Sergio Kindle: One more year

March 1, 2009

Rafiq el Arculli, Texas Media Relations

Every year from late February to early March, two stories usually dominate football headlines - the opening of spring practice for college football and the NFL Draft.

Those two story lines came together over the weekend as the Longhorns opened spring practice on Friday. Many former Longhorns attended the session, including some current NFL players like Aaron Ross, along with names such as Chris Ogbonnaya, Brian Orakpo and Ryan Palmer, all of whom are going through the draft process in anticipation of hearing their names called in late April.

One person who may have been in that position, but chose to return for his senior season is LB/DE Sergio Kindle.

Head coach Mack Brown has always openly encouraged all juniors to go through the evaluation process in order to get a better sense of where they stand to NFL scouts. Kindle did just that, but after careful consideration, he decided the best move for him was to stay at Texas.

One factor in the decision was over the course of the past year, Kindle developed a strong relationship with defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.

"Coach Muschamp told me from the very beginning that it was my decision," Kindle said. "He respected me and said that it was up to me whether I wanted to stay or go."

When the time came to decide in January, Kindle saw all of the positives of returning - playing with his teammates, working toward his degree and continuing to develop his abilities under Muschamp.

"I wanted to come back for another year so Coach Muschamp can help me better myself," Kindle said. "I know that if I better myself in some aspects, it will lead to better results in games next year."

Muschamp has only praise for Kindle in his handling of the entire decision-making process.

"I think the most important thing is that he will have an opportunity to graduate and receive his T-Ring," Muschamp said. "That was very important to him and we're excited about that, but more than anything, he handled the process very professionally and maturely and was very up-front and honest with us."

Kindle could not agree more about wanting to receive his T-Ring.

"Everybody was happy with my decision," said a smiling Kindle. "A major part of coming back was the fact that I can graduate in December. My pops told me I'd have to come back to get a ring because he takes all of my bowl rings. He said the only one I'd be able to keep is my T-Ring, so that's the best one for me."

As far as on-the-field work, Muschamp and Kindle took time to decide how to increase the linebacker's effectiveness on the field. The two came to the conclusion that Kindle would spend more time at defensive end during the spring to better his pass rushing skills and increase his snaps on the field.

Kindle recalled playing against Baylor last season as an eye-opening experience for him.

"Whenever I played at defensive end last year, I would just will myself to get past the offensive linemen to get a sack," Kindle said. "But after playing against [former Baylor offensive tackle] Jason Smith, I knew willing it can only take me so far. That's why he's going to be a top 10 draft pick in a couple of months and why I'm coming back to make myself better."

With spring practice underway and the fall creeping ever closer, Kindle has high expectations for the upcoming season and knows what he must do to ensure his own personal success, and most importantly, the success of the team.

"I need to be more accountable this year and stay healthy if I want to have a strong, second full year," Kindle said. "We were pretty close this year, but next year as a team, I think we'll have a great chance of accomplishing all of our goals. There are a lot of things I still need to work on, but I know Coach Muschamp is going to help me fulfill all of that."

The University of Texas at Austin Athletics