.

The concerns voiced about hiring Strong are valid. However, that does not mean he will have the same results at USF. I think he learned a lot from his three years at UT and my bet is, he does not repeat some of the fatal mistakes he made there.

Thoughts on Austin as in Strong's tenure there? Or thoughts on Austin in general?

Hey guys thanks for the welcome. Long time Texas fan here, just checking in to see what is going on with Coach Strong at USF. This looks like a really good fit. If anyone has any questions about Charlie feel free to ask.