Following the 15-year tenure of Mack Brown, Charlie Strong knew he had some work to do to instill his own values and foundation of culture into the Texas program. The program has performed below standards in recent years, and it’s Strong’s job to build it back up, so he has been making changes.

According to ESPN, instead of being bused a half-mile to and from the practice fields, the players now make the trip on foot. On top of that, the players are not throwing up the ‘hook ‘em horns’ with their hands yet. Strong says they haven’t earned it – yet.

“They’ll get that back one of these days,” Strong said.

[Related: Where did the 'Hook 'em Horns' sign come from?]

The program is following new standards that Strong feels are necessary for the program to get back to its winning ways, but at the same time, he is making sure that he is establishing trusting relationships with his players. He and his coaches are making it known that their office doors are always open to players.

“I’ve told the players that now, when you come up, you can just walk right in,” Strong said. “I just want them to know who we are. When a young man knows that you care about him, he’ll do everything you ask of him.”

Strong is proving his commitment to the Longhorns by his actions just as much as he is with his words. When the team arrives for its early morning workout, Strong is usually already soaked with sweat from his own workout. Strong will run and lift weights with the team in offseason workouts and defensive end Cedric Reed said Strong shows the same commitment on the practice field.

“He’s real. He’s really real. He won’t embarrass you in front of everybody, but he’ll come up to you and tell you exactly what he wants. It’s a motivational, ‘I’ll tell you what I want’ kind of thing,” Reed said.

A new era of Texas football is certainly upon us.

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