From the Statesman...
Mack Brown said Wednesday he will "never get over" the Longhorns' 37-21 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship game.
Brown, who was speaking at his annual press conference for national signing day, sometimes exaggerates his emotions for effect when talking about the past. But it was easy to see that he was serious about this one.
There was hurt in his eyes and pain in his voice.
"I don't think I'll ever recover from it," Brown said in his first comment about the loss since Jan 7. "I don't think I've ever been that hurt from a football game, to see the look on those kids' faces.
"I thought we were in great shape. I thought we had a chance to win. They were prepared. They were in shape. They were excited about the game. The crowd was unbelievable. At halftime, I was so proud of those kids."
The hardest part for Brown was — even after Colt McCoy's injury and falling behind 24-6 in the first half — that he still thought they were going to win.
"What got me the worst was with six minutes left, I thought we would stop them, get the ball and win the game, 'cause we've done that so many times," Brown said. "I was disappointed they (Alabama) drove down the field. With 3:50 left, I still thought we were going to win. Then to have the turnover at the end...It was so hard."
The turnover came with Texas trailing 24-21 late in the fourth quarter. Freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert was blind-sided, sacked and dropped the football. Alabama's Courtney Upshaw recovered.
Brown said he still hasn't been able to watch the game on tape. He's avoided it.
In fact, Brown tried to avoid everything for a while.
"I needed to get out. I didn't need to sit around. I didn't want to talk to anybody," he said. "...But I think it's good if it hurts. If it doesn't bother you to lose, then you shouldn't be doing this."
Of course, there were good days over the past month, too.
In fact, it was Wednesday's newest Longhorns who helped Brown move past the rough patch.
"As much as it hurt me to lose that game, I had more fun recruiting than I ever have," Brown said. "These guys made it easy. They did what they said they were going to do. It was a lot of fun."
Maybe one day he'll watch the replay of what happened Jan. 7.
"I'll get to it before spring football starts," Brown said.
Mack Brown said Wednesday he will "never get over" the Longhorns' 37-21 loss to Alabama in the BCS National Championship game.
Brown, who was speaking at his annual press conference for national signing day, sometimes exaggerates his emotions for effect when talking about the past. But it was easy to see that he was serious about this one.
There was hurt in his eyes and pain in his voice.
"I don't think I'll ever recover from it," Brown said in his first comment about the loss since Jan 7. "I don't think I've ever been that hurt from a football game, to see the look on those kids' faces.
"I thought we were in great shape. I thought we had a chance to win. They were prepared. They were in shape. They were excited about the game. The crowd was unbelievable. At halftime, I was so proud of those kids."
The hardest part for Brown was — even after Colt McCoy's injury and falling behind 24-6 in the first half — that he still thought they were going to win.
"What got me the worst was with six minutes left, I thought we would stop them, get the ball and win the game, 'cause we've done that so many times," Brown said. "I was disappointed they (Alabama) drove down the field. With 3:50 left, I still thought we were going to win. Then to have the turnover at the end...It was so hard."
The turnover came with Texas trailing 24-21 late in the fourth quarter. Freshman quarterback Garrett Gilbert was blind-sided, sacked and dropped the football. Alabama's Courtney Upshaw recovered.
Brown said he still hasn't been able to watch the game on tape. He's avoided it.
In fact, Brown tried to avoid everything for a while.
"I needed to get out. I didn't need to sit around. I didn't want to talk to anybody," he said. "...But I think it's good if it hurts. If it doesn't bother you to lose, then you shouldn't be doing this."
Of course, there were good days over the past month, too.
In fact, it was Wednesday's newest Longhorns who helped Brown move past the rough patch.
"As much as it hurt me to lose that game, I had more fun recruiting than I ever have," Brown said. "These guys made it easy. They did what they said they were going to do. It was a lot of fun."
Maybe one day he'll watch the replay of what happened Jan. 7.
"I'll get to it before spring football starts," Brown said.
