Is it just me, or has this off-season been unusually uneventful and quiet for the Texas Longhorns?

For the first off-season in many years, head coach Mack Brown and the Longhorns are able to heave a huge sigh of relief going into their regular season. 

Where are the multitudes of arrests, suspensions, expulsions, and general trouble we're use to seeing from the Longhorns? 

Has Mack Brown become even greater at getting his kids out of trouble, and sweeping things under the rug?  Not likely for the Teflon Coach.  The Texas Connection of politicians, dignitaries, and boosters might have worked for Mack the first few years in Austin, but since the 'Horns won the National Championship in 2005, they've had a huge scrutinizing target on their backs.  The microscope was never more examining than the past few years, looking for any recruiting or school violations, and the number of arrests and school rule violations was never higher.

Are the types of kids entering Austin these days of higher moral caliber?  Not likely.  Most major programs, and not just UT, are going to try to bring in the highest talent they can, no matter what their criminal background checks and personality exams might say.  Talent trumps character in BCS schools.  How else could you explain UT crying so hard when they lost the recruiting battle for stud QB Ryan Perrilloux to LSU several seasons ago?  However, UT is laughing now, and Mack is looking like a genius for canceling that last recruiting visit to the Louisiana swamps in '05. Maybe his gut couldn't take another air-boat ride at 90mph, or that 'possum and 'coon gumbo.

Are the Austin and UT PDs on strike?  Nope.  They are likely even more aware and scrutinizing than ever considering the recent rash of student and athlete crime the past few years.  Having attended UT a few years back, I can attest to the general a-holishness of the local cops.  No one gets a free ride around Austin, except maybe Governor Perry (gag).

So what has Mack put in the Gatorade during Spring and Fall practices to keep his kids out of trouble this year?

I think part of the answer may be the youth of this Longhorn squad.  These kids have seen the examples of the bad apples from the program's upper-classmen the past few years, and they've seen how quickly you can go from potentially making NFL millions to seeing hard time in TDCJ.  See Ramonce Taylor. 

This might not be the most talented bunch of Longhorns to grace Austin in recent years (Colt McCoy is the best and best known player??? really???), but there's still plenty of quality talent that might stand a chance at NFL Europe, Canadian, or NFL taxi squads in the next few years.  All of those potentially being steps into the NFL and a paycheck.  Which leads me to my next idea, that maybe because the talent level has slipped a notch, that UT is no longer the program with a target on its back. 

Perhaps the rest of the college football world doesn't care for an also-ran program that didn't make a BCS bowl the past 2 years.  Maybe the Austin and UT police have noticed the drop off in talent coming to Austin, and think being a little easier in an election year might bring the studs back to the 40 Acres, which Mack's 2009 class of recruits is looking like it's verifying.

Finally, I think some credit needs to go to new UT defensive coordinator, BCS Program Heir Apparent, Will Muschamp.  The intensity, loyalty, and work ethic he brings with him just might be paying off immediately for UT.  Keeping the kid's heads on their shoulders and thinking about football might be a great first step in bringing the defensive unit back to national prominence.  This type of instant results and proof that kids respect Muschamp, is just the type of thing struggling BCS programs drool over in their next head coach.  This is definitely a rental season for Mack Brown with Muschamp.  Let's hope that Mack can keep his players' intensity and attitudes on the ball field when Muschamp sprints to greener BCS pastures as a head coach next season.  Good luck to him.  He's a quality man and coach.

So, here's to hoping this group of Longhorns can stay out of trouble for the season and beyond, and bring a new attitude of champions to add to their usual winning ways.  Winning isn't enough in Austin, and adding a bad reputation for gangsters, thugs, and felons is even less tolerated.  Squeaky clean champions is what UT has always prided itself on.  We look down the road to our Texan brethren in College Station (A&M), Waco (Baylor), and (Dallas/Ft.Worth) SMU to see where NCAA sanctions and bad reps can drag down your program.  Keep it clean boys.  Play the game the right way, and keep your noses clean always.  There's always too big of a target on UT to get into anything stupid.

HOOK'EM!!!