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	Brown vs. Bellotti in San Diego  Dec. 7, 2000  
	
	[IMAGE]Chip Brown, who covers Texas football for The Dallas Morning News, 
answers your questions about the Holiday Bowl, UT's quarterback situation,  
probable NFL draft picks, Mack Brown and more. Inside UT Football appears on 
Thursdays. 
	
	 E-mail questions to Chip: chipbrown@dallasnews.com 
	
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	One of the most intriguing matchups to watch in this year's Culligan Holiday 
Bowl at San Diego will take place on the sidelines with Texas coach Mack 
Brown going up against Oregon's Mike Bellotti. 
	
	 You may not know much about Bellotti, but know this about his tenure at 
Oregon - in six years, he has a 48-22 record, and those 48 wins are more than 
any other Pac-10 school during that time period. And over the last four 
seasons, Oregon is 33-13 with four consecutive bowl game appearances. The 
Ducks' two losses this season were by a combined total of 14 points (37-34 
vs. Wisconsin and 23-13 at Oregon State).  
	
	 Brown certainly is impressed by Bellotti's success at Oregon. 
	
	 "Mike Bellotti is a personal friend," Brown said in a news release from UT's 
sports information office. "He took over for Rich Brooks at Oregon a number 
of years ago when they were representing the Pac-10 in the Rose Bowl for the 
first time in a long time. He has done a great job building on that success 
each of his years as head coach. It will be fun to be around him and his team 
throughout the week."  
	
	 Added Holiday Bowl president Jim Philion: "Coach Bellotti has built the 
Ducks into one of the premiere football programs in the country. The game 
this Dec. 29 against Texas will increase an already exciting rivalry between 
the Pac-10 and the Big 12."  
	
	 Longhorn fans can purchase tickets to the Culligan Holiday Bowl by 
contacting the UT ticket office (512-471-3333/1-800-982-BEVO) or by logging 
on to the athletics department Web site (www.TexasSports.com).  
	
	
	
	 Longhorn Q & A  Q: Longhorn officials will probably not say which bowl they 
would prefer to play in, but were any of their options less desirable because 
of dates, travel, ticket sales or impressing recruits? 
	 ?? Todd Davis 
	
	 BROWN:  The Longhorn team and coaching staff really wanted to go to the 
Holiday Bowl. I know that sounds like, "Well, of course, that's what they 
would say." But the coaches were trying to motivate the team before the 
Kansas game by saying if UT won out, they would go to the Holiday Bowl, a 
fun, sunny destination against a top 10 team. Aside from the beach balls and 
surfing, the UT players wanted to go to San Diego because they are paid 
mileage by the NCAA from their hometowns to get to the bowl game. For 
instance, Chris Simms was paid $1,500 by the NCAA to get from New Jersey to 
the Cotton Bowl last year. So he'll really clean up this year. Not that he 
needs it. But you get the picture. It's a way for some of the players to make 
a nice little chunk of change because what many of them will do is take the 
mileage money from the NCAA and then try to buy a cheaper airline ticket and 
pocket the rest. The players are responsible for getting to San Diego on 
their own. The team will not charter a flight. (All players have to be 
checked into the team hotel in San Diego by 10 p.m. on Dec. 22). Mack Brown 
wanted to go to the Holiday Bowl from the time it appeared Oklahoma would win 
the Big 12 South because he knew it would give Texas a chance to play a top 
10 team. And he wants his team excited and pumped up to play a surging team. 
Last year, Texas and its fans couldn't seem to get fired up for an unranked 
7-4 Arkansas team in the Cotton Bowl, one year after having played in the 
same game. So believe it when UT says the Holiday Bowl is where it wanted to 
be. 
	?
	
	
	
	
	
	
	[IMAGE] Casey Hampton  
	
	Q: How high do you think Casey Hampton will go in the NFL draft?  I would 
think he's a cinch first rounder. Could he go in the top five?   ?? 
	
	 BROWN:  Hampton could go in the first or second round. The second round 
might be more likely because there are so many highly touted defensive 
linemen coming out this year. But Hampton has been really watching his weight 
and trying to improve his speed. He promised me that scouts at the NFL 
combine will be surprised when 
	
	they see him work out. Hampton is a great story. The guy just works his tail 
off and knows that his height (slightly more than 6-1) will probably play 
against him. So he is going to try to blow scouts away in every other area. 
But as he told me in a story that The Dallas Morning News and DallasNews.com 
ran before the Texas A?game, "The film don't lie. If you can show me where my 
height has hurt me, it's on you." I would be surprised if Hampton fell to the 
third round. 
	?
	
