One of the biggest offseason stories for the Texas Longhorns is new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Sterlin Gilbert. Hired away from the Tulsa Golden Hurricane following a drawn-out process, Gilbert brings his speedy offense to the Forty Acres in the hopes of scoring a lot more points in 2016.
The emphasis on speed is obvious in Gilbert's mic'd up clip from the Longhorn Network, which you can watch above. His commands include "Balls up and away, fast decisions today," "Be fast with your feet," "Make a fast decision," "Speed it up," and "Be in rhythm."
"We get a lot of reps in per day," Gilbert says. "Video is obviously what we coach off of a lot. Just being able to coach kids on the fly, coach them on the move — fix it then and then get them in the video the next day and get them fixed as well."
Head coach Charlie Strong also talked about Gilbert's approach during a recent press conference, saying "we just want to be an up-tempo team that can move the football, get first downs and be exciting to watch."
Gilbert, 37, was born in San Antonio and played quarterback for Division II Angelo State. He was also a head coach at the high school level for San Angelo Lake View High and Temple High before moving on to the college game.
"I'm a Texas high school football coach," Sterling said during a press conference after he was hired at UT. "To be able to stand here today is very important to me. I've gotten numerous texts, numerous calls from guys I've coached with, guys that I've networked with, guys that I know throughout the state of Texas that are very excited about this. They're very excited about the process and helping get the University of Texas back where it needs to be."