The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
A Daily Reminder: Special Forces honor veterans, heroes
10.31.2018 | Football
Texas Football’s special teams’ units are named after veterans with an association to the University.
by Ryan Tewes
In college football, it's not uncommon for special teams and the units within them to take on monikers to build an identity, with many taking on military-themed nicknames that build on the ideas of teamwork, comradery and unity.
The University of Texas has taken it a step further, naming the units in honor of veterans that have an association with the University.
"We wouldn't be able to play this great game if it weren't for the veterans that have fought for us to have the freedoms that we enjoy in our great country," said head coach Tom Herman. "When you have been fortunate enough to have one of the most decorated veterans of World War II in Frank Denius as a part of your program for so many years, you count your blessings. We lost him in July and honoring him Saturday will makes this year's Veteran's Recognition game event more special. We miss Mr. Denius every day and his absence is felt and honored by our team, every day. This is another opportunity to pay tribute to him and all of our veterans. We are forever grateful for all they've done and continue to do to keep us safe."
"Previous places I've been, we've called the units 'Special Forces,'" said Longhorns special teams coordinator Craig Naivar. "I saw an opportunity to honor the men who have a connection with The University of Texas, for what they did not only at the university – on the playing fields and in the classroom – but for what they did for our country."
A military history and World War II enthusiast, Naivar saw an opportunity to not only honor the University's veterans, but also allow the coaching staff to teach the players about the sacrifices made by men their own age.
"When Frank Denius went on to the hedgerows of Normandy and did the things he did (during World War II), he was the same age as a true freshman right now on kickoff," Naivar said. "It shows the traits of mental toughness and physical toughness and gives (the players) an (understanding) of the traits we try to (teach) them."
Each unit within special teams has taken on a name that is identified with a veteran, complete with a logo designed by Naivar to build esprit de corps and excitement within the groups. Each player that starts for the unit receivers a shirt with the logo on it.
Special Forces
The Longhorns' special teams have previously been known as "Special Forces" in memory of Denius, one of the 10 most decorated soldiers to serve in World War II. At 19, Denius landed at Omaha Beach in Normandy on D+1 (June 7, 1944) as a member of a forward party in Battery C with the 230th Field Artillery Battalion of the 30th Infantry Division. He served as a fire control instrument operator, providing fire support for the 29th Infantry Division, which had been a part of the initial D-Day landings the day prior.
On July 17, 1944, while operating forward of the lines, the officer in charge of Denius' forward observer party was killed. Pvt. 1st Class Denius took over and while still under heavy enemy fire, called for, observed and adjusted military fire that allowed the advancing infantry to accomplish the mission. For his actions, Denius was promoted to corporal and named chief of detail in charge of his forward observer party and would later receive the first of his four Silver Stars, awarded for gallantry in action against an enemy of the United States.
Denius served with the 30th Infantry Division through the end of the war in Europe, taking part in the Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Ardennes-Alsace and Central Europe campaigns. He was awarded two Purple Hearts for wounds sustained in Normandy and while fighting in the Battle of the Bulge, as well as a Presidential Unit Citation. More recently, he was presented with the National Patriot Award by the Congressional Medal of Honor Society in 2008 and in 2012 France awarded him with the Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur – Knight of the Legion of Honour – the French order of merit.
After his return to the United States in October 1945, Denius enrolled at The University of Texas. In 1949, he earned dual degrees in business and law, was admitted to the State Bar of Texas and began practicing law. In 1952, he became director of the Cain Foundation, a civic organization that provides scholarships and grants to universities in the state of Texas and helps fund academic medical research, and in 1994, Denius, with the help of the Cain Foundation, made a generous contribution to help purchase the land and build a new outdoor practice facility for Texas Football. The Board of Regents named the facility The Frank Denius Fields in appreciation of his efforts and support.
On Veterans Day in 2009, the Frank Denius Memorial Plaza was dedicated at the northwest corner of Darrell K Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium, a venue named in honor of Texans who fought and died in World War I. The plaza showcases a bronze tablature displaying the names of all students and faculty who sacrificed their lives during World War I, as well as a bronze "Doughboy" statue commissioned by Denius.
Denius was a board member of The University of Texas Foundation, chairman of the Veterans Committee and serves on several other committees for the Texas Exes before his passing in July of 2018.
Cobra Strike
The kickoff unit is named "Cobra Strike" after Operation Cobra, the code name for the operation that broke through German defenses that had pinned down Allied forces in Normandy for seven weeks following the D-Day landings. Denius served with the 230th Field Artillery Battalion during the operation. A narrow section of the front was carpet-bombed by Allied forces, then the infantry moved into that position. The operation aided the Allies in breaking out of the hedgerows where the advance into Europe had stalled.
Naivar likens the kickoff unit to that of the military, dropping ordnance into an area and rushing soldiers into that area to take control.
The logo for the Cobra Strike unit depicts representations of badges worn by Denius for the 30th Infantry Division and 230th Field Artillery Battalion. Each member of the Cobra Strike unit wears a decal on the back of their helmet this season in memory of Denius.
A-Team
The punt unit has been dubbed the "A-Team" in honor of former UT long snapper Nate Boyer. Prior to walking onto the Longhorn football team in 2010, Boyer served six years in the Green Beret Special Forces unit as part of Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA), also known as an SFOD-A or A-Team.
Boyer enlisted in the United States Army in 2005, joining an 18-month program for special forces training and becoming one of only 11 to finish the class that started with more than 140 soldiers. After serving multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, Boyer joined the reserves and enrolled as a freshman at The University of Texas in 2010.
