Longhorns Country

Roschon Johnson Helped 'Shift' Texas Into Contention

Steve Sarkisian believes Roschon Johnson helped change the trajectory of Texas Football.

Matt Galatzan

Roschon Johnson Helped 'Shift' Texas Into Contention
Roschon Johnson Helped 'Shift' Texas Into Contention /
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In the first two years of the Steve Sarkisian era for the Texas Longhorns, the program had found itself at a crossroads.

Either turn a corner and get back into contention the way Longhorns fans are accustomed to, or find themselves back on the treadmill of mediocrity. 

And after a 5-7 season in his first campaign, Sark and the Horns had their backs against the proverbial wall. 

Luckily, team leader Roschon Johnson was there to answer the call.

“We had a lot of tough losses (in Year 1) and I'll never forget Roschon Johnson standing up in the locker room, and he asked to speak to the team and really to everybody in the organization," Sarkisian told Josh Pate. "And At that point, you could feel a shift. Like no longer was it just me trying to say what we needed to be. The players started to speak it. And I think that bled into last season.”

And in Year 2, following Johnson's emotional speech, the Longhorns took a massive step forward, finishing 8-5, nearly knocking off Alabama, and contending for a Big 12 title until the late stages of the season. 

Now, though Johnson is in the NFL the Horns will hope to carry that mentality to Year 3. 

And hopefully, push through for more than just the Big 12 championship.

You can follow Matt Galatzan on Twitter @MattGalatzan

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writer’s Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014 covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually being taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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