The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
11.06.2014 | Football
Longhorns prepping to take on No. 24/25 WVU Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
Longhorns Gameweek | Texas-West Virginia Preview | Tickets
Veterans Day activities planned
The Longhorns will honor Veterans in a variety of ways in the coming days.
On Thursday afternoon, there will be the annual wreath laying at the Frank Denius Veterans Plaza at the northwest corner of Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.
At the game Saturday, there will be a pregame recognition of Chairman Frank Denius and the DKR-TMS Veterans Committee; the Army Golden Knights Jump team will land in the stadium and present a baton to President Bill Powers, along with bringing in the American flag, the State of Texas flag and the Longhorn flag.
The Commemorative Air Force will perform the flyover, and Vice Admiral William F. 'Bill' Moran (US Navy) will be the honorary captain.
Saturday special for Boyer
This Saturday's game vs. West Virginia will be special for Nate Boyer. Not only is it one of just two remaining home games left for the senior deep snapper, but the Longhorns will also recognize Veteran's Day. Boyer, of course, served in the Green Beret Special Forces unit of the United States Military before joining the Texas football program in 2010.
His unique journey – which has seen him travel to the Darfur region of Africa to assist area refugees prior to joining the military, then continuing to volunteer with the National Guard during his football career – will soon see one chapter come to a close as his college playing career will come to an end this year. But Saturday represents an opportunity to relish in three things close to his heart in the form of football, UT and the Military.
While speaking to the media on Monday, Boyer expressed how difficult it will be to leave UT behind after this season. When the 33-year old was asked what his plans were following this season, he joked that if invited he would like to attend an NFL camp.
"I don't know how many 5'11", 195-pound long snappers there are in the NFL, but I'm pretty sure it's zero," said Boyer.
And of Veteran's Day, Boyer said the thing he appreciates the most is when people simply come up and say 'thank you for your service.'
"That's a day where a lot of the general public recognizes the sacrifice and says thank you to people that are currently serving or have in the past; I think that's great," said Boyer, before interjecting another joke. "In my opinion, Veteran's Day should be 365 days a year, plus you get free meals places and stuff like that, so it would really work out for me."
In his five years at Texas, Boyer has left a strong impression on many.
"He's a true leader, first and foremost," cornerback Quandre Diggs said of Boyer. "I can say for myself, everybody on the team respects Nate. He's a guy that works his tail off each and every day. He loves to have fun. As serious as he can be, he loves to have fun."
Red zone defense key
At times this season, Texas' defense has made its reputation as a bend-but-don't-break unit. Time and again, the Longhorns have stiffened when the opponent reaches the red zone, forcing field goal attempts or turnovers rather than giving up touchdowns.
Against Texas Tech last week, two goal-line stands were key to the Texas victory. Leading 6-3 late in the first quarter, Tech drove 56 yards on 10 plays for a first-and-goal at the Texas 9-yard line. But after a Hassan Ridgeway tackle-for-loss, incompletion and sack by Steve Edmond, Red Raiders kicker Ryan Bustin missed a 29-yard field goal that kept it a three-point game.
Texas held strong again in the fourth quarter after the Red Raiders drove 57 yards on six plays to set up another first-and-goal from the UT 9. After rushes of 2 and 5 yards, the Longhorns forced a pair of incompletions as Tech turned it over on downs, preserving a 34-13 lead.
Senior linebacker Jordan Hicks said the defense knows the importance of holding opposing offenses in the red zone, and the lift it can give the team.
"Mindset is, they can drive the ball, but they can't score," said Hicks. "If they get down there, six points is a killer. That loses you games. If you can hold them when they get in the red zone to a field goal, we'll be fine."
On the season, the Longhorns have put together nine goal-line stands, holding the opponent to a field goal or no points at all after they broke within the 10 yard-line. Additionally, Texas ranks 20th nationally in red zone defense.
WVU presents challenges for Texas defensively
Texas will have a real challenge with West Virginia's potent offense on Saturday. The Mountaineers enter the game 12th nationally in total offense (508.2 ypg) and 11th in passing yards (325.8 ypg).
It isn't the first time, though, that Texas has faced one of the nation's better offenses. Earlier this year, the Texas defense put together one of its best games in holding the No. 1-ranked Baylor offense in check. The Bears entered their Oct. 4 game with Texas No. 1 in the FBS in scoring (56.8 points per game), total offense (641.0 ypg) and fourth in passing offense (401.3 ypg), and the UT defense held Baylor well below those averages as it produced 389 yards of total offense, including 111 passing yards.
Like Baylor, West Virginia has playmakers all over the field in wide receivers Kevin White and Mario Alford, quarterback Clint Trickett and a full stable of running backs. When asked this week if the two offenses were comparable, Hicks agreed.
"They're very high-powered, as we've been saying this whole time," said Hicks. "They've got a lot of explosive guys on the outside, on the perimeter. It's one of those games where if we don't play, they've got the potential to put up a lot of points. We've got to have that mindset going in there ready to defend this type of team. They're a good offense. They've got a very good offense and they've got a lot of our respect."
Defensive coordinator Vance Bedford agreed, praising their wide receivers and Trickett.
"Trickett is a great manager of a game," said Bedford. "He does a tremendous job. He knows where to go with the ball. He runs the offense to perfection. They do a lot of glance like a lot of the spread teams do to get them in the right play. He gives his receivers a chance to make a play. What he does, he trusts his receivers to come down with the ball. He was throwing into double coverage, and so far this season, they haven't made a lot of plays for him."
Talented receivers on display Saturday
Though they won't be on the field at the same time, Saturday's game features four of the top 10 wide receivers in the Big 12.
Jaxon Shipley ranks eighth in the conference in receptions per game (5.67) while John Harris is tied for ninth (5.33). On the West Virginia side, Kevin White leads the league with 8.33 per game and Mario Alford is tied with Harris at 5.33/game.
The quartet – all seniors – has combined for 222 catches and 3,068 yards this season alone. White is averaging an impressive 119.4 receiving yards per game which ranks fourth nationally, while Harris is 19th in the country with 90.4.
Harris leads all four by averaging 17.0 yards per catch and White is second at 14.3.
Harris, Shipley and White are all on the watch list for the Biletnikoff Award, which honors the nation's best wide receiver.
