Charlie Strong is changing the culture of Texas football

New coach Charlie Strong is laying down the law and ushering in a new era of Texas football. After meeting with the team for the first time on Jan. 12, Strong made his expectations and how he intends to run this program clear.

This new culture at Texas has already yielded some negative results, especially from a recruiting standpoint. The Longhorns have lost a large handful of highly touted recruits since Strong took the reigns of the program. Many high school seniors have decommitted from Texas and are looking at other schools, including Texas’ long-time rival Texas A&M. Linebacker Otaro Alaka, one of the Horns’ top recruits from Houston, Texas, made the switch from burnt orange to maroon this past Sunday. He is just one of many that have decided to decommit and take their talents elsewhere.

Texas lost three 4-star defensive tackle recruits within a single 24-hour period, including Zaycoven Henderson, who also plans to become an Aggie next season. Commits John Bonney and Garrett Gray took official visits to Baylor and California, respectively, which could be a sign of more trouble ahead for Strong’s Longhorns.

Despite all of the recruitment chaos that has come about since Strong took over the program, the coach has not changed his mind. “At end of the day, it's all about winning, it's about developing young people, and it's about doing it the right way,” Strong said. He believes that these strict new policies will make his young players better both on and off the field.

Strong’s 11 rules explicitly state his expectations for his players. The rules cover everything from basic restrictions, such as no drugs or guns, to specific demands. Strong wants his players to “all live together, eat together, suffer together, and hang out together.” He also expects them to sit in the front row at every class and take notes attentively.

Strong will run things differently than his predecessor Mack Brown, and he is not messing around. “He has completely changed the atmosphere,” wide receiver Tyler Marriott said. “The new coaches have come in and taken charge. We worked hard before, but now when we go to practice we have a more intense mentality,” Marriott said about the team’s daily spring workouts.

While coaching at Louisville, Strong imposed his will like he plans to do at Texas, and he turned a struggling program into a contender. He took the Cardinals to four consecutive bowl games and two 10-win seasons.

Strong served as a defensive assistant under Urban Meyer at the University of Florida before coaching at Louisville. In Gainesville, Strong witnessed the effects of Meyer’s laissez-faire attitude towards his players. Many young athletes ran into both academic and legal issues, including tight end Aaron Hernandez, who now is serving a prison sentence for murder.

Strong’s stringent regulations have had positive effects thus far on his current players. “The rules have already brought us closer together,” Marriott said. “Now that we are with each other all of the time, you can tell that there is a stronger sense of unity.”

The Longhorns still have plenty of practices before the official spring game on April 19. In that time, Strong will continue to preach his values to his players and officially begin the Charlie Strong era at Texas. “I don’t want to talk about things.  I’d rather do things. We just talked. Now it’s time to do,” Strong said.