Strong is really really really pushing this on the team, for a player, ANYONE to step up and take over the leadership of this team. On some level it almost seems like he wants this person to stand up to him and push back a little (tear down reminders of 500 yards rushing against BYU last year). It's certainly interesting to watch him try to change the culture as he has been saying, I hope the players get it soon, because if they do this team and future teams will impose their will on opponents and be more dominating.
I understood what Diggs meant when he said he wanted to tear the 500 yd pages down but didn't want to be chewed out for it. Based on what Charlie has said and done so far it would have been reasonable to think he didn't want the pages torn down At this point I don't think the players know exactly what Charlie wants from them, what behavior is ok and what is not.
Obviously still a learning process, at some point it has to go from; "I will run through a brick wall in order to make the coach happy and not get chewed out" to "I will run through a brick wall for myself and my teammates, coach be damned" Like I said it is interesting to watch this whole dynamic go on and see on some level what Strong is trying to do.
or "I will tear down posters on the wall for myself and my teammates, coach be damned, even if he did color them himself"
Coach has made very clear what his expectations are. I don't recall "don't tear down insulting posters" being on the list. I can understand many players being cautious at this stage. It would take more than a normal level of nerve to tear down the coach's posters, but there are a lot of players with the necessary edge to do just that. Unfortunately, none of them play on this team right now. As soon as they learn that it's ok to play with an edge within the core values of the program they will have more success.
Somebody should throw the rope that's around the locker-room Longhorn logo in the trash, or as Chuck calls it, the Hook 'em
It would seem that the "tearing down the posters" issue would have been something for a closed team meeting and not for a public news conference.
IDH I agree with that, this issue should have been addressed privately. Diggs said he'd gotten chewed out earlier for tearing down whatever Strong put up so how was he or any player to know this time it was ok to tear down?
Teammates are getting suspended left and right and the coach secretly wants them to destroy coaching materials he puts up in the locker room. Yeah...no thanks. I'm sure some got sick of looking at it but decided it was much safer to just do what they are sure is accepted as good behavior and stay away from anything that may suspend them. You can't patrol the team with a harsh grip and expect them to perform unsure tasks on their own. That's unreasonable. I've played for strict coaches, it's best to just stay out of their wrath and off the radar in matters of uncertainty. Don't blame them one bit for this.
Ash may be on the sidelines, but now that we know he is done with football, we need a vocal leader on the field and sometimes in the huddle. Especially on the Offense. Sr. Dom E. is done.... Harrison and Estelle are still out and may remain out for the season... pickens are slim folks. Jaxon, like his brother leads by example. John Harris? our lonely eyes turn to you... Malcolm Brown? J. Gray? Swoopes? Anyone else I am forgetting?
It seems to me like Strong is trying to clear the way for leaders to step up. Rather than anointing leaders.
I wonder why it's always seniors, and why it's only 2 when we always used to, and most teams do, send more. Not saying it's good or bad, just wondering.
Maybe Strong picks seniors because he expects them to be team leaders. If players vote on team captains it could be a popularity contest rather than a reward for someone that's given the most effort on and off the field.
