AUSTIN, Texas — On a crisp and cold morning, the Longhorns hit the practice field in full pads for the first time this spring camp.
"The older guys know what the expectations are of a padded practice around here," Texas Head Coach Tom Herman said. "I wanted to make [sure] that throughout the course of the week or even in the off-season they were doing a good job of educating these newcomers [about practice habits in drills]."
Coach Herman added that nobody avoided contact on the first day of full pads.
The Longhorns will take a break for a week due to Spring Break and return to campus for 6 a.m. meetings a week from Monday.
Notables from Friday's final practice before spring break:
Coach Herman said defensive back Anthony Cook "twinged his hamstring on Wednesday." Cook is expecting to stay in Austin for Spring Break for rehab for his hamstring.
Defensive tackle Keondre Coburn was cleared Friday for non-contact individual drills. Coburn is battling a kidney issue.
"We're going to check his blood levels again today. Hopefully the blood levels come back normal," Coach Herman said. "Then we can start easing him back into practice."
The Longhorns received a reminder of how to conduct themselves while on Spring Break. Members of the Austin Police Department, UT Police Department and the Department of Public Safety spoke to the team during their 'Forever Texas' series on Thursday.
The message: "Take care of each other. Anything that you get involved with that you shouldn't is an act of selfishness," Coach Herman said. "To put your immediate gratification ahead of the betterment of the team, we told them that, we told them that. We told them don't text and drive, obviously, don't speed and wear your seat belt."
A simple reminder for the Longhorns to keep in mind as they enjoy their time off for Spring Break.
"Because you read about some of these horror stories every year, and you just pray that it's not one of your guys."