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Why LB transfer Justin Cryer embodies Texas' 'All-In' mentality
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- Why LB transfer Justin Cryer embodies Texas' 'All-In' mentality
We are Vince Young days away from Texas football returning to our lives . The Texas fall camp has been more tumultuous than most hoped but as this week's press availability transpired, the confidence is quickly rising.
Whether it's Sark singing Arch's praises, Arch talking about his confidence and comfort with his weapons or Colin Simmons continuing the growing praise of Will Muschamp, the good news is beginning to outweigh the bad news.
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Every Longhorn had something interesting to say but one player's comments stuck out to me. Justin Cryer, Florida State LB transfer, spoke to the media for the first time, following his rise to a starting role this offseason. The praise around Cryer has been steadily growing all offseason, capped by Steve Sarkisian's encouraging words earlier this week.
One of the hurdles of modern college football is not only finding the right players in the transfer portal, but the best people. As the old saying goes: hard-work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard. The good news for Cryer is he has both the talent and, seemingly, the mentality to maximize this season. That intersection between talent and relentless hard work is where Texas needs to live this season. Sarkisian praising Cryer for his relentless attitude makes me confident that energy has spread throughout the team.
Another pitfall of bringing in portal players is connecting with the university and fanbase. Considering Justin Cryer has just one year left, it would've been easy to focus solely on football and not become a "true Texas Longhorn". That's not the case at all. Based on every report and his presser, it's clear he's not just there to elevate his football career. He's there to fully buy-in to the culture around the University of Texas. This isn't a football specific strength but it's absolutely a team-connectivity strength.
On top of all of that, he represents the true veteran voice in the LB room. Obviously, Rasheem Biles and Brad Spence will factor into that equation but he's an incredibly important leader in the center of the defense. Given the news for young LBs to step up throughout the season, having someone as experienced and vocal as Cryer is a major advantage.
All of those positives are off-the field. The leadership, the understanding of both the school's culture and the overall "do-or-die" approach to this season all represent why Cryer is the embodiment of Texas' "All-In" season. He's a player brought in to upgrade the roster and he's upgrading the culture in the process. Particularly with the preseason turmoil, having a player like Justin Cryer can be incredibly important.
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There are many talented players on this roster. If those players are going to inevitably reach their potential, it's about the people they are. Can they take less targets one day because the run game is rolling? Are Brown/Smothers ok with a pass-first attack some weeks? Simply, will this collection of players truly buy into the "win no matter what" approach that every championship team has. Heading into the season, I feel increasingly confident Justin Cryer could be the shining example of that approach.
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This article originally appeared on Longhorns Wire: Why LB transfer Justin Cryer embodies Texas' 'All-In' mentality