Upon his arrival to The Forty Acres, Boyer joined the football team as a walk-on despite having never played organized football, redshirting his freshman year. In 2011 he saw action on the kickoff team, then became the team's long snapper the following year, earning a full scholarship and playing in 38 consecutive games from 2012-2014. During that three-year stretch, Boyer was a three-time first-team Academic All-Big 12 selection, a 2013 CoSIDA Academic All-American, and the 2012-13 Male Big 12 Sportsperson of the Year, the third Longhorn to earn the honor. He was presented with the prestigious Disney Spirit Award, given annually by Disney Sports to college football's most inspirational figure, at the annual Home Depot College Football Awards show in 2012. That same year, he became the first-ever recipient of the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America.
While at UT, Boyer spent the school year attending classes and his summers overseas with the Texas National Guard. After graduating, Boyer joined the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Boyer is on the Board of Directors for Merging Vets & Players (MVP), which helps former combat vets by matching them with former professional athletes to give them a new team to tackle the transition together once they are no longer in uniform.
The A-Team logo depicts the skull and cross arrows of Army Special Forces and lists the terms speed, surprise, and violence of action.
Posse
A punt return unit needs to work with one another to get from where the punt is received to the group's goal, the end zone. The unit must work together as a group, a brotherhood … a posse. The Longhorn punt return unit first took the nickname Posse during the Mack Brown Era, but Naivar uses the name to honor 1959 Longhorn Hall of Honor inductee, Maj. Gen. Kearie Lee Berry, who survived the Bataan Death March and 40 months as a prisoner of war in World War II.
Berry, who first attended the University of Texas from 1912-1916, was a four-time letterman for the football team, while also lettering three times in track and twice in wrestling. Berry was an All-Southwest Conference selection as a lineman in 1914 and the Southwest Conference heavyweight wrestling champion in 1915 and 1916.
A career Army man, he joined the Texas National Guard prior to graduating in 1916 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the officer reserve corps in 1917, remaining in the United States during World War I. Berry was promoted to captain in 1921 and assigned as infantry company commander at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio.
Berry returned to UT in 1924 as a War Department student to complete his studies. He rejoined the football team and, at 31 years of age, earned his second All-Southwest Conference honor. Following graduation in 1925, he was assigned to teach military science and tactics at the University of Vermont. Following a promotion to major, he was assigned as a military advisor to China's army. Berry was promoted to colonel and transferred to the Philippines in November 1941, a month prior to the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, and participated in the defense of the Bataan Peninsula.
The Battle of Bataan began on January 7, 1942 and raged for more than three months until, crippled by starvation and disease and lacking ammunition and supplies, the combined American and Filipino forces surrender to the Japanese on April 9th. Berry was among the tens of thousands of American and Filipino prisoners of war forced to march some 60 to 70 miles over five to 10 days.
Berry was among those that survived the infamous Bataan Death March and would spend the remaining forty months of the war as a prisoner of war. It took mental toughness and the ability to lean on others in the group to survive not only the march, but the years of imprisonment.
After the war ended in 1945, Berry received the Purple Heart, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Philippine Legion of Honor award. In 1946, he was promoted to brigadier general before retiring the following year. He was appointed adjutant general in the Texas National Guard in June 1947, serving in that position until 1961.
Six
Few military units are as revered as SEAL Team Six, which operates as the United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group, the multifunctional special operations force. A graduate of the University of Texas is among those who have served in the unit, killed in action in a 2011 helicopter crash. The kickoff return unit is named "Six" in his honor and for those in the UT community who are serving or have served in the Navy special forces community.
The unit's logo has been designed by his best friend and depicts the Gold Squadron logo for which the honoree was a member of.
Sniper
On the field goal team, the kicker, much like a sniper, needs pinpoint accuracy to succeed. The field goal unit is nicknamed "Sniper" in honor of proud Texan Chris Kyle, a United States Navy SEAL veteran and sniper who earned a Silver Star Medal, four Bronze Star Medals for valor in combat, and a Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal for valor among many other honors during his four tours in the Iraq War.
In his book "American Sniper," Kyle references his love for the Longhorns. He wore a UT hat in combat to remind himself of home and what he was fighting for.
With the permission of Kyle's wife, Taya, the field goal unit uses the C.K. Sniper logo, designed by Kyle himself.
Naiver hopes that his players can take what they've learned from the honorees about preparation and teamwork and apply it to practice and game day situations.
"There's a Navy SEAL quote of 'Under pressure, you don't rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training. That's why we train so hard,'" Naivar said.
"Each Saturday is another mission and each mission is different … attention to detail and readiness is a part of that.
Teamwork is an important principle; relying on the guy to the left of you, the guy to the right. 'If I'm on kickoff coverage, that guy's going to his job so I can do mine and I'm going to do my job so that guy can do his.' It ties into the values we are teaching."
Honoring Our Veterans
This weekend, the Longhorns and Texas Athletics will hold their annual Veterans Recognition game against West Virginia. Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. on FOX from inside Darrell K Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium. Following his passing in July, Denius will be honored posthumously as the Veteran of the GAme. His son, Woffie Denius, and daughter, Charmaine McGill, will represent him on the field for the coin toss. Additionally, Gen. Lawson Magruder, the new chairman of the Veterans Committee, replacing Denius, will be the honorary captain. Green Beret, and Lifetime Longhorn Nate Boyer, will also be on hand.
The Longhorns' helmets feature the 'FD' decal this season in memory of Denius. Additionally, for the 2018 season, Texas Athletics memorialized his seat in Section 4, Row 15, Seat 26. It is kept empty for the season and memorialized with a plaque.
Prior to the game, there will be a flyover with four T-38s from the Laughlin Air Force Base in Del Rio, Texas. At halftime, the Army Golden Knights Parachute Team will enter the stadium from above.
