It was something Mack Brown was told 20 years ago, in the window of time when he was just learning to be a head coach. You get good, really good, when every player who touches the ball can score for you.
Popular young country singer Pat Green has a hit record out entitled "Wave on Wave," and that is the way that New Mexico State surely must have felt Sunday night in the Longhorns' 66-7 victory. Big plays seemed to come from all directions, all units.
When your guys who kick off, and there were two of them, touch the ball (11) almost as much as your star running back (12), you know it has been a good night.
The game actually began like a boxing match, with the Texas offense, headed by first-year starter Chance Mock and a revamped offensive line, feeling its way through 14 plays without a score. After that, the 'Horns were scoring so fast they hardly had time to establish a sustained anything. The rest of the game, Texas had only 35 offensive snaps.
The defense scored, the special teams scored, the offense scored, and when it ended, Texas had 66 points, had its third quarterback in the game and had driven to the New Mexico State 11 before Mack Brown told his young players not to score and embarrass the visitors further.
The 50th win in just five years and a game in Brown's tenure at Texas was clearly the most impressive opener of the six. Two goals of the fall, building depth and "finishing" games were accomplished in the opener.
Good football players come to places like Texas because they want a chance to play, and Brown made sure that happened. By the end of the third quarter, he had flooded the field with reserves. Twenty-five different players were credited with defensive statistics. Ten different backs shared the 33 rushing carries.
But the very best thing about the game was that, as good as it was, there are things that can be worked on to get better.
Brown cited better tackling and fewer penalties as two of them. Folks who fretted about the running game should realize that the Longhorns' 49 plays were the fewest for a Texas team in years - since the Horns had just 48 plays in a 21-21 tie versus Syracuse in 1993.
Let me say that again: in a 21-21 tie. This was a 66-7 victory. It was like scooping up quarters from a bucket full ... points were coming so quickly guys were spending more time trotting off the field than they were in the huddle.
But the 83,096 plus who made up the largest crowd ever for a home opener (despite the rain), had to like what they saw. Brown said football is a hard game, and you should have fun playing it, and the guys did. And it was fun watching them have fun.
Chance Mock was pumped, justifiably perhaps a little too excited, but he directed a solid game.
"How could you not be excited," Mock would say after the game. "I'm the starting quarterback at THE University of Texas. How great is that. It was the opportunity I've been waiting all my life for. Sure I got a little to pumped early, but who wouldn't?"
He settled down and showed a maturity despite some unexpected breakdowns. Young teams will have that, and the key is to withstand it, and Chance did.
Vince Young showed his obvious talent, but he more importantly showed his growth as an all-around player. The team has enough offensive fire power that Young offers a powerful change of pace. The day will come, Brown hopes, when he will have two complete units.
And where there was the usual analysis of the quarterback situation, there was Chance and Vince sharing a post-game interview room together, walking in side by side and departing with the love and respect that Mack Brown and the Longhorn family live every day.
"I love you man," Mock said to Young, and Young said back, "I love you too. Take care of yourself tonight."
For them Sunday night was an evening of joy doing what the both love. And that is the perspective in which it should be viewed. It is important to avoid the tendency of some fans to get really high or really low depending on the last snap. The excitement should not be because Texas whipped New Mexico State, or about the score. The excitement should be conditioned about potential.
If there was one moment in that game which underscored what this Texas team can be, it was a 39-yard pass to Bo Scaife that came after Derrick Johnson's interception return for a touchdown. How good it was to see him back after sturggling with injury.
Roy Williams had his catches and showed great leadership, and the defensive front put on the pressure Brown and his coaches have been seeking.
And while there was some consternation amongst the media for the slow beginning, Brown's theme of "finish" could not have been carried out better. This we also know: with all of the arsenal that was used, there are a lot of exciting folks who didn't figure in the statistics this time. B. J. Johnson and Tony Jeffrey had rushes but no receptions, and the exciting young tight end David Thomas didn't get a ball.
The heart of the team, and its togetherness, was evident. The veterans supported the young guys, realizing that as they were surrendering playing time, they were building something important. Give up your individuality for the team, Brown had said, and this night, they did. In the dressing room after the game, Brown asked the guys to give the game ball to Lance McFarland, their former teammate who is battling cancer. He told them to enjoy the win, and realize that it would take an even stronger effort to beat a good and inspired Arkansas team in two weeks.
They say a team usually improves the most between its first and second game, and Longhorns now have a responsibility to accomplish that. The 20th straight home win, in what will be perhaps the toughest home schedule ever, was basically a season in itself.
Beginning with that Arkansas game on September 13, Texas will play 10 straight Saturdays before getting a weekend off prior to the Texas A&M game on Thanksgiving weekend.
The New Mexico State game was like getting a box of a puzzle for a present. It was the opening of the box. Now, the pieces are scattered over the calendar. The success of the season will be determined about how they fit together, week-by-week.
What we know is, the picture on the cover of the box is really pretty. But it is how it looks at the finish (to borrow Mack's phrase) that will matter.
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