At 6-2, 319 pounds, Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Patrick Vahe can be a pretty intimidating guy himself. But even he says he was scared of 'Horns Head Coach Charlie Strong at first.
"Seeing Coach Strong and the way that he wants to run his program, I've got a lot to be afraid of," Vahe said in an appearance on the Longhorn Network.
But that quickly wore off once Vahe got to know Strong, describing him as a player's coach. In the above clip, Vahe answers questions about the 'Horns 2016 recruiting class and what it was like for himself as a freshman.
Vahe says the offense under offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert will be very fast and quick, a challenge he's not afraid to tackle.
"We wanted to change how we approach things," he said. "We want to make sure that when we go out, we've got to bring that hype with us. If we bring the hype with us, the coaches will get hype, we'll be hype together. We just want to make things fun again around here."
Vahe started 10 games at right guard last season as a true freshman, which he admits could be scary at times.
"It never slowed down," he said. "I was always afraid of my position being taken away. But I wasn't afraid of who was going to take it away from me, because I knew they were going to play that role that I played. I just wanted to make sure we all got better together."
For the new offensive linemen, Vahe had a simple message.
"I just told them, 'let's ride,'" he said. "That's all I had to tell them. If you come out here, you come out here with us. If we die, we die together."