AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas senior linebacker Timothy Cole couldn’t help but notice it when he and his fellow Longhorns gathered for team photos before the first day of fall practice.

It was hard to miss, really, when he looked around. He arrived at Texas in 2012 with 27 other players. He’s one of five still on the team today. But it's more than that: This Texas team will have a dozen scholarship seniors. Nearly all of them signed to play for former coach Mack Brown.

After this season, there will only be a couple of these "Mack guys" left. This season is, to some extent, their last hurrah.

"We're getting thin out here," Cole said. "We took pictures (Friday) and we were like, 'That's all we got now.'"

Timothy Cole and the rest of the Texas upperclassmen want to end their careers on a positive note. Reese Strickland/USA TODAY Sports

His veteran peers signed to chase Big 12 and national championships with Brown and his staff. They’ve instead experienced what might be generously described as a difficult transitional period for the proud program.

"It's gone very fast," senior receiver Jacorey Warrick said. "I think there's only six, seven, eight of us from the Mack era. It's definitely gone quick."

Warrick's guess is actually pretty close. Of the 85 scholarship players on Texas’ 2016 roster, only a dozen were members of Brown's recruiting classes.

Signed by Brown (12): TE Caleb Bluiett, DT Paul Boyette Jr., LB Timothy Cole, DE Bryce Cottrell, CB Antwuan Davis, CB Sheroid Evans, DE Naashon Hughes, WR Jake Oliver, OL Kent Perkins, QB Tyrone Swoopes, S Kevin Vaccaro, WR Jacorey Warrick.

You could technically bump that number up to 14, since Strong ended up awarding scholarships to two current players who were walk-ons under Brown, safety Dylan Haines and long snapper Kyle Ashby.

For what it's worth, there's also a small group of "tweeners" remaining. These players made their verbal commitments to Brown but officially signed with Charlie Strong.

Committed to Brown (14): TE Andrew Beck, RB Roderick Bernard, CB John Bonney, OL Terrell Cuney, WR Armanti Foreman, RB D'Onta Foreman, WR Garrett Gray, S Jason Hall, QB Jerrod Heard, WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps, WR Lorenzo Joe, WR Dorian Leonard, OL Jake McMillon, OL Patrick Vahe.

Still, Texas' 85-man scholarship roster is now comprised of twice as many players landed by Strong (57) as by Brown.

"We're outnumbered now," Cole said with a laugh. "We're the older guys and a lot of younger guys look at us like, 'Dang, you are really old.'"

Strong has his players and coaches back in the Texas dorm rooms this month for fall camp. The difference between the older and younger players can be easy to spot in that setting, Strong said. The new kids are prone to staying up late joking around.

"The older guys go to bed," Strong said. "They know what's coming the next day."

The way Cole describes it, there seems to be a generational gap between the veterans and underclassmen.

"A lot of the guys were born in, like, '98. I was born in '93," Cole said. "It's like, dude, I really am old."

A roster packed with touted and talented youngsters will still lean on these old men. Strong is quick to shoot down the notion this team belongs to his much-hyped sophomores.

It's possible only five or six of Texas' seniors will be holding down starting jobs by the end of the month. But their coach doesn't see any reason why that would lessen their leadership.

"So much is going to be put on our young guys," Strong said. "I look at our older guys, they've been with us three years so they've heard my voice over and over again. You have older guys that, even though they may not be a starter, the guys have enough respect (for}."

A team with so much youthful talent still must depend on this group of veterans. Warrick doesn't see any disconnect between those groups. The "Mack era" guys want to win just as badly as Strong's signees do. And, for many, this is their last shot.

"We all get what he's trying to do and we're all behind it," Warrick said. "Everybody's on the same page with what we're trying to get accomplished here."