AUSTIN -- Texas coach Mack Brown wasted no time putting to
rest any speculation about the Longhorns' starting quarterback in
spring practice: Chris Simms is a firm No. 1 and Major Applewhite
is the backup.
"They will be competing, but there's no question Chris is the
starter," Brown said Monday.
|
 |
|
|
Tue, February 27
Last season, Texas coach Mack Brown was labeled indecisive for being unable to name a starting QB between Chris Simms and Major Applewhite. He won't have that label this season as he tabbed Simms his starter and Applewhite the backup as the Longhorns get ready for spring practice.
ESPN college football analyst Rod Gilmore breaks down Brown's decision and what this means for the Longhorns this fall.
|
|
|
"We don't feel the need to alternate guys like we did the first
of last year," he said.
Texas spring practice was scheduled to start Tuesday, but Brownb postponed it indefinitely after the the death of defensive end Cole Pittman in a one-car accident Monday.
The quarterback question has hung over Brown and the Longhorns
since the end of the 1999 season when Applewhite went down with a
knee injury.
Brown flip-flopped the two quarterbacks last season before a
sprained knee sidelined Applewhite again.
Simms started the last three games and led Texas to wins over
Kansas and Texas A&M before a 35-30 loss to Oregon in the Holiday
Bowl. Texas finished the season ranked 12th in the country.
Simms threw four interceptions against the Ducks but still had
the Longhorns in position to tie the game late before his receivers
dropped three potential game-tying touchdowns.
Applewhite is Texas' career passing leader, but Brown was
nothing short of absolute when declaring Simms his starter this
spring and presumably next fall as well.
"Some people think you should play Major because he played well
early in his career and won some great games. We appreciate that
... the only thing that's important to us is the guy who can help
us win," Brown said.
|  | | Chris Simms passed for 2,164 yards and 18 TDs last season. |
By naming Simms his starter now, Brown hopes to defuse a
situation that he acknowledged was a distraction for the entire
team.
"We want more talk about our football team instead of
individuals," Brown said. "We think there was entirely too much
talk about two quarterbacks last year."
Other questions remain, however.
Offensively, the Longhorns must replace tailback Hodges Mitchell
and tackle Leonard Davis. On defense, the line is the biggest
concern with the departure of tackles Casey Hampton and Shawn
Rogers.
Davis and Hampton both were all-Americans and all three linemen
are projected as potential first-round picks in the NFL draft.
Mitchell ran for 3,356 the last two seasons for Texas. Junior
Victor Ike, who has rushed for 430 yards in his career, will start
the spring as the No. 1 tailback, Brown said.
Others competing for the job include Kenny Hayter, who had
122-yard game against Oklahoma State, and Arturo "Sneezy"
Beltran, who dazzled Longhorns defenders while playing on the scout
team as a redshirt freshman.
"Obviously we need to have a person step up at running back,"
Brown said. "That's probably the biggest question mark right
now."
Texas will practice 15 days with its annual spring scrimmage
scheduled for March 31.
 Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
| |
ALSO SEE
Texas defensive end Pittman killed in one-car accident
VIDEO
  Texas' Chris Simms calls his own number and gets the Texas touchdown. avi: 1395 kRealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 |
