Longhorns and Huskies: Welcome to the Future

Why would anyone pair the Washington Huskies and the Texas Longhorns together? These two teams haven’t met since Major Applewhite was behind center in a dramatic win for Texas at the Holiday Bowl. For starters, both programs have suffered a bit of defeat over the past few years. The Huskies, after the Rick Neuheisel era and the Longhorns during the end of Mack Browns tenure. While their prestige and losing records differ it’s what they’re building towards and the similarities in the program that brought this article about.

Washington Huskies

From 2003-2009 the Washington Huskies put up an impressive 23-60 record with 0 bowl game appearances. Isaiah Stanback not getting his last snap against USC and a blocked extra point against BYU were just a couple of heartbreaks Husky nation endured during those years. Many of those games were blowouts but those small opportunities where it seemed like the season could be turned around only to walk away with a loss made those in Seattle wonder if the team would ever return to its old form.

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Top in state recruits didn’t attend UW, Taylor Mays went to USC, Jonathan Stewart played for rival Oregon and Brandon Gibson snuck by to Washington State. It’s not that Washington wasn’t recruiting, it’s that they couldn’t and that year after year the top players that Washington would end up with either never played or couldn’t work with the system being ran. In 2009 the Huskies were able to hire Steve Sarkisian who was able to put the program back on track with 3 bowl game appearances from 2010-2013. In Sarkisians first 2 seasons he took down USC and vaulted the Huskies to wins over ranked Cal and Oregon State. In his 2nd season he took the Huskies to the post season and defeated Nebraska in the Holiday Bowl. Sarkisian hit a bit of a lull against the competition and won the easy games but found himself out-of-place in the tougher games from his 3rd season up until he left. Initially looked at as the coach of the future the Huskies dodged a bullet with Sarkisian leaving at the end of the 2013 season. While the scars of Sarkisian have healed at the time many of the players, recruits and fans felt betrayed and disrespected

Yet through the darkness came light. Just a few days after Steve Sarkisians departure, the University of Washington announced the hiring of Chris Petersen. At Boise State Chris Petersen accrued a 92-12 record including 8 straight bowl game appearances. In those 8 bowl games Petersen took down Oklahoma, an undefeated TCU team and even the Huskies.

Oct 17, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; Washington Huskies head coach Chris Petersen speaks with his players during the second quarter against the Oregon Ducks at Husky Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jennifer Buchanan-USA TODAY Sports

What Petersen brings aside from his near perfect record is experience, prestige and recruits. What Petersen did at Boise State with  walk-ons, 2 and 3 star recruits was incredible. Upgrade his resources from a hot plate to a gas grill and watch him cook. In his first season the Huskies went 8-6 which wasn’t a drop off at all from the above average Sarkisian days. They ended up losing to Oklahoma State in the ever inspiring Cactus Bowl but an otherwise good start to a new era.

Texas Longhorns

I think all of us remember where we were when Vince Young ran into the endzone for the final score against USC. It was probably the greatest national championship game of all time and even today the game brings back old memories and similar excitement all over again. 4 years later the National Champions returned to the big stage but without the help of Colt McCoy and a freshman taking snaps against a first team all-american defense in Alabama the results weren’t the same. It was after that game that the flaws of Texas would be revealed and years of future promise would have to be put on hold.

Mack Brown arrived in Austin, Texas in 1998 after 10 successful years at the University of North Carolina. From 1998-2009 Mack Brown enjoyed a productive 128-27 record in Austin which brought him to 2 National Championships going 1-1 in both games. Brown sent a number of players to the NFL with the names of Vince Young, Jamaal Charles, Earl Thomas, Michael Griffin, Derrick Johnson, Brian Orakpo, Cedric Benson and Brian Robison to name a few. The Longhorns lived under a joyous tenure during those years and constantly found themselves among the top of the rankings if they weren’t playing for the national championship. Brown also won 10 out of his 15 bowl game appearances as a coach at Texas.

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What failed at Texas for Mack Brown was recruiting. Garrett Gilbert was the start to the end. One would think being thrown into the National Championship game at 18 would create a buzzing confidence going into next season but that wasn’t the case. Gilbert struggled and failed to live up to his 5 star hype that he came to Texas with, the former Gatorade National Player of the Year looked more like an inspired water boy in the 2010 season. It was the first losing season in Mack Browns 15 year career and the only year he didn’t make a bowl game.

Although Brown never experienced another season of less than 8 wins after the 5 win year it was the fact that the Longhorns, a national pride and ranked as Forbes Most Valuable College Football Team, weren’t playing like it. When you’re at Texas you win, plain and simple. Just like Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama and USC if you can’t coach your team into the top 25 you won’t find yourself there. Mack Brown resigned on December 14th, 2013 just 4 years removed from a National Championship appearance and top 3 recruiting classes in 2010, 2011 and 2012.

