Longhorns football at "midterms"

AUSTIN - Consider this the midterm assessment at the halfway point of the season. The answer to the question at quarterback? Number 14.

"When you're the guy it's different than when you go in every once in a while and take a snap and run off the field," freshman quarterback David Ash said after his first start. "You're out there the whole time. There's no time to relax or anything like that. You've got to be focused and I'm learning to do that."

Ash took nearly every snap, passing for 139 yards and two interceptions.

"We felt like he did a good job at the Oklahoma game," head coach Mack Brown said. "He made some plays with his feet. He did that again today. We're not protecting as well at times as we need to, especially when we got behind last week, so those are part of the reasons we felt like he gave us a better chance today."

Ash said he was named the starter earlier in the week.

"I feel like I'm ready," Ash said. "I have a lot of room to grow. Obviously I'm not there yet. But I know I'll get there and I'll do everything I can to get there."

While coaches say there is still competition at every position, Brown said his players and coaches are growing more together as the season progresses.

"I feel like the coaches are making progress together, because they haven't worked together in these settings very often," he said. "We're sitting here six games through the season and we know a lot more about ourselves than we did six weeks ago."

Freshman running back Malcolm Brown ran for 135 yards on 19 carries and had two touchdowns.

"We're doing real great," Brown said. "Unfortunately we didn't come out with the win, but it almost felt a lot smoother than last week. We just have to keep executing and keep getting the little details down."

Of course the final exam comes at season's end, and with six more games to go, some more answers should follow.