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[IMAGE] =09 [IMAGE] =20
=09 =09 =09[IMAGE] =09 =09 =09Final home game for 13 Longhorns=20 =09=20 =09Nov. 16, 2000=20 =09=20 =09 =09[IMAGE]Chip Brown, who covers Texas football for The Dallas Morning News= ,=20 answers your questions about the Hex Rally, next year's schedule, Chris=20 Simms, bowl prospects, recruiting, Texas A=02?and more. Inside UT Football= =20 appears on Thursdays.=20 =09 =09=20 =09E-mail questions to Chip: chipbrown@dallasnews.com=20 =09 =09 =09=20 =09Listen to Chip Brown talk about the Longhorns on =09DallasNews.com's Colleges site=20 =09 =09 =09 =09Chip Shot=20 =09=20 =09 =09Thirteen senior Longhorns will be playing their final home game when Tex= as=20 meets Texas A=02?on Friday, Nov. 24. They will be honored in a pre-game=20 ceremony. Among the seniors playing their final home game are six current= =20 starters:=20 =09 =09 Free safety Greg Brown of Baton Rouge, La.; offensive tackle Leonard Da= vis=20 of Wortham; defensive tackle Casey Hampton of Galveston Ball; running back= =20 Hodges Mitchell of Skyline; defensive tackle Shaun Rogers of LaPorte; and= =20 placekicker Kris Stockton of Katy.=20 =09 =09 Five other seniors who have seen significant playing time are:=20 =09 =09 Wide receiver Brandon Healy of Carlsbad, Calif.; punter Ryan Long of=20 Richardson Pearce; offensive tackle Cory Quye of San Antonio Marshall; wide= =20 receiver Jamel Thompson of Skyline; and safety Joe Walker of Galena Park=20 North Shore.=20 =09 =09 Other seniors playing their final game are:=20 =09 =09 Linebacker Scott Emley of San Antonio Churchill and defensive back Marc= us=20 Walther of Hillcrest.=20 =09 =09 =09 =09=20 =09Longhorn Q & A=20 =09 Q: Can you give us the history behind the Hex Rally? And also, when is = it=20 this year?=20 =09 ?? Margot Linney=20 =09 =09 BROWN: According to the Texas sports information office, the Hex Rally= will=20 be held Monday, Nov. 20, at 9 p.m. on the university's main mall in front o= f=20 the UT Tower. For years, the Texas-Texas A=02? game featured bonfires at bo= th=20 schools. But the environmentalists won out in Austin, causing the end to th= e=20 bonfire for UT students. In place of the traditional bonfire, Texas turned= =20 instead to an old story to start a new tradition. In 1941, Texas had not=20 beaten Texas A=02?at Kyle Field since 1923. A group of students turned to a= n=20 Austin fortune teller named Mrs. August Hipple, who gave them the=20 prescription for victory. "Burn red candles," she said. The burning of the= =20 candles, she thought, would show the great support for the team. Texas won,= =20 23-0, and the red candle legend was born. The candle burning lay dormant=20 until 1950, when Texas brought out the candles again the week of the SMU=20 game, and the Longhorns upset No. 1 SMU, 23-20. It was back in the boxes fo= r=20 the candles after that until 1953, when Texas hosted a Baylor team that was= =20 unbeaten and seeking its first-ever SWC title. Texas blocked an extra point= =20 after the first score and won, 21-20. "The red candles are the most potent= =20 whammy in Texas tradition and are nothing to be lightly invoked," wrote Tim= e=20 magazine after the upset. In 1963, Texas was driving for its first unbeaten= =20 season in modern history, and the possibility of a national championship as= =20 it hosted Baylor. For three of the previous four years, UT had been in the= =20 same position - on the verge of a perfect year - only to be upset. Out came= =20 the red candles one more time, and UT won, 7-0. Bonfires ended in Austin in= =20 the late 1970s and seeking a new tradition, the "hex rallies" were started = in=20 1986.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09[IMAGE]=20 =09Chris Simms =20 =09 =09Q: So far this season, Chris Simms has thrown five interceptions that we= re=20 returned for touchdowns (if you count the return on the failed two-point=20 conversion attempt last week in Kansas). Can you help explain what Chris is= =20 doing that makes him so vulnerable to this problem? Also, has Chris set a= =20 school record in this statistic? I enjoy the newsletter.