It has been an eventful week
03:42 PM CST on Wednesday, December 22, 2004
This past week was an eventful one on and off the field. On the field,
the Longhorns concluded their Austin practices for the Rose Bowl before
breaking for the holidays Tuesday. Players will be responsible for
getting to Los Angeles on Christmas night. The first practices in
California will be Dec. 26.
Michigan, meanwhile, left for California on Dec. 22 and will practice
each day except Christmas. Texas coach Mack Brown wants his team to be
refreshed and have a little break before hitting the West Coast.
There were several developments off the field. Texas running backs
coach/recruiting coordinator Michael Haywood interviewed with Notre Dame
for a spot on Charlie Weis’ staff. Haywood was a receiver and cornerback
for the Fighting Irish in the mid-1980s.
San Jose State is also talking to Texas assistant head coach/defensive
ends coach Dick Tomey about its vacant head coaching job.
Backup running back Erik Hardeman was also arrested and charged with
possession of a controlled substance – a second-degree felony – and a
misdemeanor charge of marijuana possession. According to police,
Hardeman was one of three people in a car that was pulled over for
failing to signal a turn.
Inside the car, police say they found Hardeman with 20 grams of cocaine,
most of it packaged in “small baggies,” and less than 2 ounces of
marijuana. Hardeman has been suspended indefinitely – “pending the
outcome of the legal process” – by Brown.
Texarkana linebacker Chris Collins, who had orally committed to Texas,
was also indicted on a charge of aggravated sexual assault against a
12-year-old girl. Needless to say, Hardeman and Collins have bigger
issues on their plate than football.
Q: What can you tell me about Michael Haywood? Do you think he
will end up getting hired by ND, and what does he bring to the table?
Jason Uhl, Sioux City, Iowa
BROWN: Haywood is a great young coach who also brings a lot to
the table in recruiting. Notre Dame is wise to go after him because he
has recruited for LSU and Texas and knows how to work some of the more
fertile hotbeds in high school football. Haywood wanted to be considered
for the Irish offensive coordinator position, but reports indicate that
former Mississippi coach David Cutcliffe will get that job. So Haywood
is probably being considered for an assistant head coaching job. Notre
Dame will make a serious run at Haywood because it needs to be strong in
recruiting – the lifeblood of any program. I think it’s 50-50 that he
goes.
•••
Q: How does the current situation with Nick Saban and the
Dolphins affect Ryan Perrilloux? Don't you think this will help the
Horns?
Wayne Ramsey
BROWN: There’s been so much information and misinformation about
Perrilloux, the talented high school recruit out of Louisiana, that it’s
hard to tell what will influence him. Depending on whom you talk to,
Perrilloux is definitely coming to Texas and he is definitely not coming
to Texas. According to his high school coach, Perrilloux has canceled
his visit to LSU scheduled Jan. 28. He apparently can't get coaches
there to return his calls, obviously because of the situation caused by
Saban’s courtship with the Dolphins. Perrilloux has told his coach to
schedule a visit to Miami instead. If Perrilloux was that committed to
Texas, he wouldn’t still be going on visits. So the answer won’t come
until national signing day.
•••
Q: Texas has lost some bowl games it probably should have won
over the last four or five years, including a Cotton Bowl loss to
Arkansas and Holiday Bowl losses to Oregon and Washington State. Did
Texas let down in those games or were the Longhorns overrated? And
what’s the mindset going into the Rose?
Josh Ellis
BROWN: It always seems to boil down to who really wants to be in
that bowl game Texas didn’t really want to be in the Holiday Bowl last
season, and it showed. The receivers were awful, and the offensive game
plan was atrocious. I believe the Longhorns want to be in Pasadena. I
think they want to win for their coach, who has never been in a BCS
game, and to quiet the critics. I think their mindset going into this
game will be similar to facing Oklahoma or Texas A&M.
•••
Q: Some teams use bowl practice to start preparing for next year.
