Former Texas Longhorns star and four-time Pro Bowler Brian Orakpo talked about fans in Austin needing to lower expectations for now.
Brian Orakpo loves his Texas Longhorns. He’s also realistic.
Orakpo, who starred in Austin between 2006-09, spoke with FanSided NFL reporter Matt Verderame on the Stacking The Box podcast this week as part of a promotion with Cesar Dog Food, and talked about where the program is.
After years of trying to find its way back to the top, the Longhorns are 3-2 with wins over UL Monroe, UTSA and West Virginia, along with losses to Alabama and Texas Tech. Going forward, Orakpo says it might be time for a change within the fanbase until things improve.
“I think we all have to kind of lower our expectations,” Orakpo said. “I mean, just to be quite honest with you. Everybody, myself, the fanbase, everybody. We have to lower our expectations and take it one game at a time. Every year we go through this ‘oh we’re going to compete for a title’ and things of that nature. That’s the ultimate goal, but then you overlook the Texas Techs or the Kansas’s, or whatever team is in front of us at the moment.
“We have to take it one game at a time, and it’s OU this week. Obviously that’s a huge game, big rivalry game, and those guys are going to be ready to play, along with Oklahoma.”
This week, with his former teams of Washington and Tennessee squaring off, Orakpo is partnering with Cesar to co-host the first-ever, pet-friendly game day watch party at Yee-Haw Brewing Co. and Ole Smoky Distillery in Nashville, Tennessee on Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. ET.