By SCHUYLER DIXON
Texas cornerback Kris Boyd apologized Sunday for being on Twitter during halftime of an embarrassing 50-7 loss to No. 3 TCU, when he passed along a suggestion that he transfer to Texas A&M.
The freshman retweeted what amounted to an invitation from an apparent supporter of the Aggies, a rival the Longhorns don’t play anymore. The tweet read, “Whenever ya’ll (sic) are ready to transfer … we’re ready. #Gig’em.”
In a statement issued by the university, Boyd said he “personally” apologized to coaches and teammates and said he wanted to “extend my sincerest apology to all of the Longhorn fans and family and everyone at UT.”
“In no way did I intend to be disrespectful or disloyal,” Boyd said. “I deeply regret my actions and want to reassure everyone that I am 100 percent committed to this team and program. I promise everyone that I will learn and grow from this.”
Texas fell behind 30-0 in the first quarter, trailed 37-0 at halftime and barely avoided its worst shutout loss in more than 100 years Saturday. Coach Charlie Strong faced questions afterward about whether his players still believed in him.
The Longhorns (1-4, 0-2 Big 12) are off to their worst start since going 1-9 in 1956.
“You have to find leadership and you’ve got to get them all the buy in,” Strong said after the game. “When you’re a young team like the youth that we have right now and you don’t have any leaders to step up with your older guys, then you’re going to have the issues because what’s happening now is most of your playmakers are the young guys.”
Redshirt freshman quarterback Jerrod Heard, who had his second straight sub-par game after a pair of explosive showings, said after the game he wasn’t aware of the retweet.
“Something like that, Kris has got a lot of heart,” Heard said. “He’s going to speak his mind whenever he needs to. I’m not doubting Kris.”
Texas returns to the Dallas area for the annual Red River rivalry against No. 10 Oklahoma (4-0, 1-0). The Longhorns had late special teams blunders that cost them chances to beat California and Oklahoma State, and early runs that buried them against the Horned Frogs.
Heard generated just 71 yards rushing and passing before getting replaced by former starter Tyrone Swoopes with the Longhorns trailing 47-0 late in third quarter. TCU had 604 total yards, and Texas is ranked 119th out of 127 FBS teams in total defense.
“You’ve got to know when things aren’t going right that someone has to step up,” Strong said. “That’s what we’re not getting right now. We’re missing that key guy, somebody that can take the team over.”
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