Texas Longhorns legend Ricky Williams interviews head coach Charlie Strong in the above Longhorn Network clip. In the one-on-one segment, which took place almost exactly two years after the first time Williams interviewed Strong, the two go over some of the most pressing issues of the offseason. Here are Strong's answers on a few of those issues.
On putting the 'T' back into Texas
"It wasn't so much about a coaching change," Strong says. "I think about the coach that I followed and the unbelievable job he did here. The culture was in place. Even when I said 'put the 'T' back into Texas' it was more about coming together as a team."
Strong added that it's about dropping egos and coming together as a team once the players get on campus.
On Sophomore LB Malik Jefferson
"He was a five-star (recruit), but Malik has never acted like a five-star since he's been here. He plays like it, but he doesn't walk around like we owe him anything. He carries himself like he's just like everyone else. 'Maybe I was a five-star, maybe I wasn't, but it's all about me helping this team.'"
On new OC Sterlin Gilbert and his up-tempo offense
"It is an up-tempo offense now," Strong says. "If I give (Gilbert) 15 minutes, I'm going to get anywhere between 40 to 50 plays in. We're going to be on the ball and it's going to be — as soon as that official moves out of the way the ball is being snapped."
On what everyone wants to know — the quarterback situation
"(Shane) Buechele, he's a quarterback and he's been in this offense before so he really understands it," Strong says. "He's like a gym rat. He really studies the game, and it's amazing. If you walked down that hall right now he might be somewhere hanging out in the office."
Strong added that the players have picked up on Buechele's abilities, and that senior quarterback Tyrone Swoopes says competing against Buechele makes him a better signal caller.
So does he have a chance to see significant playing time this fall?
"Buechele? Oh God yes," Strong says. "Yes, he will play in the fall. Yes, he will play."
On meeting the standard of excellence at Texas
"I don't feel like we've played up to our ability, that we've coached up to our ability," Strong says. "You don't ever want to lower the standard, you want to continue to build on it. That's what we have to do, we have to move it. There's no reason why we can't."
"We were 6-7 and we were 5-7 (over the last two seasons) and we were able to go manage two top-10 recruiting classes. That speaks volumes about how hard our coaches are working to get players in here."