Texas travels to Lubbock to play Texas Tech this weekend and while the game isn’t quite as big as it has been in past years, it nevertheless is a meeting between two in-state rivals with plenty of bad blood on each side.
So it should come as no surprise that things got a bit chippy again on Monday morning when Texas defensive end Breckyn Hager met with the media and said he wanted to “injure that quarterback,” referring to Red Raiders signal-caller Patrick Mahomes.
It didn’t take long before Hager (and Texas sports information) realized how inflammatory the comments were, with a statement promptly sent out later in the afternoon by the Longhorns walking back the part about trying to injure another player.
“I want to apologize for what I said earlier today at our press conference. I play hard and it’s our team’s goal to get pressure on the quarterback, hit him and disrupt the offense. When I go out there I want to play my most aggressive game, but I’m not trying to do anything to physically injure someone,” Hager said. “I have too much respect for Patrick Mahomes and every quarterback I play against to ever do that. That’s not what I’m about, not the way I was raised and not the way we play football at Texas. Our coaches don’t teach us that or coach us to injure other players in any way. It was a really poor choice of words, and I truly regret it. My point should have been that it’s our job as defensive linemen to make our presence known and affect the quarterback. Life is bigger than a game, and I’m still learning how to be a better player on and off the field. I hope everyone will accept my apology for what I said.”
Head coach Charlie Strong also apologized for the comments and noted how much respect he and the team have for Mahomes, the nation’s leading passer and a quarterback who beat the Longhorns last season.
Considering the state of the Texas’ defense, it’s probably not wise to poke the bear -- or quarterback in this case -- given Mahomes’ numbers on the year but the comments do ramp up the energy of the in-state tussle this week for sure.