The Texas Longhorns’ poisoned fountain of youth

In 2012, we shared a TexAgs post that recounted the perpetual youthfulness of Texas Longhorn Football. That was only the beginning, as the Longhorns have been young for an incredible 8 of the past 9 seasons.

2016

It’s a young team overall, which has pros and cons. If these freshmen can make an impact like the sophomore class did, the Longhorns may compete for championships far sooner than anyone thinks. - Austin-American Statesman

2015

Texas wins nine games in 2015. After a 6-7 season in 2014, nine wins this year would be a big jump for the Longhorns. Although double-digit wins is considered the standard at Texas, nine wins in 2015 would show progress after Strong’s first year in Austin. Getting to nine wins will be tough as the Longhorns will face Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, TCU and Oklahoma during the first six games of the season. Texas will also be a young team in 2015. But if it can overcome its frontloaded schedule and youthfulness, the Longhorns will win nine games this season. - Dallas Morning News

2014

“I would like to be better than what we are. It’s lacking confidence, and it’s confidence where you go and finish the game, and it’s confidence on Saturday when I said we’ve got to go learn how to win. It’s a building process, and when you don’t have success early and you’re dealing with a young team, you just go continue building it. It’s all a process.” - Charlie Strong, Austin-American Statesman

2013

NOT YOUNG. Mack Brown fired.

2012

But just as with your child's many attempts to ride a bicycle, so too have the Longhorns fan base needed to show patience with this young team. - Burnt Orange Nation

2011

Brown's fresh approach to the season has and to his coaching career in general has made a clear difference on the field, even in the blowout loss to Oklahoma last weekend. In 2010, the team would have given up some time late in the second quarter and provided little resistance in the second half on the way to the Sooners hanging 70 or more points on the scoreboard. Instead, the young team continued to battle and only gave up one defensive touchdown in the second 30 minutes. - Burnt Orange Nation

2010

That is what Mack Brown saw in his disappointed team in that dressing room in Dallas. For a young team, there were things to build upon. There are challenges remaining - with a tough road schedule and a South Division that appears the most balanced, perhaps, in its history. But Saturday left the Texas Longhorns with some real positives. - Texas Football (site now gone)

2009

We beat Rice, but I didn’t give the kids any credit. We had a young team starting over after a national championship game, and I should have said, “We’ve got some things that need to improve,” but instead I acted like a fan. I was mad that we didn’t play better. - Texas Monthly

2008

Mack Brown has never finished below second in the Big 12 South since he arrived in 1998, but this is the year that streak gets broken. Now, it is a young team, so it will get better as the year goes on, and they will have a Leak/Tebow dynamic with McCoy and John Chiles. - Bleacher Report