=20 =09?? Jeff Cookston=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Chris Simms has had trouble looking off the defense by locking = onto=20 his intended receiver too early in his drop back. He will look away from hi= s=20 intended receiver =09 =09but only for a split second. He needs to look off the defense better, an= d he=20 also admits that he must stop trying to force balls into tight coverage. He= =20 suffers from the same thing that plagued Brett Favre. He sees a receiver in= =20 double or triple coverage and thinks he has the strength to thread a needle= .=20 Simms said he saw the double coverage on the pass that was picked off and= =20 returned for a TD against Kansas. He said he should have thrown it away. He= =20 said he's learning. He also said that his confidence since coming to Texas = is=20 at an all-time high. So that's good news for the Longhorns if Simms ends up= =20 getting the start against Texas A&M.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: I have heard that next year's schedule is just about as weak as this= =20 year's. Can you either give it to us, or let us know where on the Web to fi= nd=20 it.=20 =09?? Steve Davis=20 =09 =09 BROWN: The 2001 schedule is as follows: Sept. 1, New Mexico State; Sep= t. 8,=20 North Carolina; Sept. 22, at Houston; Sept. 29, Texas Tech; Oct. 6, Oklahom= a=20 (in Dallas); Oct. 13, at Oklahoma State; Oct. 20, Colorado; Oct. 27, at=20 Missouri; Nov. 3, at Baylor; Nov. 10, Kansas; and Nov. 23 or 24, at Texas= =20 A&M.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Mack Brown was criticized in the early season for the QB shuffle. To= his=20 credit, he maintained that two QBs were better than one. At this stage and= =20 based on Chris Simms' recent games, it would seem to me that Brown was=20 correct and did a masterful job of keeping everyone happy with winning five= =20 games in a row. Also, Brown was able to keep both Major Applewhite and Simm= s=20 motivated. What do you think?=20 =09?? Charley Davis, Southlake, Texas=20 =09 =09 BROWN: I think the rotation is now paying off. But I still stand by my= =20 belief that the rotation slowed down the progress of the offense early in t= he=20 year. Mack Brown said the rotation didn't work as well as it could have=20 because this year's team lacked senior leadership. At North Carolina, Brown= =20 said his QB rotations worked because his teams were older. Anyway, there's = no=20 doubt that Chris Simms is better off for having played early in the year. A= nd=20 Simms is definitely still happy at Texas. No chance of him transferring.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Can you update us on UT's injuries?=20 =09?? Ken=20 =09 =09 BROWN: As of right now, Major Applewhite's right knee sprain is keepin= g him=20 out of practice this week, and he is questionable for the A=02?game. SS Lee= =20 Jackson (hamstring) is probable. TE Brock Edwards (leg) and WR Artie Ellis= =20 (shin) are questionable. DT Stevie Lee (foot) is out and will seek a medica= l=20 redshirt for this season, a move that would give him four years of=20 eligibility remaining.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09[IMAGE]=20 =09Cedric Benson (in white uniform) =20 =09 =09Q: I'd like an update on recruiting, our commitments, our prospects and = how=20 you think we will finish.=20 =09 ?? Matt Dunnahoo=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Texas has 19 oral commitments with roughly six or seven scholar= ships=20 remaining. There are 10 recruits left who have either been offered a=20 scholarship or who are strongly considering Texas. They are: DT Tommie Harr= is=20 of Killeen Ellison; LB Derrick Johnson of Waco; DL Kaelen Jakes of Valencia= ,=20 Calif.; TE James Moses and DE Jonathan Jackson, both of Galena Park North= =20 Shore; OL Jamie Hightower of =09 =09 Jacksonville; OL William Winston of Houston Madison; S Dwayne Brandon o= f=20 Temple; athlete Quan Cosby of Mart; and DT Paul Brossard of Blinn JC.