The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
08.03.2019 | Football
The Longhorns’ intense offseason workouts have them in peak physical condition in the early stages of fall camp.
AUSTIN, Texas – The University of Texas Football program wrapped up its second day of fall practice on Saturday, but the Longhorns' preparation for the 2019 season started long before the beginning of training camp this week.
The work began back in January after Texas' Allstate Sugar Bowl victory, but ramped up even further after the conclusion of spring practice, when head coach Tom Herman turned the team over to head strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight and his staff. McKnight and crew helped push the Longhorns to raise the bar even higher for themselves, and for their team. Months of intense workouts culminated on Thursday at the team's Champions Dinner, when McKnight passed the team back to Herman before the start of training camp.
"It's emotional. I think anytime the head coach says he turns his team over to you, that's a big responsibility, and I don't take that lightly," McKnight said. "We look at them as our guys, and it is emotional because you spend so much time with them. There are a lot of things that people don't see as far as the work that goes into it, and a lot of times, you're getting guys to do things they don't truly want to do every day like run and lift. They came here to play football, and that's what they love, but that's the process of getting ready to play football, to put that work in and physically get their bodies ready for what's going to happen in camp, and ultimately the season."
The work McKnight and his staff put in with each UT student-athlete Herman entrusts them with is instrumental in the success of the Texas Football program. Sophomore RB Keaontay Ingram is just one example of someone who has benefitted from the strength staff's work.
"Coach McKnight talked with me about where I needed to be and the way that I needed to be," Ingram said. "We hit it hard every single day and he stayed on me. You don't have a choice except to go hard every day. It's in our culture. When you practice that over and over, it translates out there on the football field."
Seeing the growth of players like Ingram, a 2019 Doak Walker Award watch list candidate, is part of what makes the months of struggle so rewarding for McKnight and his staff.
"You end the season and then start off with a new group, new chemistry, new everything in January, and you've got a lot of you guys you've got to get ready to play at a high level physically and mentally," McKnight said. "To see the changes, like Anthony Cook and Keaontay Ingram, those are different guys walking into camp, or a Malcolm Epps, who was 218 pounds last year and is 248 now. That's a proud moment to watch these guys come out here and fly around. It's the fruits of their labor."
Sophomore OL Samuel Cosmi further emphasized the benefits of the Longhorns' intense work with McKnight, citing how the coach's workouts mirror what they'll experience on the field.
"Through the offseason there are ups and down as a team, and in football, you go through adversity every time you step on the field," Cosmi said. "Coach McKnight changed things up and translated that to our workouts, too. We didn't keep doing the same things. We changed it up a lot so that we weren't getting into a routine. It brought us all closer together because we had to continue to encourage each other, even when we were tired. When the fourth quarter comes around, we're all tired, but I can look to my left and to my right, see my teammates and encourage them. This offseason really helped build that for us and we gelled together."
The 2019 season gets underway at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on Aug. 31, when Texas faces Louisiana Tech. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. CT on Longhorn Network.
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Season tickets are still available for the 2019 fall campaign by visiting TexasSports.com/tickets. The 2019 schedule is highlighted by a marquee non-conference home game with Southeastern Conference power LSU on Sept. 7 (6:30 p.m. Central; presented by St. David's HealthCare). Due to overwhelming demand, single game tickets for the LSU game will not be available for the general public. More than 60,000 season tickets have already been sold for the 2019 campaign, including more than 7,000 new seats. For more information on becoming a season ticket holder, please contact Texas Athletics Ticket Sales & Services at 512-471-3333.
