Quite frankly, I think Texas would still be a winner in football if Texas selected recruits as they did from 1960-1983. That is - from the inside out instead of from the outside in. Computers don't do that. Coaches do! There is more to winning in a team environment than just talent. Royal and Bear Bryant Royal gravitated to recruits with dreams of greatness, aggressive traits, and an appetite to hit. He liked recruits with Billygoat instincts that could inspire teammates. Players who chose not to run out of bounds instead pointing their face masks straight upfield. He wanted self-starters saying if you "spend time waiting for these promising boys to deliver; pretty soon you're wearing a straw hat to Christmas." Bear Bryant also recruited like Royal. Coach Bryant said he doesn't mind if a player is a little short in talent or stature if he can compensate for it with a big heart. Bear Bryant even said, "I can reach a kid who doesn't have any abilities as long as he doesn't know it." Bryant also believed that "What matters.... is not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog." "Life's battles don't always go to the stronger or faster. But sooner or later, the man who wins is the one who thinks he can." There is no question that 2021 was a bloom buster year- an environmental disaster of epic proportions. The 2021 team reflects a decade's decline in the intangibles needed to win games. Hopefully, the Athletic Department will fix these ecological problems, and the burnt orange rose can strike a victory pose in 2022. Talent alone will not do this. Intangibles are needed to win. Team Chemistry, team bond, hard work, a fighting spirit, grit, backbone, and moxie wins games. Women's basketball Coach Page said that winning traditions are "built around intangibles ."It's Character And Pride................... It's The Things That Keeps People Performing When They're Tired.... It Can Be As Important As Money In Building A Program." Coach Akers says about intangibles, "whatever it is that makes you feel bigger than you are and faster than you are" is the cornerstone for a winning tradition. For Royal fixing the losing environment, he inherited in 1957 required testing each player's character to the very core. He chose brutal Spring practice to determine the intangible quotient of his players. Royal wanted to determine who the quitters were during spring training instead of during an important game. Mack Brown understood that winning required intangibles to strengthen the heartbeat of a team. Coach Snyder's Kansas State football teams were the model for winning with intangibles. Many of his teams were composed of low-star ranked athletes who beat high-star teams with spirit and drive. In Conclusion The Measure of an athlete is more than just star ranking. While talent is essential in winning, it is not the primary reason teams have a winning tradition. In the past Intangibles have been vital components of winning the Longhorn way. So, I look forward to winning the Longhorn way in 2022 with my newly purchased Elton John rose-colored glasses. Horns and eyes up!. To read the whole article click on https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/intangibles
