AUSTIN, Texas -- Carl Reese is addicted to speed. Loves it. Craves it. Has got to have it.

	LB Derrick Johnson is one of Texas' fastest players.

The "jones" goes back to when he was a 27-year-old defensive coordinator at East Carolina in the early '70s, when he looked at his team, looked at the size of the teams on his schedule and came to a career-life altering conclusion.

You can't block what you can't catch.

The defense, which called itself the Wild Dogs, had 200-pound ends and 190-pound linebackers.

"We used to add up the team speed,'' Reese said. "If it averaged at 5.0 (in the 40-yard dash), we knew we'd struggle. If it was down to 4.6, we knew we had a chance.

"We couldn't recruit big, strong guys but we could make a difference with speed. It's a way you can survive. It's the only way we survived."

Reese survived, and even thrived, at ECU, so much that he moved up the coaching chain, coordinating defenses for Virginia, Missouri, Birmingham of the USFL, Navy, Vanderbilt and Louisiana State. When Mack Brown took the Texas job in 1998 he wanted to bring his North Carolina coordinator, Carl Torbush, with him. But Torbush was in line to replace Brown.

"Carl Reese had done that as well as anyone in the country,'' Brown said. "When Carl Torbush couldn't come, he was the obvious choice."

Reese, who was on the outs with LSU coach Gerry DiNardo, jumped at the chance. What he found when he got to Austin wasn't encouraging.

His linebackers weren't much faster than he wanted his tackles to be and his ends lacked the upfield burst he needed in an attack 4-3 defense. Changes were needed and they were needed fast.

During his first year at Vanderbilt Reese had played a 205-pound nose guard. "We called him Gumby,'' said Reese, whose alternative to playing him was a roster full of Pokeys. "No matter how they hit him, he'd crumple and bend, but he'd get back up and get to the football."

At Texas Reese didn't need to get quite so desperate. With Brown's blessing, he started raiding the Longhorns offense. That's where Brown's predecessor, John Mackovic, had put his best athletes. Reese turned a backup fullback named De'Andre Lewis into a four-year starter at middle linebacker.

Reese also "spun down" his defenders. He took a safety named O.J. McClintock and converted him to a linebacker and then an end. Last season backup linebacker Maurice Gordon, "spun down" to end and then tackle, where by the end of the season he was effective at only 245 pounds.

Reese also had the benefit of working for one of the most accomplished recruiters in the nation. That has allowed him to add players with great speed across the board.

Texas' fastest player, for his position, is sophomore linebacker Derrick Johnson, who makes up for a below average work ethic with his talent.

"D.J. is fast enough to be a defensive back,'' Reese said. "Why is D.J. a great football player? He can run."

This year the Longhorns signed cornerback Edorian McCullough, the Texas high school big-school 100-meter champion with a career-best of 10.2. McCullough got an early chance to play almost entirely because of his speed, but he's shown signs that his instincts are catching up with his legs.

Brown's own speed epiphany came at North Carolina. He had two teachers.

"When you played Florida State, you knew where their defense would be,'' Brown said. "You knew who to block, but because of their speed you couldn't block them."

	“	When you played Florida State, you knew where their defense would be. You knew who to block, but because of their speed you couldn't block them. ”
		— Texas coach Mack Brown

The second teacher would become even more familiar. Brown was on the UNC sideline the day Texas halfback Priest Holmes ran over the Tar Heels for four touchdowns in the 1994 Sun Bowl. He knew they had to get more aggressive. To be more aggressive, they had to be faster.

After all the tinkering, the Longhorns have what Reese can consider a "fast defense."

"It's not the fastest I've ever been around," Reese said. "But it's the fastest we've had here."

"I've always thought they were fast,'' OU Coach Bob Stoops said, opting for the kind answer. "I don't remember them ever being slow."

In the cyclical, here today, gone tomorrow, back in a couple of decades world of football, speed may be one thing that will never go out of fashion.

Power running games, like the ones Colorado and Nebraska use, would have to become the rage again, but that's not on the horizon.

"If they do that, you better have the meat to pack in there," Reese said.

If that day comes, Reese, like all smart defensive coordinators will adjust. But he'll still probably like his beef on the rare side.

Mark Wangrin covers the Big 12 for the San Antonio Express-News.