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Sunday, August 16, 1998
Brown trying to pump life into Texas
By CHIP BROWN
AP Sports Writer
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- New Texas coach Mack Brown has Longhorns
faithful optimistic about the future.
Make that the not-so-distant future. The immediate future may
be tough.
Brown has convinced many Orangebloods he can take the Longhorns
back to their glory days by promising an attack built on speed
and having fun.
In return, he has asked fans to fill seats. "Come early,
be loud and stay late," is his mantra.
He also has asked them to be patient. After all, he did inherit
a team coming off a nightmarish 4-7 season. And there are some
obstacles to overcome.
Brown will have a defense that was among the nation's worst
learning a new scheme, a new starting quarterback learning a new
scheme, a new kicker and a schedule that includes road games at
UCLA, Kansas State and Nebraska.
In the plus column, Texas will have Ricky Williams, last year's
national rushing leader and Doak Walker Award winner who turned
down millions in the NFL to keep having fun in college.
Williams, a senior, is just 289 yards from surpassing 1977
Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell as Texas' all-time rushing
leader. He's 1,928 yards from replacing Tony Dorsett of Pittsburgh
as the all-time rushing leader in NCAA Division I history.
Brown has tried to lift some of the pressure off Williams.
"For us to sit here and think that it's a realistic goal
for him to gain 2,000 yards this year, I mean, there are teams
that don't get 2,000 yards rushing, real good teams," Brown
said.
"Ricky just needs to go and enjoy his senior year. We've
also challenged our team that if they want Ricky to win the Heisman
we have to win all of our games. You never see a player win the
award on a team that doesn't perform at the highest level."
Williams will be joined in the backfield by new starting quarterback
Richard Walton, a fifth-year senior who struggled in the spring
with Brown's West Coast offense.
"I believe it's Richard's time," Brown said. "You
would like him to have a little easier start rather than opening
with New Mexico State and then facing two of the best defenses
in the country at UCLA and Kansas State. But I believe he will
perform well."
With the exception of center, likely to be filled by senior
Russell Gaskamp, the offensive line is full of veterans.
Junior fullback Ricky Brown proved he was the real deal by
obliterating A&M linebacker Dat Nguyen for four quarters last
year so that Williams could run for 183 yards against the Aggies.
And a receiving corps that includes senior Wane McGarity, back
from his third knee surgery, and Kwame Cavil, last year's leading
pass catcher, could be aided by speedy freshman Montrell Flowers,
one of the state's top high school recruits.
Senior Derek Lewis is a dependable tight end who needs to improve
his blocking, according to Brown.
The defense, which gave up nearly 400 yards a game last year,
including 250 yards on the ground, has been completely reshuffled.
To increase speed, linebackers have been moved to end, safeties
have been moved to linebacker and a former running back is now
at cornerback.
In Brown's pressure attack aimed at stopping the run, the key
is finding two solid corners.
"There are a lot more talented running backs in college
football than talented quarterbacks," Brown said. "We'll
try to get two corners who can lock up on their receivers and
let nine guys go after their backfield."
Brown says he'll attack on defense no matter what.
"If they throw it over our head and score, we'll get the
ball back and hand it to Ricky Williams," Brown said.
Brown, coming off consecutive 10-win seasons at North Carolina,
refuses to make predictions about his first season at Texas.
"We will be well coached," he said. "We have
challenged the guys that they are going to play hard every play.
We may not be as good as everyone else, but we are going to play
as hard as everyone else."
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