“I’m looking for a guy to execute, know where to take the ball, be accurate and be consistent.”
Former Texas Longhorns safety Michael Huff is back in Austin hanging around campus with the 2016 team and recently sat down for a quick interview with new ‘Horns offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert, which you can watch above.
Huff, who played in Austin from 2002-05 and won the Jim Thorpe award as the nation’s top defensive back his last season, asks Gilbert five questions about his background and offensive philosophy.
The first question: You’ve never had a ‘G’ on the end of Sterlin?
“No ‘G,’ just Sterlin,” Gilbert says. “You’ve got to have a little country in you when you pronounce it.”
After the warm-up, Huff’s second question is about Gilbert’s work with quarterbacks.
“You’ve always been a great quarterback,” Huff says. “How does that translate to your success working with quarterbacks?”
Gilbert says he learned under great coaches himself, and uses that experience with his players.
“I’ve been able to view it from that quarterback’s perspective,” he says. “You see the field that way, see reads that way, see route combinations that way.”
Huff then asks what Gilbert looks for when he’s recruiting a quarterback.
“Number one, when you’re watching a guy throw you are looking for accuracy,” Gilbert says. “But when you start digging deeper you’re looking for the intangible things. How competitive is a guy? Is the guy a winner? Great leader? Is he the most competitive guy on the football team? How does he handle himself? There are a lot of intangible things I’m looking for.”
Gilbert has been installing a new offense at Texas since his new arrival, and Huff asks if installing it gets easier the more times he does it.
“I don’t know if easier is the word, but I think over the years we’ve got a better idea of it and a better plan,” Gilbert says.
Huff likes Gilbert’s answer so much he then wants to know if he could play quarterback for him.
The last question is about what Gilbert is looking for from his quarterbacks going into fall camp.
“I’m looking for a guy to execute, know where to take the ball, be accurate, and be consistent,” Gilbert says.
This is the first installment of a series, so we’ll be looking for more of Huff’s questions in the next few days.