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=09 =09 =09[IMAGE] =09 =09 =09Posturing before the big game=20 =09=20 =09Nov. 23, 2000=20 =09=20 =09 =09[IMAGE]Chip Brown, who covers Texas football for The Dallas Morning News= ,=20 answers your questions about the A=02?game, recruits and commitments, Chris= =20 Simms and more. Inside UT Football 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 =09There is so much information being pumped out this week surrounding the= =20 Texas-Texas A=02?game, here is some of what both schools are releasing to t= he=20 media in effort to bolster their team's image:=20 =09 =09 Texas A=02?is taking bragging rights over the 1990s after a 94-28-2 rec= ord for=20 the decade. The Aggies won nine or more games eight times and 10 or more=20 games five times in the 1990s.=20 =09 =09 They are touting their 94 victories in the 1990s as more than any Texas= =20 school in any single decade. The former record for wins in a decade was 88 = by=20 Darrell Royal and Fred Akers' Texas teams in the 1970s.=20 =09 =09 Here's the list being promoted by the Aggies: 1. Texas A&M, 1990s, 94. = 2.=20 Texas, 1970s, 88. 3. Texas, 1960s, 86. 4. Texas Christian, 1930s, 83. 5.=20 Houston, 1970s, 80.=20 =09 =09 Texas fans, on the other hand, can probably take comfort in the only=20 statistic that matters concerning the Aggies: UT leads the overall series,= =20 67-34-5.=20 =09 =09 =09 =09=20 =09Longhorn Q & A=20 =09 Q: What is the latest on the Texas QB situation?=20 =09 ?? Ted Manges=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Chris Simms will start Friday. He took nearly all the snaps for= the=20 first five practices during which UT worked on the A=02?game plan. Major=20 Applewhite's right knee appears to be responding pretty well. He practiced= =20 Tuesday for the first time since getting injured at Texas Tech. Mack Brown= =20 said if Applewhite is healthy enough to back up Simms, he would use=20 Applewhite on a need-to-win-the-game basis. Those situations would seem to= =20 include Simms getting hurt or Simms being completely ineffective. Otherwise= ,=20 look for Simms to play most or all of Friday's game.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09[IMAGE]=20 =09Kenny Hayter =20 =09 =09Q: Next year, when Hodges Mitchell is gone, will Texas play Kenny Hayter= or =20 freshman Cedric Benson? Why?=20 =09?? Cotton Davis=20 =09 =09 BROWN: I think it's too early to tell. If Benson is as good as adverti= sed,=20 I think he'll have a good chance of playing early because Kenny Hayter, Iva= n=20 Williams and Victor Ike did not overwhelm the coaches this season. But Snee= zy=20 Beltran will be coming off of a redshirt season, too. And he'll probably ha= ve=20 a say in how much playing time anyone gets.=20 =09 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Can you give us an update on injuries? ??=20 =09 =09 BROWN: TE Brock Edwards (leg), DT Stevie Lee (foot) and WR Artie Ellis= =20 (shin) are out. SS Lee Jackson (hamstring) and QB Major Applewhite (knee) a= re=20 questionable. For A&M, LB Jason Glenn (knee), the Aggies leader in sacks, i= s=20 out. WR Robert Ferguson (ankle) and CB Sammy Davis (ankle) both did not=20 practice Tuesday for the Aggies and were listed as questionable.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: I sent you a question last week about the intensity and "hate" that = the=20 Horns didn't have for the OU game and was wondering if Coach Brown: a) thin= ks=20 he made a mistake by having the players take the OU game so lightly with=20 comments like "...we don't hate OU..." and "... it's just another game on t= he=20 schedule..." and, b) is that the attitude that will prevail going into the= =20 A=02?game, and in future OU games?=20 =09?? Joe Rushing=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Mack Brown and his staff are not an in-your-face group of coach= es.=20 Players say that they are treated with respect. Make no mistake, they know= =20 their jobs are on the line every day in practice. They know if they don't= =20 perform in practice, they will be replaced. But SS Greg Brown said that Mac= k=20 Brown has never given a "hell hath no fury" locker room talk, before, durin= g=20 or after a game. Greg Brown said that Mack simply states what's on the line= =20 for each game and expects the players to find their own way to motivate=20 themselves. Mack has said that as well. He said he asks players what works= =20 for them best: whether it be the tough-love approach or the straightforward= =20 approach. He has said constant yelling wears off. So he doesn't play head= =20 games with his team. According to coaches and players from his time as OU= =20 offensive coordinator back in 1984, Mack used to be a much more in-your-fac= e=20 kind of coach, yelling at players to get them going. Coach Barry Switzer ha= d=20 to tone him down. Brown said he has learned that you can't be negative with= =20 players, that you have to treat them with respect. I don't know that you wi= ll=20 hear him talk about hating other teams.