'Blackout the Outside Noise': Longhorns LB Jaylan Ford Drowning Out Expectations

Following the offseason predictions that the Texas Longhorns are the favorite to take home the Big 12 title. But linebacker Jaylan Ford chooses to just focus on one game at a time.

There has been a tremendous amount of change and buzz working its way through the Texas Longhorns' offseason this year, unlike any other. For one, the upcoming 2023 season marks Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian's third year running the program. Secondly, for the first time since 2009, the Longhorns are predicted to take home the Big 12 championship title.

"Ever since Sark has been there, you've seen that improvement," Jaylan Ford, Texas linebacker said at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday in Arlington. "From the moment he got there, he had to establish the culture and establish his team... I think this year he finally has guys that were young when he started and had been able to mature along right beside him."

Maturity is not the only driving factor to the predicted success of the Longhorns this year, however. The strong relationships with one another and the common goal that they share carries a huge weight on their own.

"The physicality comes from the amount of players we have on our team that really want to win and who really want to win for each other, their teammates," Ford said on Wednesday at Big 12 Media Days. "Common themes for us have been loving one another, respecting and going out there and playing for one another."

Although the predictions that the Longhorns are the favorite to win their conference could be distracting, Ford said that Sarkisian has been consistent in teaching his athletes to drown out the noise, focus on the field and establish their own dynamic as a team.

"It's an easy way to get in your head," Ford said at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday. "But we've done a good job, especially coach Sark has done a good job of establishing how to blackout the outside noise, not let expectations and all that dictate how we're going to play and how we're going to perform."

Above all else, the Longhorns are dead set on a title game. Knowing that it's their last season in the Big 12 conference before moving to the SEC, the Horns have their eyes on the prize.

"Our biggest focus is this season and that means we are in the Big 12 this year to try to go get the championship, compete for a Big 12 championship, Ford said on Wednesday. "Our biggest focus is just one game at a time, going out there, giving it our best game."

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You can follow Tori Garcia on Twitter @ToriCGarcia

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