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Texas opens fall camp with commitment to culture

Tom Herman wants his players to reflect on all they've accomplished, but not let it define them.

AUSTIN, Texas — Texas football opened fall camp on Friday with a clear commitment to appreciating the culture it’s built, but also not wanting to rest on its accomplishments.

It’s something that’s led Head Coach Tom Herman to demand his players leave last year’s Sugar Bowl win in the past.

“Since January we haven't allowed any Sugar Bowl gear," he said.

Still, there was much talk about the culture he’s brought to the Longhorns as he heads into his third year.

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"Culture isn't static, it's ever-evolving,” Coach Herman said. “What you're either doing is helping our culture or hurting it."

He said Texas hasn’t reached the destination yet but is well on its way.

"The few [players] that aren't [bought in], they're getting exposed by their peers and they're learning every day the importance of it," Coach Herman said.

As the Longhorns embark on a series of fall practices that will culminate in the season opener on Aug. 31 against Louisiana Tech, Herman wants the focus of his team to be on this season and this season only – hence the demand that his players not don any gear from last year’s Sugar Bowl win against Georgia.

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Coach Herman said Friday he believes Texas has proven it belongs among the nation’s top-tier programs, but he wants his team to play with a very specific type of confidence.

"It's not for us proving to anybody else that we belong,” he said. “It's us proving to each other that we belong."

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