Do you think Texas will do that or will it realize that now that they’re
in the BCS, they better use their practice time to focus on Michigan?
Carl Hodges, Los Angeles
BROWN: All teams use the bulk of their practices for game
preparation and then use time at the end to take a look at younger guys
in scrimmage situations. Texas will do everything it can in its
preparation to beat Michigan. The coaches know what this game means to
them and their program.
•••
Q: Is there any new information on Fred Rouse and him coming to
Texas with Perrilloux or not?
Darrick and Jeanne Enloe
BROWN: Not really, although Rouse, a top receiver recruit out of
Tallahassee, Fla., was excited that Texas qualified for the Rose Bowl.
Rouse is also being courted by Oklahoma and, like Adrian Peterson, had
become skeptical of Texas’ lack of championships. So going to the Rose
Bowl and winning it should help Rouse’s confidence in the UT coaching
staff.
•••
Q: If Mack Brown had made a statement on the field at the Cotton
Bowl against OU the past five years, he wouldn't have to beg for votes
like he has recently. Furthermore, if Texas cannot win lower-level bowls
like the Holiday Bowl, how can he be expected to win in a BCS bowl?
Tom Harrison
BROWN: All of Mack Brown’s critics rip him for not beating OU, so
that’s nothing new. But his past losses in bowl games should have no
reflection on the Rose Bowl. Every team is different. It appears Texas
matches up really well with Michigan and that the players are determined
to win.
•••
Q: Do you think there’s any chance Texas would hire co-offensive
coordinators, someone to help Greg Davis in developing the quarterbacks
while Davis focuses on the offense?
Ken Walton
BROWN: Doubtful. I would like to see Davis make better use of
Major Applewhite. Instead of having Applewhite focus on the offensive
line and next year on the defense, it would be nice to have Applewhite
focused on the mechanics and intricacies of Davis’ offense with the QBs.
Davis doesn’t videotape his QBs specifically and go over all the
mechanics with them – before, during or after the season. It’s not a
huge point of emphasis for him. It would be great to turn that over to
someone like Applewhite, a great student of the game who has the
players’ respect. For instance, former OU quarterback Josh Heupel is
much more involved with the Sooners’ QBs, helping them spot deficiencies
in the defense from the sidelines during games.
•••
Q: The Horns have recruited some impressive running backs,
including Henry Melton from Grapevine, Texas, a huge kid. What will they
do with him? Will he continue to play running back? They also have a
commitment from Jamaal Charles from Port Arthur, Texas. Can any of these
guys help Selvin Young and Ramonce Taylor fill the void left by Cedric
Benson?
Michael D. Roach
BROWN: Selvin Young will probably get first crack at replacing
Benson because he’s a veteran who’s had some success, although he’s
injury prone. Ramonce Taylor will probably become UT’s version of USC’s
Reggie Bush. Look for Taylor to line up all over the field next season –
at running back, receiver, etc. And if these big backs, such as Melton
and Charles are half as good as their billing, they could allow Texas to
confuse defenses by formation. Because Melton and Charles are big enough
to line up at fullback, you could have one of them in the game with
Taylor lined up at tailback, and then have Taylor motion out to receiver
and go one-back. My only concern is that Brown has a history of not
putting freshmen into pressure situations, no matter how talented.
•••
Q: What’s the latest on Michigan? How did they respond to
comments by Vince Young and Cedric Benson that the UM defense is slow?
Will they be missing any of their starters?
Ted Riley, Houston
BROWN: The Michigan players have heard about the comments by
Young and Benson and will probably file them away for inspiration. The
Wolverines will be without starting defensive end Larry Harrison, who
has been charged with indecent exposure. Michigan will also start the
game without offensive tackle Adam Stenavich, who got into a bar fight
in his hometown of Marshfield, Wis. Stenavich will play, however. Backup
defensive end Jeremy Van Alstyne is not expected to play because of an
injury. So Michigan’s defensive front – the Wolverines play a 3-4 - will
be thin.
