Texas HC Charlie Strong provides updates on first scrimmage, spring practice

After the team's first spring scrimmage on Saturday, Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong met with the media to share his thoughts on the scrimmage and Tuesday's practice.

-- During the Saturday scrimmage, play calling was split between offensive coordinator/offensive line coach Joe Wickline and assistant head coach for the offense/quarterbacks coach Shawn Watson.

-- Conditioning may still be an issue for the team, as Strong said that "guys quit competing" towards the end of the scrimmage. Some of that may have been defensively -- the Texas head coach told that defense that they didn't want to tackle running back Malcolm Brown.

-- Among the players cited as having stepped up in the scrimmage were defensive tackles Malcom Brown and Desmond Jackson, linebacker Steve Edmond, and defensive backs Josh Turner and Duke Thomas.

-- Strong also confirmed talk that Darius James has been working at tackle, saying that he'll get a longer look because of the absence of Kent Perkins, who recently underwent successful knee surgery following his recent injury.

-- The effort on Tuesday was also lacking at times, as Strong said that he stopped practice and started it over again because he didn't like what he saw. "They'll have days like this where they come to punch the clock. We're not a good enough team to just punch the clock," he said.

-- The comments from Strong about the end of the scrimmage and starting practice over again on Tuesday are both signs that the head coach won't mince words in press conference if he's not impressed with the progress of the team. On the flip side, that indicates that when he is complimentary, it's not just coach-speak trying to build up his team publicly, the type of honesty that seems to define Strong as a person and a coach.

-- The continued need for growth on both sides of the ball was made apparent by Strong when he stated that he doesn't think the offense is ahead of the defense or vice versa.

-- Along with dropping passes, Daje Johnson still has to work on his ball security, according to Strong. Still, getting the ball in his hands will remain a priority for the offense because he's such an exciting player.