Texas football coach Mack Brown offered no update on his team’s four-player quarterback race during a luncheon appearance today in Austin. Although he acknowledged receiving “some opinions” on the topic from teammates who joined the four players during voluntary summer workouts, Brown made it clear that he’s in no hurry to pick a starter between incumbent Garrett Gilbert and challengers Connor Wood, Case McCoy and David Ash.
“When you’re learning to swim, you need the pool,” Brown said, drawing an analogy to his QB battle. “You don’t earn the right to get a job in the summer because you need a football uniform and a helmet. All of that will be decided within the next 29 days.”
Brown made it clear that production during fall camp, which begins Thursday, will be crucial for the four candidates.
“It’s not a popularity contest. We don’t care really what the fans think,” Brown said. “The media probably will have some opinions. None of that matters. It’s (about) who’s going to make third-down-and-four. It’s who’s going to drive the length of the field. It’s who’s going to score the points and who’s going to protect the ball.”
Brown also had a good one-liner about new defensive coordinator Manny Diaz, who spent last season at Mississippi State: “I called four head coaches in the SEC and … they all said, ‘I wish you’d hire Manny Diaz and get him out of here.’ I thought that was a great compliment.”
_ Jimmy Burch
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