MVP Texas | Garrett Gilbert Ready to get it done in Austin

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Garrett Gilbert Ready to get it done in Austin

Written by Travis Pulver

Tuesday, 24 August 2010 10:01

Now that the young quarterback has ascended to the throne that is the quarterback position for the Texas Longhorns the eyes of Texas are eagerly awaiting the beginning of the 2010 season so that they can see if this youngster can do what Colt McCoy could not—win a national title.

While his numbers alone were not too encouraging against Alabama in the BCS title game last January, fans and coaches had to be pleased with his ability to keep the team in the game. Backing up a player like McCoy generally meant that he would not be playing except in a blow-out, something which few thought would occur against the Crimson Tide.

When the fateful injury to McCoy occurred there was a brief moment of panic when Gilbert had trouble finding his helmet. Months later Gilbert is still looking to take lessons from the game.

"The whole game was a bit of [a] blur," Gilbert said. "I tried to look back on it and say, 'What can we do differently, so something like that doesn't happen again?' You don't want to taste a loss so close to being the national champions."

With the new season come new expectations and in Austin they expect to be in the thick of the title hunt year in and year out. The question on the minds of Longhorns fans and haters everywhere is whether Gilbert will be better than the kid that completed only 15 of 40 passes and threw four interceptions against Alabama.

The recent line of quarterbacks—Major Applewhite, Chris Simms, Vince Young, and Colt McCoy-- in Austin have left high expectations for Gilbert. However, none of them were able to lead the Longhorns into the title game in their first year as the starter. Simms and Young did lead the team to top five finishes though.

Texas fans that are familiar with Gilbert’s body of work in high school are not worried at all about his ability to play the game at the college level. While at the helm for Lake Travis in high school he led the team to a 39-4 record including two state championships in his junior and senior seasons proving he has the ability to play at a high level even in pressure situations. He holds the state high school record for career passing yards with 12.534 yards, two better than Texas Tech’s Graham Harrell.

For Gilbert to succeed he will need to get some help from his supporting cast; he will not have the benefit of operating behind an experienced veteran line like McCoy did. He will also have to find a new favorite target with Jordan Shipley catching passes from Carson Palmer with the Cincinnati Bengals now.

Texas will also need to develop a better running game. With McCoy and Shipley and the rest of the passing game the Longhorns did not have as much of a need for one; last season they ranked 61st in the nation averaging 147 yards a game on the ground. While Gilbert gets acclimated to the pressures that come with being a full-time starter having a better running game to lean on would help.

Fans will find out just what Garrett Gilbert is made off on September 4th when the Longhorns kick of the season against the Rice Owls.

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