Texas Longhorns

Strong words: The best of the Texas coach's offseason quotes

Published Jun. 25, 2015 12:22 p.m. ET

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Throughout the offseason, Texas Longhorns coach Charlie Strong has invoked Tim Tebow, talked of renewing the rivalry with Texas A&M and even forgot his starting quarterback's first name while being deposed in a lawsuit.

Strong knows his every word is being recorded, which can be a good and bad thing, depending on the circumstances. Either way, his words will find their way to the media.

College football blogger Todd Davis of the Dallas Morning News compiled Strong's best quotes of the offseason.

Here's a sampling:

Excerpt from press conference on Feb. 4

On signing star linebacker Malik Jefferson:

Strong: Malik was big for us, and like I said, he was just that marquee player. It’s good anytime you have that marquee player that can get you jumpstarted. I made the comparison to Tim Tebow when we were at The University of Florida. It was Urban (Meyer)’s second year, we were going into our second just like we are right now, and we got Tebow to make that commitment. It was between us and Alabama. Then here comes (Brandon) Spikes that jumped on board, Percy Harvin jumped on board, Riley Cooper jumped on board. You get all of those guys to start jumping on board when one guy makes that decision.

Excerpt from an ESPN interview on April 14

On the rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M:

Strong: “That game is so much a part of this state. Over 100 years, we’ve played that game. Why stop it now because we’re in different conferences? At some point, when it’s right for everybody with the different schedules, I would love to play Texas A&M again. Can you imagine Florida not playing Florida State or South Carolina not playing Clemson?” We all love to see those games. Within the state, it would have such a buildup. It’s a game that needs to be played."Excerpt from CBS Radio Show Tiki and Tierney on March 5

On what was behind kicking nine guys off the team:

Strong: I didn’t kick them off. So much was said about “[Strong] walks in here and just starts getting rid of guys.” But I look at it like this: when you’ve been given an opportunity to get it right and just do what [the coaching staff] ask you to do, that’s what it comes down to. I’m one of those coaches that makes it about the player. I want the players to always understand that I’m going to do everything that I can to make sure they’re successful. Now some people, they don’t want to hear the message and so when they decide they want to run their own program then I tell them that this may not be the place for you.

On if he considers himself a pioneer as the first African-American coach at Texas

Strong: I do. But more than anything, I think about who I represent. Not only do I represent myself, I represent coaches of color. A lot of coaches have coached this game a long time and didn’t get this opportunity. So it’s up to me to come in here and do a great job, because my work has to speak for us all."

For Strong's full quote board click here.

(h/t Dallas Morning News)

Photo Credit: Eric Gay