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TEXAS LONGHORNS
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10 things you'll see in the home opener
NSAN
By David R. Henry Daily Texan
AUSTIN, Texas — A sub-par opponent. A holiday weekend. Pretty much the same team returning for Texas from last season. There sure doesn't seem to be any reason to attend Saturday night's season opener against Louisiana Monroe. So go ahead and skip it and come back for the first real game of the season against Texas Tech on Sept. 19. But if you go, here is a list of the top 10 things to watch in Texas' season opener.
D. J. Monroe — The Longhorns went the entire 2008 season without a true speed threat. Blink and you'll miss this 100-meter dash State Champion.
Dan Buckner — The coaching staff had been playing the 6-foot-4-inch receiver on the outside at split end and he hadn't been producing, but then they started using him as the flex tight end. Buckner has emerged as a threat down the middle.
New turf - See how much faster the game gets with the new artificial turf. At the same time, we'll get a chance to see whether it leads to more injuries.
Sam Acho - The talk of the defense has been Sergio Kindle, but Acho has gotten
bigger and stronger, and has emerged as the starter at the defensive end position opposite Kindle.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Stadium upgrades The south and north end zone projects are complete, there is a new grand entrance to the stadium and there are new options in the north end zone food court.
Garrett Gilbert — The next great quarterback for UT will play in the first game of the year as Colt McCoy's backup. Everyone wants to see how the five-star recruit from Lake Travis High School does.
- Christian Scot vs. Blake Gideon — Both are battling for the right safety spot.
Texas senior quarterback Colt McCoy congratulates running back Fozzy Whittaker after a successful pass during the Longhorns team practice in Austin, Texas. With upgrades to its stadium and additions to its team, Texas is expected to have no trouble in its first game.
New packages on defense — The Longhorns are going to have more packages which feature three down linemen in order to put more speed on the field and stop spread offenses.
Keeping up with the Sooners? — Last season when Oklahoma ran up the score, Texas' coach called off the dogs. See if his approach changes this season.
More play under center — McCoy will take more snaps from under center and the Longhorns will run their no-huddle offense at a faster tempo.
Coach keeps momentum with early practice
TEXAS A&M AGGIES
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson carries the ball in a game against Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Okla. A&M coach Mike Sherman has been pushing players at practice to improve on last season's 4-8 finish.
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
By Brad Cox The Battalion
COLLEGE STATION, Texas Texas A&M's season opener may be getting closer, but that does not mean the practices are getting any easier.
A&M coach Mike Sherman had the team up early Monday for its first practice since the end of fall camp. Dubbing fall practices a return of the Junction Boys days, Sherman kept the momentum going into the first game week and had players doing conditioning by 6 a.m.
"I think any time you get 18-to-22-year-olds up at six o'clock it's hard to expect them to be totally excited," Sherman said. "I wanted to run them before we practiced so they had to practice tired for a little bit. After running the gassers they were pretty competitive."
While some players, like junior quarterback Rodro Johnson, enjoy the morning practices, others struggle with the early hours.
"I came to realize regardless of what time I go to bed, I'm tired when I wake up," said
sophomore receiver Jeff Fuller.
The Aggies are fighting to push a 4-8 2008 season into the past and to move forward with a new legacy. Sherman's first season was characterized by a season opening loss to a Football Championship Subdivision team, Arkansas State.
After the loss to the Red Wolves, A&M went on the road to New Mexico and won 28-22.
The difference between the 2008 New Mexico team and the 2009 New Mexico team is a new coaching staff led by Mike Locksley, who replaced Rocky Long in December after Long stepped down following the 2008 season.
Sherman said it will not be a luxury to face New Mexico a second year in a row because of the changes the team saw from year to year.
"Because of where the coach is from, we've spent a lot of time looking at Illinois;" Sherman said. "But you have to realize any coach is going to adapt their scheme to fit their players so we have to put a little bit into that as well. It's a little of a hodgepodge of
Johnson, then a sophomore, made his debut against the Lobos in 2008 after quarterback Stephen McGee suffered an injury to his shoulder. Johnson will start Saturday after winning a battle for the position against sophomore Ryan Tannehill.
research that we do."
The 2009 team has 15 freshmen listed on the depth chart,notably freshman running back Christine Michael and receiver Ryan Swope,who will handle kick returns.
"I want their first experience at Kyle Field to be a win," Johnson said about the large freshman class. "There will be a lot of young guys playing and I want it to be a blast for them. I want them to be as comfortable as quick as they can."
With a 2-5 home record in 2008, the Aggies had its worst season at Kyle Field since 1972, when the A&M squad lost four of its five home games.
"I think last year it's one of the things we didn't stress enough is winning at Kyle Field," Johnson said. "We've got to get that home field advantage back."
THE WAVE SEPTEMBER 4,2009