	
	 Q: Let's see now: Rose Bowl ... Cotton Bowl ... Sugar Bowl ... Orange Bowl 
...  Fiesta Bowl ... Galleryfurniture.com Bowl ...  Which one does NOT give 
you cold chills just to think about?  
	?? R.R.  
	
	 BROWN:  At least the galleryfurniture.com Bowl is not called the Poulan 
Weedeater Bowl, a name that still haunts the now-Sanford Independence Bowl, 
where Texas A?will meet up with former coach Jackie Sherrill this year. We 
have to hope the furniture bowl, which will be played in the Houston 
Astrodome, fairs better than the old Bluebonnet Bowl, which went bankrupt and 
failed to pay Texas and Pittsburgh their purses for the 1987 game (won by UT, 
32-27). That was the last bowl game ever played in Houston.  
	?
	
	
	 Q: Texas' quarterback controversy early this year was an artificial thing  
manufactured by the ill-fated rotation scheme. Now, however, the  quarterback 
controversy is real. Texas now has two genuine starting  quarterbacks. Chris 
Simms is no longer the next boy wonder. He  has arrived. Does ANYONE in the 
nation have a better quarterback  tandem than Texas? How in the world is Mack 
Brown going to deal with this?  If they keep the simplified offensive scheme 
next year, do you think the  QB rotation could resurface and actually work?  
	?? Rowell Rogers, Denton, Texas 
	
	 BROWN:  I said before this season that Mack Brown would earn every penny of 
his salary because of the quarterback situation. And he'll earn every penny 
again next year. Unless unforseen circumstances, such as injuries, dictate 
otherwise, I think it will be difficult for Chris Simms to redshirt next 
year. And I think it will be difficult for the coaches not to start Simms 
next year. He won the job because of an injury to Major Applewhite, just as 
Major won the job because of an injury to Richard Walton. If Simms starts the 
bowl game, and Texas plays well and wins, Simms will have done nothing to 
lose the job and would probably go into the spring and fall as the starter. 
If Texas flounders under Simms in the bowl game and Applewhite needs to come 
in and relieve him, then we are back to square one, with both guys battling 
it out in the spring and fall to see who is the starter. Texas coaches have 
said they were more comfortable with Applewhite coming off the bench this 
season because of his experience. So we'll see if their stance has changed. 
	?
	
	
	 Q: The 70-yard pump-and-go TD play from Chris Simms  to B.J. Johnson is both 
a validation of Simms' abilities AND an indictment  of the quarterback 
rotation. Chris Simms made that play happen because he had played  every 
offensive down in the game to that point and knew the tendencies of the 
defensive  player responsible. To my mind, that is a strong argument against 
any kind of QB rotation  scheme. But, on the other hand, how can one NOT want 
to play both of these  immensely talented quarterbacks as much as possible? 
Can we get a rule change to allow  two footballs on the field at once (ha 
ha)?   ?? 
	
	 BROWN:  The only argument I could make in favor of the quarterback rotation 
next year is that Simms should have more confidence and thus should flourish 
whenever he is on the field. But his comments all season have directly and 
indirectly indicated that he hated the rotation and that his confidence 
didn't come around until he was taking all the snaps. So I don't know if the 
coaches are willing to put him through that again and risk losing his 
confidence. 
	?
	
	
	
	
	
	
	[IMAGE] Mack Brown  
	
	Q: What is your opinion of Mack Brown as a gameday coach? I noticed earlier 
in the season that you picked Texas Tech for the upset over the Longhorns, 
which seemed to be an indictment on Mack Brown's ability to fire up the team, 
assuming that Texas has more talented players. I think that he has proven 
that he can win big games, but he has also had some surprising slipups. Brown 
is unquestionably a great recruiter, but do you question his leadership 
ability on gameday?  
	 ?? Andrew Wootton 
	
