Earlier this year, Charlie Strong raised some eyebrows when he said he wouldn't let his players at Texas make the "hook 'em" hand signal until they'd earned it.
Photos surfacing from the Longhorns' fall camp Monday made it clear that wasn't the only carrot Strong intended to dangle in front of his new roster. Via ESPN's Max Olson:
Notice the blank helmets? Yep, stickers are another thing Texas players will have to earn back. pic.twitter.com/IwX9aWL2KV
— Max Olson (@max_olson) August 4, 2014
And from Rivals' Anwar Richardson:
#Longhorns training camp practice #HookEm pic.twitter.com/PeV5TqzLR9
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) August 4, 2014
How much of this very visible "tough love" from Strong will pay off on the field this fall in a deep Big 12 remains to seen. But give the former Louisville coach this: he has a highly specific vision for the way he wants his program run, and he hasn't proven shy at all about putting that vision into practice.
How effective that vision will prove at a program like Texas is a matter of debate (though his success at Louisville suggests he knows what he's doing), but the clarity of it is something to be admired regardless.
