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As Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong publicly wonders when his team will demonstrate the necessary pride to return to national prominence, two players went at in practice on Saturday in a video clip posted to Twitter by Killeen Shoemaker defensive end Rahssan Thornton:
Watched practice today while at the relays! pic.twitter.com/Qs0h1kfa6C
— Rahssan L. Thornton (@Raymeen_) March 28, 2015
The Horns were in pads for the first time since the embarrassing loss to Arkansas in the Texas Bowl and the players clearly needed to hit someone.
Strong consistently preaches high effort in every practices, so junior linebacker Tim Cole and sophomore tight end Blake Whiteley mixing it up after a play won't disappoint him. Both players are competing for playing time and trying to send a message to the coaching staff that they deserve an opportunity this fall.
In the ongoing culture change at Texas, moments like these could represent forward momentum for a football program that desperately needs it.