Like It is

It's easy to like Strong, even as a Longhorn

Texas head football coach Charlie Strong talks to the media during his weekly news conference, Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

If Charlie Strong weren't the head coach of the Texas Longhorns, he would probably be pulling for the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 29 in Houston.

Strong grew up in Arkansas, in the lovely hamlet of Batesville to be exact. He played his college football at the University of Central Arkansas, and he probably went through the ritual most first-graders do when they grow up in the Natural State.

Someone gave him the choice: Hate Texas or move there.

In those days it was a choice. Since The Big Shootout in 1969, it has been more of an ultimatum.

OK, that's a bit of an exaggeration -- maybe -- but most Arkansans grew up hating the Texas Longhorns, specifically when it comes to football, and mostly because they were so darn good.

Being a national contender most years tends to make any fan base a bit arrogant, and UT was no exception.

Strong might have encountered some of that when he moved from Louisville to Austin to take over the fabled Longhorns program that had struggled to recruit a quarterback in recent years.

Apparently Strong has been a little difficult to get to know at Texas, but that's not uncommon in the head coaching ranks these days.

When a guy makes millions of dollars a year to coach football, and that's the only way he knows to make millions of dollars a year, he is going to be very focused on coaching football, which includes relentless recruiting.

It would be impossible for yours truly to say whether Strong has changed, but in my two experiences with him, he was very kind and gracious.

The first encounter was the morning after one of Strong's three visits to Little Rock as a Broyles Award finalist.

We were both at the airport. He was flying back to Gainesville, Fla., and I was headed to a basketball game somewhere. Strong came over and introduced himself, and we chatted for several minutes before he asked if I would meet his wife, Victoria, who was very nice.

The three of us visited until their flight was announced.

The meeting left a strong impression of a guy who had manners and had been raised right.

The next time we saw each other was a few years ago before I returned to KABZ-FM, 103.7, The Buzz. I was at a different radio station where someone had the bright idea for us to drive to every SEC opponent's city and do a show from there.

Kentucky was first, then came a wet, dark drive through the Smoky Mountains and into South Carolina.

From there we drove to Jacksonville, Fla., to be closer to Gainesville and the news conferences the next day.

That morning we took a wrong turn. Despite several frantic, almost begging, phone calls to the sports information office, we were informed that Urban Meyer waits for no one -- not local media and certainly not anyone from Arkansas.

We showed up 20 minutes late, but one of the assistant sports information directors was waiting on us with a smile, something rare among sports information directors at Florida (and a few other schools that should be named some other time).

It seems he had mentioned to Strong that we were in town, and Strong volunteered to stay late and give us an interview.

When Strong arrived he had his usual, big "Glad to see you" smile on his face, and we interviewed him for 30 minutes, or about three times what we had hoped for.

Because of those two meetings, I've been a fan of Charlie Strong.

When he became the head coach at Louisville, I followed his career closely and wasn't surprised that he led that program to a 37-15 record in four seasons.

Now he's survived his first season at Texas, and he probably has grown to like the Longhorns. At least for now.

Sports on 12/21/2014