=20 Johnson, Jakes, Moses, Jackson and Brandon are strong Texas leans at this= =20 point. Most of those players will visit Texas on the weekend of Dec. 15-17,= =20 the same weekend as the UT football banquet. Texas' 19 oral commitments are= =20 from the following student-athletes: OL Jonathan Scott (6-7, 290, 4.9) of= =20 Dallas Carter; OL Abe Robinson (6-6, 270, 4.9), Jersey Village; OL Alfio=20 Randall (6-6, 300, 5.1), Blinn JC; OL Mike Garcia (6-5, 280, 5.2), Galena= =20 Park; OL Will Allen (6-5, 300, 5.2), Cypress Falls; OL Roman Reeves (6-6,= =20 295, 5.2), Livingston; OL Terrance Young (6-6, 340, 5.5), Longview; QB Matt= =20 Nordgren (6-5, 225, 4.6), Dallas Bishop Lynch; RB Cedric Benson (5-11, 200,= =20 4.5), Midland Lee; Anthony Johnson (5-11, 195, 4.4), Jefferson; DE Eric Hal= l=20 (6-2, 240, 4.5), Clarksville, Tenn.; LB Yamil LeBron (6-2, 240, 4.7), Kille= en=20 Ellison; LB Lance McFarland (6-1, 225, 4.6), Jefferson; DB Cedric Griffin= =20 (6-1, 180, 4.4), San Antonio Holmes; DB Aaron Ross (6-1, 182, 4.42), Tyler;= =20 DB Kendal Briles (5-10, 175, 4.5), Wolfforth Frenship; DB Braden Johnson=20 (6-2, 200, 4.5), Euless Trinity; DB Brian Carter (5-11, 180, 4.5), The=20 Woodlands; P Brian Bradford (6-1, 205), Trinity Valley JC.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Which bowl do you see UT ending up in? I know that the second-place = team=20 in the Big 12 goes to the Cotton Bowl. What place would Texas be if we=20 defeated A&M? I remember that when A=02?beat Kansas State a few years ago,= =20 K-State ended up in the Alamo Bowl and UT played in the Cotton Bowl. Is the= re=20 a chance of a repeat of that if OU beats K-State in the Big 12 championship= =20 game?=20 =09?? Mike Thakur=20 =09 =09 BROWN: If Kansas State beats Oklahoma in the Big 12 title game, there'= s a=20 chance both teams will get into the BCS. Nebraska would then be the likely= =20 choice for the Cotton Bowl, and the Texas-Texas A=02?winner would be the li= kely=20 choice for the Holiday Bowl, with the loser going to the Alamo Bowl. But=20 there are rumblings that Nebraska isn't excited about the Cotton Bowl and= =20 would rather go to the Holiday Bowl. That could send the UT-A=02?winner to = the=20 Cotton Bowl and the loser to either the Alamo Bowl or the Insight.com Bowl = in=20 Phoenix, Ariz. If Oklahoma beats Kansas State, the Wildcats would have thre= e=20 losses, including one to Texas A&M. That means the Wildcats would probably= =20 drop to the Insight.com Bowl. And the winner of the UT-A=02?game would go t= o=20 either the Holiday or the Cotton, with the loser going to the Alamo Bowl. T= he=20 Holiday opponent would be either Oregon or Oregon State. The Alamo opponent= =20 would likely be Michigan or Ohio State.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Don't you think Texas has a huge advantage over my Fighting Texas Ag= gies=20 for the following reasons: 1) UT's playing at home; 2) Jason Glenn, Robert= =20 Ferguson, and Sammy Davis, three of the Aggies' best players, are going to = be=20 out for the game; and 3) A&M's coming off a demoralizing loss to Oklahoma i= n=20 the biggest game of the year on a national stage. It will be hard to recove= r=20 from that. It looks as if Texas has everything going for it. I believe if= =20 A=02?would have beaten Oklahoma, there is not any way Texas beats A=02?when= the Big=20 12 south crown is on the line.=20 =09 ?? Justin S. Schwertner=20 =09 =09 BROWN: I don't see the Aggies struggling to come back from the Oklahom= a=20 loss. They played well enough that they probably gained some confidence fro= m=20 that game. The bigger setbacks for the Aggies are the loss (or diminished= =20 ability) of Glenn, Ferguson and Davis. Glenn, the team's sack leader and a= =20 spirited leader at linebacker, is out for sure with a knee injury that will= =20 require surgery. If Ferguson, one of the top receivers in the Big 12, and= =20 Davis, a top cornerback for the Aggies, indeed cannot play, those are big= =20 hurdles to overcome for A&M. Playing in Austin helps Texas. But this game= =20 will probably come down to who runs the ball best. Look for this to be a=20 showdown between Ja'Mar Toombs and Hodges Mitchell.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09[IMAGE]=20 =09Roy Williams =20 =09 =09Q: I thought Roy Williams was good before the Kansas game, but he looked= like=20 he might have played himself into some postseason awards against the=20 Jayhawks.=20 =09?? Steve Jansen=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Williams caught four passes for 180 yards - all in the first ha= lf.