AUSTIN, Texas — Texas coach Charlie Strong invites Longhorns fans not to panic despite the uncertainty Texas now faces at the quarterback position.
Longhorns starting quarterback David Ash, the player Texas was depending on to manage the offense with an experienced hand, will not play this week as he suffered concussion-like symptoms following Texas’ 38-7 victory over North Texas. Ash, who missed most of last season with a concussion, might be on the shelf long term and there’s speculation he could even call it a career. He was injured on the first hit he took in the win over UNT.
For the moment, Texas hands the offense to sophomore Tyrone Swoopes, who will start against BYU on Saturday. Strong’s take on the situation moving forward is that the quarterback position is less important than it’s almost always made out to be.
“If you get the defense to play well like we played the other night and you have two good running backs, your offensive line protects well, we can function,” Strong said. “It’s not like it’s the end of the world here guys. We know we have to play a football game and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Swoopes became the backup quarterback last season when Case McCoy took over the offense after Ash was initially sidelined with a concussion. Swoopes played in six games, but only attempted 13 passes. He completed five for 26 yards. He also rushed 20 times for 79 yards, all in mop-up duty.
Strong has been stressing team since he arrived at Texas in January and it won’t be a hard sell now. The Longhorns have to be even better everywhere else as the passing game seems a long way from being dangerous.
The first-year Longhorns coach’s list of requirements for the team apparently extends to non-playing members of the team on the sideline. Strong said he will watch film to make sure everyone on the team is engaged in the game.
“If you don’t yell on the sideline, you won’t get an opportunity to stand on the sideline next week,” Strong said. “I’m going to watch the tape from above so I’ll be able to point guys out.”