During the bye week, the Longhorns had the opportunity to relax and take a break from football. Some members of the team stayed in Austin, some went home and a couple even went hunting.

“I just went home and ate and I ate some more,” said senior center David Snow. “Anytime when you get to go home and get some home cooked meals it’s really great. I gained a little weight over the weekend.”

Snow spent time with his five siblings and his family. He said while he’s at school, especially during football season, he doesn’t get the opportunity to spend much time with them.

Snow said the team’s practices over the week were very strong and he is excited for the game next weekend.

While Snow was in Gilmer with his family, senior safety Blake Gideon went to his family farm.

“I relaxed a little bit and hunted and hung out with my grandparents and probably ate way to much of my grandma’s food,” Gideon said.

He said it seems like it has been a long time since the team has played a game. He is anxious to get back on the field and play in another game.

“We’re chomping at the bit but it’s a good sign that we are ready to get back to our work,” Gideon said.

Senior tight end Blaine Irby also tested his hunting skills. He went to his girlfriend’s place in Victoria and went dove hunting.

“It went awesome,” Irby said. “It was great. I wasn’t too lucky with a couple of my shots but it was fun. It was a fun weekend just to kind of relax and just sit down and take advantage of our time off.”

While some players stayed in Texas, senior Emmanuel Acho went to Philadelphia for a wedding. Although the flight was three hours with a stop in Missouri, he was productive while in the air.

“On the flight I watched the three game tapes of Iowa State versus Northern Iowa, UConn and Iowa,” Acho said. “So I got to watch all three of those games. One of those games went into overtime so you got to see really what plays they called in crunch time so that was really good and that was very helpful.”

Senior running back Fozzy Whittaker said the team is considering the first three games of this year the “first season” and now they are preparing for their second season, which is the next three games against Iowa State, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

Whittaker spent the weekend in Austin and went to a Little League football game.

“It was nice being able to relax and recuperate a little,” Whittaker said. “I am happy to be back this week getting ready to prepare for Iowa State.”

Senior Kheeston Randall said having a bye week is a nice break, but he is excited to get back on the field for a game.

“It’s bittersweet because you see everybody else playing on TV and you want to play,” Randall said.

Keenan Robinson also stayed in Austin and worked out. He said he made sure he focused on football during the break.

“All week we were practicing and watching film of Iowa State, so we were preparing for them,” Robinson said. “We were preparing on the tempo offense, we were preparing on how their quarterback can make plays with his feet and we were just preparing and making sure we could stay focused that week and get better and not just take the week off.”

Head coach Mack Brown confirmed Whittaker’s sentiments and said the break was beneficial for the players, but that the second phase of the season is the next three weeks.

“Our coaches and our players really enjoyed a weekend off with the bye week so they could rest their bodies and minds and got to see a lot of great football over the weekend and especially how good the Big 12 is,” Brown said.

Although the Longhorns got a break from games, they know that Iowa State is a strong 3-0 team with something to prove.

Just like them.

“It [the bye week] gets your body revamped and ready to go,” Snow said.

Printed on September 30, 2011 as: Enjoying the bye week