	 BROWN:  Up until the Texas Tech game, Mack Brown was saying things like "We 
could lose any game we play. I just don't know which team is going to show 
up. We could go 6-5 or 9-2." Those kinds of 
	
	comments factored into my thinking when picking Texas Tech to beat the 
Longhorns. Brown is as adept at public relations and communication as any 
coach I've been around. So when he was saying things like that, it made you 
wonder if this team was ever going to develop an identity. Clearly, this year 
was a tough year in terms of leadership on the field on offense. The defense 
was fine with Casey Hampton leading the charge. But the offense really 
struggled to find an identity. Part of that was the quarterback rotation. 
Part of it was having young receivers, and part of it was having a bunch of 
guys with low-key personalities (i.e. Hodges Mitchell, Leonard Davis, Antwan 
Kirk-Hughes, Derrick Dockery, Mike Williams etc.). Mack Brown even said it 
was the quietest bunch of offensive players he'd been around. Once Mack Brown 
and Co. decided to simplify the offense and designate Major Applewhite as the 
starter, Brown was making a plea to the offense for leadership as much as 
anything else. 
	
	I think Mack Brown is a great coach. Let me say that again. He is a great 
coach. I think this year was a test of his finding and developing leadership 
on the field. The more he rotated the QBs, the less chance the offense had to 
develop an identity because the young receivers were clearly struggling with 
learning their responsibilities in four-wide as well as trying to adjust to 
having two QBs coming in and out of the huddle. The offensive linemen, early 
on, also struggled with gap schemes and just hitting the guy in front of him. 
I'm sure the coaches thought the offense would come together more quickly 
than it did. Mack Brown has already gone back and said that he wished he 
played Simms more in the Stanford game - an outing in which Applewhite really 
struggled until the fourth quarter. Against Oklahoma, the Sooners executed 
flawlessly early and Texas got hit with a punch it couldn't get up from. It 
was the first inexcusable loss of the Mack Brown era and ended his honeymoon 
in Austin, according to many. 
	
	But Mack Brown is smart enough and charming enough to have the fans eating 
out of his hand any time he wants. All he has to do is tune out the negative 
comments he hears reported in the media or on the Internet and simply say, 
"We are doing the best we can. We learn. We make mistakes. We're going to 
keep trying harder." Those are comments no negative fan can argue with. 
Instead, Brown became upset with the negative voices and let it taint 
everything about this season. Each press conference was filled with a comment 
about how the media and fans had beat up this year's team. It was 
contentious. Mack Brown uses Joe Paterno as his role model often times. 
Paterno hates the media, rarely gives out interviews, etc. So if Mack Brown 
is following in Paterno's footsteps on that issue, it would be a shame. 
Paterno doesn't have one-quillionth the public relations savvy of Mack Brown. 
	
	Brown got tough questions during his radio call-in show this season. Some 
weeks he hid his contempt for them better than others. But a guy like Brown 
is good enough and smart enough that he should just let this stuff roll off 
of his back, use that self-deprecating laugh of his and then take his 
frustration out in the meeting and film rooms while finding ways to turn his 
team into a juggernaut. Mack Brown should know his team's personality going 
into next year because so many players will be back. And he'll have this year 
as a blueprint of how not to do things, in many instances. And he's where he 
wants to be - at a major college football power and always being in the 
position of favorite. At North Carolina, as well as he recruited and coached, 
Florida State was always going to be the bully in the neighborhood. At Texas, 
he had beaten Nebraska the first two times he played them and showed that 
Texas was going to be the new bully in the Big 12. Now, Oklahoma has come 
charging past the Longhorns and Bob Stoops has done everything without 
excuses. If you notice, Stoops didn't gripe about having to play the Big 12 
title game and possibly ruin his team's national title chances. He didn't 
gripe about the cold weather that everyone said would do in the Sooners in 
Kansas City. He has a tough attitude, and his team has adopted his attitude. 
Brown has a tough attitude, too. And against Oregon in the Holiday Bowl and 
all of next season will be the truest test of Brown's coaching and dealing 
with expectations. Brown said, fairly and accurately, that Texas couldn't be 
expected to win the national title this year because the Longhorns hadn't 
finished a season in the top 10 since 1983. "How do you jump to No. 1 without 
having first been in the top 10?" Brown said before the season. Does this 
kind of talk trickle into the ears of players? I don't know. Most of the 
Longhorns before the season (Applewhite and Hampton included) felt like Texas 
could win the national title. That's one of the biggest reasons Hampton came 
back to Texas this season. When UT lost to Stanford, Brown emerged from an 
emotionally blasted locker room and said, "I didn't think this was a national 
title team." He went on to say the team was too young. Are these excuses for 
his team? If Texas beats Oregon in the Holiday Bowl, the Longhorns will have 
their top 10 finish and will once again be ranked in the top 10 heading into 
next season. 
	
