Texas players met with the media on Tuesday to preview Saturday's season opener against Maryland. The Longhorns were upbeat, loose and confident in how they'll fare this season, but showing that they have improved as a team is a completely different story.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Longhorns believe they're a different team from a year ago
Last year's season-opening 51-41 loss to Maryland at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium probably felt like a lifetime ago, considering all that happened in the succeeding 12 games. It was about as big of a gut punch as openers come, especially after such a prolonged build-up for coach Tom Herman's first season on the 40 Acres.