Big 12 Official Responds on Horns Down Being a Dead Issue
Big 12 coordinator of officials Greg Burks was waiting for the ‘Horns Down’ question on Thursday at Big 12 Media Days, and he turned it into a bit of a ‘mic drop’ moment.
It came in the final question of his rules press conference, as he was simply asked if ‘Horns Down’ was a dead issue.
“Let me be very clear on Horns Down. It’s when you do it, who you do it to and the manner of how you do it,” Burks said.
He then offered a plea to the state of Oklahoma.
“Please, state of Oklahoma, I meant no offense.”
With that, Burks said thank you, closed his laptop and exited the stage.
Horns Down won’t be a Big 12 issue much longer. Both Texas and Oklahoma will be leaving for the SEC no later than 2025.
After that, Big 12 teams will only be able to do Horns down in non-conference games.
Texas is coming off a 2021 season in which it went 5-7 (3-6) and finished seventh in the Big 12 and wasn’t bowl eligible. Second-year head coach Steve Sarkisian landed transfers like five-star Ohio State quarterback Quinn Ewers, wide receivers Isaiah Neyor (Wyoming) and Agiye Hall (Alabama), and tight end Jahleel Billingsley (Alabama).
Texas hopes that Ewers has the talent to help support two of the country’s best skill players in running back Bijan Robinson and wide receiver Xavier Worthy. The Longhorns must rework the offensive line and may see at least one true freshman from their massive offensive line haul in the 2022 signing class in the starting lineup.
Texas returns six starters on defense from a unit that was fell below expectations in 2021 and didn’t add many pieces in the transfer portal that could have make an impact in 2022. The roster in Austin is littered with talent and adding former TCU head coach Gary Patterson as a special assistant to the head coach could help clean up some defensive woes. If Texas is to make waves this season its defense will need to be much improved.
The Longhorns start the season Sept. 3 with Louisiana-Monroe and will host Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide one week later.