	On defense, the big question mark will be at defensive tackle because Casey 
Hampton and Shaun Rogers will be moving on. But Marcus Tubbs, Adam Doiron and 
Stevie Lee provide an ample foundation to rebuild at the position. Cory 
Redding and Kalen Thornton should only get better, and there is a wealth of 
talent in the seven guys behind them. On offense, the big question mark is at 
running back, where Hodges Mitchell is moving on. He's a guy some Texas fans 
still think is worthless. But let me tell you, he isn't. He's got guts and 
gave everything he had. It may take some time to see another back who can 
catch and run the way he does. UT will have several backs to pick from, 
including freshman-to-be Cedric Benson. The rest of the team is proven and 
will pick up Bo Scaife at tight end. 
	
	I don't see any excuses for this team next year. National championship talk 
will be all over this team like sunshine in Bermuda. Here's hoping that Mack 
Brown doesn't let the nitpickers bog him down. And I include myself in that 
group of nitpickers because reporters are paid to point out all of the facts 
- positive or negative. Here's to hoping Mack Brown will spend less time 
getting reports fed to him about negative Internet postings and any possible 
negative angles in a newspaper story. Here's to hoping that he'll take on 
critical questions with the ease and charm he shows publicly on a daily 
basis. Places like Texas, Alabama and Ohio State have fans who are seemingly 
never satisfied. Until Brown wins a national championship, UT fans will 
second-guess and doubt and wonder why something else wasn't tried. That could 
continue even if he wins a national title. But that's sports. It's worse now 
because there is more coverage of sports than ever before with the Internet 
and all-day talk radio. Mack Brown lives under a microscope. Fans think they 
are as smart as coaches because they manage a fantasy football team. Brown 
just has to shrug off the naysayers and focus on the reasons he loves 
coaching. 
	?
	
	
	 Q: Among UT's current commitments, who do you see as the freshmen most 
likely to see  significant playing time next year?   ?? 
	
	 BROWN:  The more I see and hear about Midland Lee running back Cedric 
Benson, the more I think he has the best chance to have an impact next year. 
He appears to have the kind of vision that makes running backs special. 
	?
	
	
	 Q: Only two teams had a strength of schedule rating above 3.0 in the BCS 
rankings and all the top five teams had a sub 0.6 rating. Given that UT has a 
decent chance in the national championship race next year, what - if anything 
- can UT do to help raise its strength of schedule rating? Seems like the 
Longhorns could go undefeated and still be on the outside looking in.  
	 ?? Andrew Bowen 
	
	 BROWN:  Well, gauging by how some of the BCS polls had Florida State higher 
than Oklahoma, I think it's fair to say that strength of schedule is a 
concern for Texas next year. I think Texas has to win all its games next 
season to make sure that it is not in the position of Miami, which beat 
Florida State but is not in the national championship picture. If Texas goes 
10-1 next season, the Longhorns could very well not be in control of their 
own destiny. With their schedule, as crazy and inflated-expectation-riddled 
as this sounds, the Longhorns would probably need to win all the games to 
ensure getting a shot at the national championship next season. 
	?
	
	
	
	
	
	
	[IMAGE] Leonard Davis  
	
	Q: Who will be drafted off this team? Any first rounders? Will the draft 
distract the seniors from the bowl game? Will any juniors declare early? Is 
the NFL looking at any underclassmen on the team?  
	 ?? Lance, Grand Prairie  
	
	 BROWN:  The obvious draft picks are OT Leonard Davis, DT Casey Hampton and 
DT Shaun Rogers. SS Greg Brown may also get a look from an NFL team after the 
year he has had. I think Davis is a first-round pick for sure. Hampton and 
Rogers shouldn't fall past the second round,
	
	although they could simply because there are a number of top defensive 
lineman in next year's NFL draft. NFL scouts are intrigued by junior Quentin 
Jammer because of his size and physical play at cornerback. NFL scouts like 
junior De'Andre Lewis' speed and size at linebacker. But UT officials seem 
confident that no underclassmen will jump from this year's team.  
	?
	
