Brown, Gatewood OUT versus Ohio State

by Peter Bean on Sep 5, 2006 7:32 PM CDT in Texas Longhorns Football

There are lots of sides to this story, but the most important one is that Tarrell Brown made, at the least, a critical error in judgment, one worthy of a suspension. As much as I want him in the game on Saturday - and make no mistake about it, I really want him in - Mack Brown did the right thing.

As much as we've railed on Pete Carroll and others for excusing awful player behavior, we'd be hypocrites to change our war cry now. It was the right thing to do. Life ain't always perfectly fair, and sometimes you catch a bad break or two. It may be that Brown and Gatewood were just guilty of bad judgment - in fact, it appears that's all it was - but life has consequences. You run around at 2:30 with a loaded gun in your lap and dope in your car, there are consequences. Even when the dope ain't yours and the loaded gun is registered.

Tarrell Brown may be a great kid, all things considered. Technically guilty or not, the picture returns. This was pure:

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bad for us

but good decision by Mack and staff. with a win this can all be forgotten. and there will be a win.

by jimmer on Sep 5, 2006 6:32 PM CDT reply actions

who is taking over

for Brown? Erick Jackson? I would think that Chizik might move Ross over to cover Ginn and put Jackson or someone else on Gonzalez or whoever OSU is trumping as "unstoppable". What say you?

by kicker @ Burnt Orange Nation on Sep 5, 2006 6:53 PM CDT reply actions

Palmer and Foster

Erick Jackson is a safety.

Palmer and Foster will get the nod at CB. Brown was our best cover corner, though. This is a big test for the new talent.

by Peter Bean on Sep 5, 2006 6:59 PM CDT up reply actions

Palmer is the fastest

in the secondary clocking a 4.3 forty.

They need a more physical corner anyways. Someone that will bump and run with Ginn and not just hope they can keep up.

Hitting him in the mouth worked last year and it should work again Saturday.

I'm applying to Oxford and the Sorbonne. Harvard's my safety

by EYESofBEVO on Sep 5, 2006 7:08 PM CDT up reply actions

Good descision

And luckily we can spend the rest of the week focusing on the game Saturday instead of this minor distraction any more. No doubt Brown is a valuable asset to the defense, but not detrimental. We can win this game without him.

by orangeblood1 on Sep 5, 2006 6:55 PM CDT reply actions

Timely Decision

I second orangeblood1's comment. Whether you agree or disagree with Mack's decision (I agree), you have to be happy that it was made today. Yesterday was too early and tomorrow or later on this week would have been too late.

Of course the media will still ask the players and coaches about it but at least there is no grey area. It is time to move on. No one has been left in limbo. The coaches are now busy preparing Palmer and Foster for the biggest test of their athletic careers.

--AW--

by awiggo on Sep 5, 2006 7:06 PM CDT reply actions

I agree

Even if he did nothing wrong, which I think is the case, at UT if you get this kind of press, you miss the game, even if it is 1 vs 2.

The Former Harbinger of Deleted Diaries

by Wells on Sep 5, 2006 7:55 PM CDT up reply actions

Good for Mack !

Clear and decisive. Sets a good precedent and a clear message. The horns will just have to find a way to get it done without Brown on Saturday.

by jimjar on Sep 5, 2006 8:27 PM CDT reply actions

it was probably the right call

for Mack b/c I like the fact that our program has higher standards and lives by them, but as a whole i hate victimless crimes. please realize he hurt no one, and violated no one else's rights.

i still feel the "stupidity" poster is too harsh for a longhorns blog. in the end he may not be guilty of anything. as far as we know he could be a good smart kid, who just wanted to hang out w/ his friends after the game.

as other commentators have noted, it wasn't a clear call of right or wrong, like say taking money from a booster, or having your parents live in a free house, selling crack, or beating up a girl. he could have gotten in the car, saw a gun rattling around on the floor, put it in his lap, fallen asleep, and not even known there was pot in the car. although that scenario is unlikely, it is still possible.

if i were longhorn player, i would be pretty pissed to see my teammate's picture on THE UT blog like that. trust me, he is catching enough flack as is. let the tOSU, OUs, and Aggies of the blogosphere give TBrown whatever you feel is his due.

that's the last of it for me, on to the tOSU previews. (what is the html for strikethrough?it is not universal)

Crystal Balls

by MMHorns on Sep 5, 2006 9:25 PM CDT reply actions

Now, wait

It's one thing to talk about the legal side of this and note - correctly, I think - that he was the guilty of a victimless crime.

However, he is also guilty of stupidity. Every college kid, at some point, is, to varying degrees. But as my parents told me what an idiot I was for various things I did, so too do his observers when he does something like this. It was dumb. Pure dumb.

The bigges thing is that he's got so much at stake at this particular moment. And he messed up by his decisions. He'll be fine, and he's not (by the accounts I've heard) a bad kid AT ALL. Still, this was stupid.

Maybe it's harsh. But with the tough love also comes the uber-loving, which we've been giving him as a hero on our football team. It's all part of it.

No?

by Peter Bean on Sep 5, 2006 9:29 PM CDT up reply actions

Stupid

what did he do that was stupid, but get in that car? Would you have walked home from middle of no where?

The Former Harbinger of Deleted Diaries

by Wells on Sep 5, 2006 9:36 PM CDT up reply actions

tough love?

it is your blog, but it is one thing to say what he did was stupid (even though I don't think it was really that dumb) and another to post his face dead center on the blog with a huge STUPIDITY under it. that's not tough love, that is a cheap shot.

either way PB - it's just one longhorn's opinion. let's get back to blogging about the first regular season #1 v. #2 matchup in 10 years. HOOK'EM!!

Crystal Balls

by MMHorns on Sep 5, 2006 10:59 PM CDT up reply actions