Texas Athletic Director Praises Longhorns First Fall Scrimmage

University of Texas vice president and athletic director Chris Del Conte was excited to see a live football scrimmage on Saturday for the first time since December.

University of Texas vice president and athletic director Chris Del Conte was excited to see a live football scrimmage on Saturday for the first time since December. 

The Longhorns ran through a series of plays in what head coach Tom Herman called "sloppy" but also "high effort".

Some of the rust was to be expected after such a long layover, and while many left excited about some of the big plays on both sides of the ball, for Del Conte the win came in just getting the players on the field amid the major doubt surrounding the season. 

He addressed the situation his his latest newsletter. 

With the Big 12 fall sports seasons moving forward, Saturday was a truly spectacular day on our campus as I had a chance to witness Coach Herman and our Football team scrimmage for the first time during this very unique and challenging preseason training camp. Coaches were coaching hard, the team competed, sweated, grimaced and grunted, but more importantly celebrated, and smiles were plentiful. They were of course masked-up and following all of our guidelines and protocols while having so much fun playing the game they love.
It was a sight to behold and a long time coming! Coach Herman reminded the squad after the scrimmage that it had been eight months since they played in Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, and it was such a glorious morning on Campbell-Williams Field. The COVID-19 pandemic forced us to miss spring drills, start camp late and has delayed our season, and we completely understand that and continue to monitor all of our health and safety guidelines closely. The welfare of our student-athletes is paramount, and one thing that cannot be overlooked is how beneficial playing their sports is to their mental health. And their commitment, energy and desire is also unbelievably motivating, inspiring and encouraging to all of us who cheer them on.

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