Texas senior class changed culture, set for Friday showdown with Texas Tech
Now in 2023, the Longhorns are coming off their 10th win of the season in Ames against Iowa State. To be 10-1 and reach the Big 12 Conference championship game shows how far this program has come.
AUSTIN (KXAN) - In Steve Sarkisian's first year as head coach at Texas, the Longhorns lost 30-7 at Iowa State in the middle of a five-game losing skid. A rant from defensive line coach Bo Davis took over the headlines when he called out the team.
Now in 2023, the Longhorns are coming off their 10th win of the season in Ames against Iowa State. To be 10-1 and reach the Big 12 Conference championship game shows how far this program has come.
Ask anyone around Texas football and they'll tell you a big reason for the culture and success of the program improving is the senior class.
"The guys that are still here that have persevered the three years of it all, I owe them a ton," said Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian. "Without them trusting us, the other players in the program would have a hard time trusting us."
Not all of the seniors came to Austin and Texas football at the same time. Take Christian Jones for example. The sixth-year offensive lineman was also honored during the 2022 senior day.
"It's actually kind of a little bit embarrassing, I'm not going to lie," said Jones with a smile about having a second senior day. "Right when I decided to come back, my sister who is 12, she texted me, 'So you're going to run out the tunnel again? That's so lame.'"
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Saturday's win against Iowa State was the second time in the last two years Jordan Whittington has found the end zone. It was a memorable moment for a veteran who does a lot of the dirty work.
To be even playing football right now wasn't guaranteed for Whittington. He suffered a broken collarbone against Oklahoma in 2021, and the injury made the Cuero native debate if he should continue playing football.
"I needed an external source to tell me to keep going because I was at a very low point in my life," said Whittington. "Them doing that, I really thank them for that because there's no telling what would've happened if I didn't have those people."
The Texas senior class has been consistent in its goal — to win a Big 12 championship. To be so close to reaching Arlington, they know how much Friday against Texas Tech means.
"I know [Jordan Whittington] came back for it," said senior linebacker David Gbenda. "I know [Christian] Jones came back for it. I know [T'Vondre] Sweat came back for it. I did. We're all just looking to leave our mark on this university and really do what we came here to do."
The Longhorns will host Texas Tech at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. If Texas wins, they'll be in the Big 12 title game Dec. 2. If they lose, things get a bit more interesting.