	
	 Q: Please discuss the coaching staff's approach to bowl games. Did we 
approach the Mississippi State Cotton Bowl with a different philosophy or 
attitude than the Arkansas Cotton Bowl? What is our attitude about Oregon and 
the Holiday Bowl?  
	?? Keith Heugatter 
	
	 BROWN:  The Cotton Bowl after the 1998 season was the final chapter to a 
storybook season. That team was riding the euphoria of Ricky Williams' 
Heisman Trophy and felt like it was on top of the world. The team that faced 
Arkansas in last January's Cotton Bowl had lost two straight and then found 
itself back in Dallas, feeling a little unsure about itself against an 
Arkansas team looking for its first bowl victory since 1985. This season, 
Texas is riding a six-game winning streak, finally got the breakout game it 
was looking for from Chris Simms and really wants to win its bowl game to 
finish in the top 10 for the first time in 17 years. I would be surprised - 
very surprised - if Texas comes out flat and doesn't make a good showing in 
the Holiday Bowl. Even though they don't know much about Oregon, the 
Longhorns know the Ducks are ranked higher than they are. That's all they 
need to know. If the players can avoid the trouble they ran into before last 
year's Cotton Bowl (suspensions to two team leaders, Aaron Humphrey and Kwame 
Cavil, as well as J.J. Kelly and Jamal Joyner), I think Texas will be strong 
and focused. 
	?
	
	 Q: Is Leonard Davis up for any major awards this season? 
	?? Clark Routier 
	
	 BROWN:  Longhorn OT Leonard Davis is one of three finalists for the Outland 
Trophy. The award will be presented live on Thursday night (8-10 p.m. 
Central) on the ESPN College Football Awards Show at Disney World. Davis has 
been tabbed a first-team All-American by The Football Writers Association, 
Walter Camp Football Foundation and Sporting News. 
	?
	
	
	 Q: Can you give us an update on the men's basketball team? 
	?? Shirley Lively 
	
	 BROWN:  The men's team is starting to come together and could get a huge 
boost in the next couple of weeks if senior Darren Kelly can regain his 
eligibility. The semester ends Dec. 19, but coach Rick Barnes isn't sure when 
he'll find out if Kelly has made his grades and regained his academic 
standing for next semester. One thing is for sure: Barnes believes the 5-1 
Longhorns will only get better with Kelly in the lineup. He said Kelly 
dominates in practice with his dribble penetration and quickness. He said 
Kelly would help players like junior transfer Maurice Evans. Evans, by the 
way, has continued to look more comfortable in the Longhorns' offense. He was 
named the Phillips 66 Big 12 Conference Rookie of the Week, the league office 
announced Tuesday. The junior transfer earned the award by averaging 22 
points per game while hitting 17-of-28 (.607) field goals, including 7-of-13 
three-pointers, during Texas' two victories over UT-San Antonio (70-51) and 
Southwest Texas State (90-60) last week. The honor is chosen by a panel of 
media observers who cover Big 12 men's basketball. Evans had a season-high 23 
points on 8-of-14 shooting (4-of-9 threes) vs. UT-San Antonio, before posting 
21 points on 9-of-14 shooting (3-of-6 threes) against Southwest Texas. The 
lone Longhorn to reach double-figure scoring in each of UT's first six 
contests, he leads the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and ranks third in 
rebounding (5.8 rpg) and blocks (five). Texas returns to action when it 
travels to Tampa, Fla., to face South Florida on Saturday, Dec. 9. Tip-off is 
scheduled for 6 p.m. (Central) at the Sun Dome. The game will be televised 
nationally by ESPN2. 
	?
	
	
	 Q: Can you give us an update on the women's basketball team? 
	?? Dana Gooden 
	
	 BROWN:  The UT women are 8-1 and off to their best start since the 1989-90 
season. They moved into the top 25 (No. 25) this week and then backed it up 
by traveling to Illinois and pounding the Fighting Illini, 70-54. The Illini 
were ranked No. 24 last week. UT extends its win streak to six games, marking 
the first time since 1996-97 that the Horns have had a six-game win streak. 
The leaders of this year's team are JoRuth Woods of Cedar Hill, Tai Dillard 
of San Antonio, freshman Stacy Stephens of Winnsboro, sophomore Lindsey Ryan 
of Austin Westlake and Tracy Cook of Cedar Hill. UT is also getting help at 
point guard from junior college transfer Kenya Larkin of Duncanville. 
Freshman forward Annissa Hastings will also be one to watch. UT plays Oregon 
at home on Saturday and then won't have another test until Tennessee comes to 
town on Dec. 22. 
	
	
	
	
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