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Looking at the haul of recruits Texas already has commitments from, = is=20 there an area of need not being addressed? It appears that this is quite a= =20 haul of offensive linemen, so it looks like a lot of redshirts in the makin= g.=20 If he signs, what will Quan Cosby be asked to do? Doesn't he have a twin=20 brother - and is that a factor on where he signs? When all is said and done= ,=20 where do you think this class will rank come signing day in February and=20 which of the potential signees, not orally committed, will most determine= =20 where that rank ends up? Also, with Sneezy Beltran coming off a redshirt ye= ar=20 and from what I am reading, an impressive one at that, what do you see in t= he=20 future for Cedric Benson? What about the returning RBs such as Ivan William= s,=20 Kenny Hayter, et al? Is the abundance of talent at RB a good thing or too= =20 much of a good thing? And one last thing: Is anyone looking to transfer aft= er=20 the season?=20 =09?? Roy Cassas=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Quarterbacks and linemen (on both sides of the ball) control th= e=20 game, so you can never have enough of those positions. UT is filling its=20 needs nicely with the commitments that it has. The player that can probably= =20 make the biggest difference is Tommie Harris of Killeen Ellison, perhaps th= e=20 best defensive tackle in the country. UT's class is shaping up as a top 10= =20 nationally, again. If Harris comes, it will climb. But as is the case with= =20 all of this recruiting hype, it's just that - hype. Who knows if Cedric=20 Benson will play next year? He has to come down here in the heat of August= =20 and prove to the coaches that he's better than Kenny Hayter, Ivan Williams,= =20 Victor Ike and Sneezy Beltran. I would say Benson's chances are good if som= e=20 of those guys don't toughen up and let loose. But time will tell. As far as= =20 guys looking to transfer, there aren't any rumblings yet. Stay tuned.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09[IMAGE]=20 =09UT's road uniforms =20 =09 =09Q: I can say this because I am a graduate of the University of Texas: I = think=20 the Longhorn football team has the UGLIEST uniform in all of college=20 football. When the Horns play on the road, they have too much white and not= =20 enough color. They wear the ugliest black football shoes and those long sol= id=20 white socks are atrocious. It looks like each player can dress anyway he=20 desires, there is no uniformity in the look. Some players don't even wear= =20 socks at all. It seems =20 =09 =09the coaches let each player express their own individuality, and I think= they=20 play like a bunch of individuals instead of as a team. Coach McWilliams let= =20 this trend start and it has continued through the current regime with poor= =20 results. The orange home jerseys are not the right color orange, and they= =20 look cheap. I wish Coach Brown would adopt a true burnt orange color. I wis= h=20 he would change the helmets to the same burnt orange color with a white=20 traditional Longhorn logo on each side and a white facemask. Shirttails=20 should be tucked in and each player should be dressed the same. Few=20 indicators of individuality should be allowed. The Longhorns look ragtag an= d=20 slow on the field. If they would improve their image, their play might=20 improve as well. =20 =09 ?? John Robert Pharr, Waco, Texas=20 =09 =09 BROWN: That seemed to be more of a comment than a question. But everyo= ne is=20 entitled to their own opinion. I don't know about the burnt orange helmets.= =20 That might be a little too much of a good thing.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Do you think that the loss to OU will hurt our recruiting class? I k= now=20 that we tend to compete for the same players and that they had their recrui= ts=20 at the Cotton Bowl (since they were the home team). =20 =09?? T. Franks, Austin =20 =09 =09 BROWN: It appears that Oklahoma is making some serious inroads on UT= =20 recruiting territory, at least for the 10 or so recruits the Longhorns stil= l=20 hope to get orally committed. Namely, Tommie Harris, the defensive tackle o= ut=20 of Killeen Ellison. Texas needs to take care of business on Friday to keep= =20 the Sooners from stepping up their pitch for some of the noncommitted kids = UT=20 is hoping to sign.