=20 Imagine if UT had kept throwing to him in the second half. He did have a=20 35-yard reverse for a touchdown (in the second half) for his first rushing = TD=20 as a Longhorn. But perhaps the =09 =09 most amazing stats involving Williams right now are that his seven TD= =20 receptions this season have averaged 47.6 yards. Five of those TD catches= =20 came when Texas was behind or tied. The other two came when UT was holding= =20 narrow three-point and seven-point leads and provided oomph on the way to= =20 victories. He may end up on some All-Big 12 second teams because Kansas=20 State's Quincy Morgan and A&M's Robert Ferguson have been pretty good this= =20 season. Williams will certainly land on any all-newcomer teams, however.=20 Williams ranks first among true freshmen in NCAA Division I-A in receiving= =20 yards (724), TD catches (7) and yards per catch (20.1). He ranks second=20 nationally among true freshmen in receptions per game (36).=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: I hate to complain about anything after such a good win, but what's = the=20 story behind our soft defense on opening drives? It seems that it takes a= =20 series or two for us to settle in. Is every team we play coming out in some= =20 strange offense that we haven't seen on film or something? After the first= =20 drive (adjustments?), we generally shut everyone down (with a couple of=20 obvious exceptions). Why can't we 3-and-out other teams like they do us on= =20 opening drives?=20 =09?? Cody Anderson, Houston=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Mack Brown has talked all season about how he tells his team to= be=20 prepared for an opposing team's "opening surge." He said he warned his team= =20 about a possible opening surge by Oklahoma before that game, and sure enoug= h,=20 the opening surge became a game-long surge. Warning about the opposing team= 's=20 opening surge has begged the question: Why shouldn't Texas be more concerne= d=20 about creating their own opening surge on both offense and defense? So far,= =20 the Longhorns have seemed to be prone to the opposing team's "opening surge= "=20 before settling down.=20 =09? =09 =09 Q: Who's fault is it for the drops on short passes from Chris Simms? Is= it=20 Simms' fault for throwing too hard, or the receivers for not being able to= =20 catch a ball with zip?=20 =09?? Lawrence Martin=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Simms said he is going to start taking something off of those= =20 passes. He said he doesn't even think about it. He said he just throws it,= =20 not realizing that some of the those short, dump passes are being thrown wi= th=20 the velocity of a Roger Clemens' fastball. Simms said he then walks over to= =20 the sidelines and hears people saying, "Can you throw it any harder?" So lo= ok=20 for Simms to tone down the heat on some of those short passes. His deep=20 passes, however, were phenomenal against Kansas. Just the right zip.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: How long has the Texas-Texas A=02?game not been played on Thanksgivi= ng?=20 =09?? Pete Barnes=20 =09 =09 BROWN: UT and A=02?have not met on Thanksgiving for seven straight yea= rs=20 (including this one). The UT-A=02?game has been hosted 60 times on Thanksgi= ving=20 Day. The last four have been played on the Friday following Thanksgiving.= =20 Texas is 27-18-3 in non-Thanksgiving Day contests vs. A&M. The last time th= e=20 two teams met on Turkey Day was 1993.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Someone was telling me that Texas holds the record for players taken= in=20 the NFL draft, is that right?=20 =09?? Randall=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Yes. Texas has had a player drafted in an NFL-record 63 straigh= t NFL=20 drafts.=20 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to subscri= be,=20 sign up at: Newsletter Registration=20 =09 =09To find or change your password, modify your account, or unsubscribe fro= m=20 this newsletter, go to: Newsletter Registration =20 =09 =09Questions? Comments? Suggestions? =20 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 © Copyright 2000 The Dallas Morning News=20 =09=09[IMAGE]=09 =09=09=09 =09=09=09 [IMAGE] =09=09=09 [IMAGE] =09=09=09 [IMAGE] =09=09=09
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