Introducing 2013 In The Huddle: Texas

It gives me great pleasure to introduce the fine readers of BON to 2013 In The Huddle - Texas, which is now in it's second year with Lindy's and available online at that link and in magazine retailers across the state. I'm lucky enough to provide that introduction because our founder here at BON, Peter Bean, passed the editorial duties along to me this year.

As it always has been, ITH: Texas is 112 glossy pages of beautiful pictures, stats, and the same informative, incisive content you can count on at BON and have come to expect from previous editions of the magazine.

This is a magazine by diehard Longhorn fans for Longhorn fans. In fact, many of the writers for the magazine you know from their contributions here and at Barking Carnival. First-time contributors like Blake Borron (GoHornsGo90) and Michael Pelech (formerly The Audit Horn) got their starts on BON and did pieces for the magazine. Other contributors include BC stalwarts like Ian Boyd (Nickel Rover), Steve Ross (srr50), and help from Scott Gerlach (Longhorn Scott). Even non-BON/BC writers like Trey Scott and Kris Hughes should be familiar to those who are active on Twitter or read Trey's outstanding work at The Daily Texan or in Horns Illustrated.

Suffice it to say that not only are many of these voices familiar to voracious readers of the sister sites, but I also believe them to be among the best anywhere. The multi-hour conversation I had with Scott to do my piece on Major Applewhite's offense was the most intensive discussion of scheme I've ever had and reading Ian's technical piece gave me tremendous insight into the intricacies of Manny Diaz's schemes.

Then there is Trey's excellent piece on DBU, which includes quotes from defensive back coach Duane Akina himself and historical perspective from former Texas defensive back Rod Babers, among others. And Steve's farewell to Texas legend Darrell K Royal is a moving tribute that illuminates, through his own words, why he was so tremendously successful, as well as why he walked away when he did.

I could keep going and stop myself only at the risk of giving too much away and spoiling the excitement that always comes from opening up the magazine and taking that first perusal through the table of contents.

Just know that even though the last couple years have been hard and it's hard to feel completely optimistic about this team, this isn't a magazine for sunshine-pumping. It should leave you feeling better about Texas' chances this season, but it won't do so at the expense of maintaining the objective distance necessary to deeply assess where the program stands.

Hope y'all enjoy -- this was truly a labor of love.