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: The lack of respect Texas is getting leading up to the A=02?game is= =20 disturbing. I understand that the Horns were crushed against OU and also ha= d=20 an early-season loss against Stanford on the road, but even with the stats= =20 from those two losses, the Horns have one of the nation's top 5 defensive= =20 units, plus we are playing at home and are riding the confidence of five=20 consecutive wins.=20 =09 ?? Derrick Jackson, Coppell, Texas=20 =09 =09 BROWN: Well, Texas is a 5-1/2 point favorite, so I don't know where th= e=20 lack of respect comes from. But I think people are lukewarm about UT becaus= e=20 the Longhorns haven't had a chance to show how much they've improved agains= t=20 a quality opponent - until now. The Longhorns need to go out and grind the= =20 Aggies into the ground to get the nation's attention. And I think they will= .=20 I'm predicting Texas 31, A=02?21.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09 =09[IMAGE]=20 =09Quentin Jammer =20 =09 =09Q: What are the key matchups in Friday's game?=20 =09?? Lucas Harrington=20 =09 =09 BROWN: In think the best matchups will be MLB De'Andre Lewis against A= &M's=20 corps of running backs, namely Ja'Mar Toombs. Also keep an eye on Quentin= =20 Jammer against A=02?WR Robert Ferguson. Lewis basically said this week that= if=20 you hit Toombs in the mouth, he'll fold. So that immediately inspires some= =20 interest in that matchup. Jammer also had a lot to say about Ferguson,=20 stating that if =20 =09 =09Ferguson's ankle wasn't 100 percent, it might not even be a close matchu= p.=20 "If he's 50 percent or 75 percent, that won't cut it," Jammer said. Jammer= =20 did say that he thought a healthy Ferguson was better than Kansas State WR= =20 Quincy Morgan. Jammer and Ferguson are both big, roughly 6-1 and 205 pounds= .=20 Should be fun to watch.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Is Texas A=02?a legitimate passing team after all these years of try= ing to=20 air out the ball and not being able to?=20 =09?? Stephen Torrence=20 =09 =09 BROWN: I think so. It seems hard to believe. After Branndon Stewart an= d all=20 the hype about building a big-time passing offense the past several years,= =20 it's finally hit College Station. The Aggies run four-wide, even five-wide.= =20 They have trick plays, and Robert Ferguson, Bethel Johnson and Chris Taylor= =20 are big-time receivers. And 25-year-old QB Mark Farris is the gritty leader= =20 and 60 percent passer they have been looking for. I think it will be a dece= nt=20 test for Texas, owner of the nation's No. 1-ranked pass efficiency defense.= =20 =09? =09 =09 Q: Why does Texas keep throwing that out pattern and allowing Chris Sim= ms to=20 be intercepted for touchdowns?=20 =09?? Margie Phillips=20 =09 =09 BROWN: I'll let Mack Brown answer that one: "It's not the same pass or= we=20 would throw it out of the playbook. We're not that dumb." That was his=20 comment Tuesday night on his radio show.=20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: Do you think Chris Simms is ready for the pressure of the Texas A=02= ?game?=20 =09?? Deginald Franks=20 =09 =09 BROWN: I think so. Simms seemed to grow in confidence after the Kansas= =20 game. Getting the chance to pull the Longhorns out of a 14-0 hole after=20 throwing a pick for a TD really seemed to give him a positive jolt. Normall= y,=20 he would have been pulled at that point for Major Applewhite - at least he= =20 would have been pulled early in the season (a la Louisiana-Lafayette). So= =20 getting the chance to play an entire game seemed to help. I believe Simms= =20 will be fine on Friday. He must feel good about his deep ball to Roy Willia= ms=20 after the success they had at Kansas. I would expect to see a lot more of= =20 that, creating room for Hodges Mitchell to run against a depleted A=02?fron= t=20 seven. =20 =09? =09 =09 =09 Q: I heard that this is only the ninth time that Texas and Texas A=02?a= re both=20 ranked coming into this game. That doesn't seem right.=20 =09?? Brock Marshal=20 =09 =09 BROWN: It doesn't seem right, but it is. Of the 107 times these two te= ams=20 have met (including this year), both have been ranked only nine times. Thos= e=20 years are 2000, 1999, 1995, 1985, 1977, 1975, 1974, 1943 and 1941.=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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