Oct 10, 2015; Dallas, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns head coach Charlie Strong celebrates winning the game against the Oklahoma Sooners during the Red River rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium. Texas won 24-17. Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

After Mack Brown retired the entire process came to light. The players who were being recruited weren’t the top of the line players that one would expect, especially at the QB position. The Longhorns missed out on great college QBs like Andrew Luck, RGIII and Johnny Manziel. The players that were already on the team had a sense of entitlement and expected to win simply because they were Texas. Charlie Strong was hired to change that sentiment and to bring in a revamped era of winning for the burnt orange. At Louisville, Strong amassed a 37-15 record and brought Louisville to the spotlight for the first time since Brian Brohm and Michael Bush were in the backfield. He earned credibility for developing players such as Teddy Bridgewater, Devante Parker, Preston Smith, Jamon Brown and Calvin Pryor. In 2014 the Longhorn program experienced not having a single player drafted since 1937 and only one player, Jackson Jeffcoat, was projected with a draftable grade.

Strong’s first season at Texas went as expected, he was caught between the pride filled roster he had acquired and the pressure of winning at a big time program. He ended his first season at 6-7 and with a blowout loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks in the infamous “Texas Bowl”. The Texas program didn’t look like the old program it once was but the culture has needed time to change. The players that once felt entitlement are no longer on the team which has essentially given Strong a blank slate to work with.

The Tie in..

Both schools hired new coaches in December of 2013 which means both are in their second year and looking to create an impact in their third. Both of these programs are proud, Texas on a national level, Washington on more of a local level. For the Huskies being ranked is just as important but the battles that are endured through the Pac-12 mean even more. Losing to Oregon and Cal are much more painful than losing to Boise State. The Huskies (3-3) are riding on a lot of young talent, their QB Jake Browning is only a true freshman as well as lead back Myles Gaskin. Gaskin is a product of my former stomping grounds by way of O’dea High School. Head Football Coach Monte Kohler has been at O’dea since the late 80’s and has produced over 20 league championships to go along with 3 state titles. Gaskin is another one of Coach Kohlers players that has started a career as a top recruit and is proving every week why he should’ve been. As true freshmen both Gaskin and Browning are gaining  needed experience early on and they continue to show their growth as the season progresses. Browning is completing 62% of his passes and has thrown for over 1300 yards while Gaskin is 24 inches away from 500 yards on the season.

Oct 8, 2015; Los Angeles, CA, USA; The Washington Huskies players celebrate defeating the Southern California Trojans 17-12 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Let’s run over to Texas (2-4), also a very young team with another young QB. The Longhorns have been stung with misfortune through special teams this season. A missed extra point against Cal and a dropped punt against Oklahoma State could very well be the difference between 2-4 and 4-2. Blowout losses to Notre Dame and TCU look bad, but you can only expect so much from a young team. True freshman Malik Jefferson is the starting MIKE linebacker on a defense that features a rotation of players that aren’t draft eligible. Most of the experience for the defense is 0-2 years and the ones that are in their 3rd or 4th year had to learn a new system when Strong arrived. The biggest difference for this team from last year and the Notre Dame game is the QB position. Redshirt Freshman Jerrod Heard is the opposite of the pocket passing Browning but that’s not to say he’s any less successful. He’s thrown for only 714 yards but adds 433 yards on the ground and earned his first rivalry win against Oklahoma last week in an effort that had him run for over 100 yards and toss a TD. Runningback D’onta Foreman only a true sophomore, hasn’t been the starter but in the previous two games has rushed for 229 yards on 27 carries, he has undoubtedly looked like the “Strong”er back between himself and Johnathan Gray. For the season he has 328 yards and is averaging 6 yards per carry.

Experience has been lacking for both of these teams but it’s not without promise. There’s been heart ache on both teams and although their not on the radar this year I believe that both of these teams have an opportunity to make a major jump in the rankings coming into next year.  Texas and Washington seem to have found their QBs of the future and they’ve both displayed the maturity to perform well game in and game out. On both the offensive side and the defensive sides of these teams most of the players still can’t drink at the university bar but they’re playing the game with heart and it’s manifesting into a bright future. When you have a new coach and a young team you have a chance to turn the program around.

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This could all be too soon for speculation but for years USC held a reign on the PAC-12 as did Oregon. With the new system in place that coach Petersen is running and the youth of his football team it may be Washington that becomes the next King of the PAC-12. Consistent recruiting and the ability to get the young guys out on the field is only benefiting the Huskies. If Chris Petersen can even create a slight image of what he accomplished at Boise State then Washington is well on it’s way to being a powerhouse. They’ve already started with the alternate jerseys if that’s not a sign to be.

Texas is running along the same path and the job that Charlie Strong is doing down there in Austin is incredible. They may be 2-4 but it’s not without blood, sweat and tears. His players love him, there’s probably not one coach in the country who’s loved more than Charlie Strong for the work and effort he has put in to turn the program around. His job isn’t done by any means but when you have the respect of your players you have the ability to become a successful coach. The Longhorns face a bit of an uphill battle with the likes of Baylor, TCU and Oklahoma around but Strong is keen on building a stout defense which has been the foundation at Texas for many years. With Heard under center for a second season and with Strong’s system in place for a third year I can respectfully see the Longhorns as a dark horse for the 2017 College Football Playoffs.

Seattle and Austin have been described by some as having similar cultures. Don’t be surprised to see both of these teams as contenders in the upcoming years.

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