AUSTIN, Texas -- Sterlin Gilbert comes off as a genuinely folksy West Texas man of few words, but he can get downright philosophical when discussing his objective as the new offensive coordinator at Texas.

"It's the act of knowing without knowing," Gilbert said.

The high-speed offense he's building -- like so many others in the Big 12 -- doesn't achieve success simply by being taught and learned. Gilbert is trying to train what he calls basic "mind-muscle memory." If a player can unconsciously perform his task, he'll do so optimally. The more you do it, the more automatic it becomes.

Texas coach Charlie Strong, left, chats with new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert. John Rivera/Icon Sportswire

"It's all built on high reps," Gilbert said. "When you get it right, we're gonna do it again. When you get it right again, we're gonna do it again."

And when it works, it looks incredibly easy. But there's nothing easy about condensing it into only 15 practices in the spring and 29 in the preseason.

The Longhorns are trying to achieve the same feat that made TCU co-Big 12 champions in 2014 and sent Oklahoma to the College Football Playoff in 2015. The masterminds behind the offensive renovations at these three programs come from different backgrounds and systems, but with some things in common -- a new quarterback, a new scheme and defenses that can hold their own.

And the mission is universal. Score more points. Win more games.

But first it requires a successful install.

TCU co-offensive coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie can look back on their first offseason in Fort Worth -- and their 23-3 record since -- and chuckle about the less-than-inspiring early results.

"We got shut out in the spring game, so that didn't go too well," Cumbie said.

No points, four turnovers. The staff brought in a new quarterback, Texas A&M grad transfer Matt Joeckel, to challenge Trevone Boykin. The offense was still a work in progress in early August. The Horned Frogs didn't truly know what they had -- with their offense or with Boykin -- until their scrimmages in fall camp.

When it all came together, TCU exploded: 46.5 points per game, 12 wins, a New Year's Six bowl victory, a Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year at QB and an utterly stunning turnaround.

Why did it all work so well? Meacham acknowledges there was some element of surprise. People didn't know exactly what TCU was planning offensively. Nor did most people see the potential of Boykin and his buddies.

"We just so happened to have some really good players. That helped. And it just so happened what we were doing offensively kind of fit their skill set," Meacham said. "Then we tweaked a little bit here and there and fit what they were with what we were going to do."

Keep in mind, Meacham and Cumbie were working with the same players who scored 8.8 first-half points per game in 2013. TCU's new offensive vision successfully unleashed those players. Six of them are in NFL training camps today. They pulled it all off in Year 1 because, ultimately, the plan wasn't complex.

"It's a real super ultra-simple system," Meacham said. "After a year or two of being in the system, you'll remember it the rest of your life."

A little like that intuition idea Gilbert has. When you stay simple, Meacham says, you're letting your kids play full speed.

"If you're out there trying to figure out what to do, you're not very good," Meacham said. "You're not very fast and you're not very confident. If you're doing it full speed, you win more than you lose, I'll tell you that."

Boykin, Josh Doctson and several more key veterans are gone, but TCU's offense has something vital now: two years of reps. For coaches, the system becomes more efficient. They know what does and doesn't work. For players, the system becomes more effortless.

"It's all about muscle memory and it's all about repetition, and they hadn't gotten a lot of that," Cumbie said. "Hopefully, you get to a point where it can run itself and guys know where to go and how to react."

Could Shane Buechele find instant success in Texas' new offense the way Trevone Boykin and Baker Mayfield did at TCU and Oklahoma, respectively? John Rivera/Icon Sportswire

Oklahoma reacted to the rise of TCU and Baylor and a disappointing 8-5 season by embracing an offensive makeover after the 2014 season. New OC Lincoln Riley had a different challenge: turn a top-25 offense into a title-caliber offense that won the big games.

A fresh start produced 43.5 points per game, 11 wins, a Big 12 title and a playoff bid for the Sooners in Year 1, an accomplishment that earned Riley the Broyles Award as college football's top assistant.

He was asked last week to think back on the obstacles he encountered while upgrading the Sooners' offensive attack. Plenty came to mind. "Guys going through experiences for the first time," Riley said. "Guys getting out in competitive games, hostile environments. Maybe something is not going well, how much are you going to trust it? Guys trusting the man next to them and that they know what they're doing in games. Being able to game plan. Understanding how some of these guys are going to react in game time -- some are better, some are worse when the lights come up.

"There was a ton. And there still is."

Riley did inherit quality talent. He had a fiery quarterback in Baker Mayfield who possessed scheme experience and a chip on his shoulder. And OU had Samaje Perine, who did rush for 427 yards in one game. And Sterling Shepard, the best receiver in school history. That's a decent start.

For the Sooners, the challenge proved to be locking down their identity. They were still working toward that in the first half of the season. The 24-17 loss to Texas turned up the pressure and forced changes. The offensive line received the wake-up call it needed. OU pivoted to a run game that averaged 300 yards per game over the ensuing seven-game win streak. Mayfield settled in and completed 70 percent of his passes.

"‪We played better as we went on," Riley said. "Part of that was it was Year 1 and there was a progression about it. We knew what our identity was. We just weren't great at it. Around midseason we started playing better and got some confidence, and we were able to take off from there."‬‬

Plus, as Riley pointed out during his Broyles Award speech last December: "It's a hell of a lot easier calling plays when you're pretty darn good on defense, too." Oklahoma had the No. 1 defense in the Big 12 last season, just as TCU did in 2014.

The obstacles Texas faces in catching up to its conference foes are well documented. There's more pressure when the head coach is on the hot seat. There's more to teach if the quarterback is a true freshman. Texas hasn't produced a first-team All-Big 12 player on offense since 2009. Gilbert is the program's fifth offensive play-caller in five years. How does he sell his plan to his players?

"You just tell them we're going to go fast, probably faster than they've ever done," he said.

What Gilbert does have is extensive experience with these Year 1 installations. He has gone through them at Eastern Illinois in 2012, Bowling Green in 2014 and last year at Tulsa. In one season, the Golden Hurricane made the jump from 24.7 points per game (91st in FBS) to 37.1 (21st).

Gilbert says he believes Texas' install is right on schedule. Every day of fall camp counts. He comes from the Art Briles coaching tree but says he'll put his own spin on the concepts that won Baylor two Big 12 titles.

He might have a different vision, but what he's trying to accomplish is no different than what TCU and Oklahoma did. Mastering these offenses requires years of reps and experience. Texas is trying to get there in one eight-month offseason, because it has worked before.

"Guys have to have a complete understanding of how to do it fast and in a hurry," Gilbert said, "and then do it at a high level."