Players
The Longhorns are led by junior Quarterback Colt McCoy, who was the starting quarterback for the Longhorns in 2006 and 2007. Rivals.com named McCoy one of the top-10 quarterbacks going into the 2007 season and he also made the Athlon Sports first-team All Big 12 McCoy has been the subject of much discussion regarding his chances of winning the 2008 Heisman trophy. With the departure of running back Jamaal Charles for the 2008 NFL Draft, McCoy became the leading returning rusher for the Longhorns.
McCoy has continued to be leading rusher in 2008; through the first 11 games of the season he rushed for a net 527 yards. The leading running backs were Vondrell McGee (347 yards), Chris Ogbonnaya (333) and Cody Johnson (234), all of whom have played in all 11 games. Despite injuries limiting him to only five games, freshman Foswhitt Whittaker rushed for 226 yards. McCoy had 3134 passing yards for a total of 3661 total yards of offense, which also led the team. The leading receivers through 11 games were Jordan Shipley (897 yards), Quan Cosby (872), Chris Ogbonnaya (458). The leading scorer was Hunter Lawrence, the place-kicker. He had made 9 of 11 field goal attempts and 52 of 52 extra points, for a total of 79 points contributed.
On defense, Roddrick Muckelroy led the team in tackles with 63 solo tackles and 39 assists. Brian Orakpo led the team in sacks, with 9 sacks for 79 yards. Ryan Palmer led the team in interceptions with 3, one of which he returned for a touchdown.
Besides Whittaker, several other Longhorns missed playing time due to sickness or injury. Cosby and Orakpo were both injured in the game vs. Texas Tech. Safety Blake Gideon suffered a head injury in the Kansas game but was expected to be healthy for the A&M game. Cornerbacks Aaron Williams missed the Kansas game with the flu and cornerback Chykie Brown missed three games due to injury. Tight end Luke Tiemann missed the season due to an ACL injury. Starting center Chris Hall missed time due to a knee sprain.
One player was suspended, and another dismissed, for off-the-field infractions. Defensive tackle Lamarr Houston was suspended for one game (vs. UTEP) for driving under the influence. Back-up center Buck Burnette was dismissed from the team for posting a racially charged message on his Facebook page after the election of Barack Obama as President of the United States. Afterwards he issued an apology saying "That lack of judgment on my part has had devastating consequences. Those that know me understand that this is not a true reflection of my character. I sincerely apologize to everyone that I have offended. I have had the opportunity to apologize to my teammates and coaches and have received support from many of them in return." Burnette's dismissal coincided with the injury to Hall, so true freshman David Snow was called upon to start at center vs. Kansas.
Jordan Shipley was a senior in 2008 but has requested an extra year of eligibility due to playing time missed due to injuries. The NCAA has not yet ruled on the request.
Read more about this topic: 2008 Texas Longhorns Football Team
Famous quotes containing the word players:
“The whole idea of image is so confused. On the one hand, Madison Avenue is worried about the image of the players in a tennis tour. On the other hand, sports events are often sponsored by the makers of junk food, beer, and cigarettes. What’s the message when an athlete who works at keeping her body fit is sponsored by a sugar-filled snack that does more harm than good?”
—Martina Navratilova (b. 1956)
“People stress the violence. That’s the smallest part of it. Football is brutal only from a distance. In the middle of it there’s a calm, a tranquility. The players accept pain. There’s a sense of order even at the end of a running play with bodies stewn everywhere. When the systems interlock, there’s a satisfaction to the game that can’t be duplicated. There’s a harmony.”
—Don Delillo (b. 1926)
“Yeah, percentage players die broke too, don’t they, Bert?”
—Sydney Carroll, U.S. screenwriter, and Robert Rossen. Eddie Felson (Paul Newman)