Texas Longhorns

Seniors put on alert to keep pushing Longhorns through rough times

Published Sep. 30, 2015 1:52 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

foxsports

When senior offensive lineman Sedrick Flowers called out a teammate for being ill-prepared to play following Saturday's loss to Oklahoma State, Flowers wasn't called out by his coaches.

In fact, Texas wide receivers coach Jay Norvell, who also calls plays, said the team needs more players to hold each other more accountable.

As Texas (1-3, 0-1 Big 12) heads to No. 4 TCU (4-0, 1-0 Big 12), Longhorns coach Charlie Strong is leaning on seniors like Flowers, cornerback Duke Thomas and running back Johnathan Gray, even though every senior on the team was recruited by and played for former coach Mack Brown, to help turn the season around.

With a couple of breaks, Texas could be on its way to Fort Worth boasting an entirely different story line of success with a 3-1 record. Instead, they're trying to avoid one of the worst seasons in Texas history. The 1-3 start is already the worst for Texas since 1956, the year before Darrell Royal took over the program.

"It’s going to depend on the vets," Strong told reporters during his weekly press conference. "As long as they can keep that team together, we’re going to be fine. Young guys, they just want to play. It’s the older guys that we can’t let the (damaged) psyche get in their heads. Because then it will affect the younger players.”

Gray, who will have the opportunity to play nearly his hometown of Aledo on Saturday, said he's prepared to keep fighting through the tough times.

“The seniors and the veterans, our mindset is to keep fighting, keep pushing,” Gray told reporters. “Our day is going to come. This is where I think our maturity shows. The attitude is different from last year. You can tell that in the locker room.”

share

Get more from Texas Longhorns Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

Texas Longhorns