Kansas State linebacker and team captain Tre Walker caught the public eye early this summer when he said Texas "laid down a little bit ... that's just what they do," questioning the Longhorns' resilience at Big 12 Media Day.
Kansas State’s Tre Walker apologized to Mack Brown, but Texas players remember
The Wildcats’ linebacker attempts to recant his harsh words for the Longhorns, but Texas does not forget that easily.
Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Walker has tried his hardest to make the bulletin board material go away, calling it a "false report" (though it was widely quoted by multiple outlets) and talking with Texas head coach Mack Brown.
KSU LB Tre Walker called Mack Brown, apologized for comments Texas lays down. MB: "I told him I totally understood. He's a great player."
— kbohls (@kbohls) September 18, 2013
It’s not entirely clear who called who -- that tweet suggests Walker made the call, but Walker told Sean Keeler of Fox Sports Kansas City that Brown called him.
Longhorns players took “great offense” to Walker’s statement ...
"It's basically a slap in the face," senior safety Adrian Phillips said. "You don't want to hear that. You want to be known for being physical, fighting throughout the whole game, getting wins. When you have a player talking like that, it's a slap in the face. Our team took it personally."
... and some aren’t planning on forgetting (while others say they’re over it):
"It stings, man," defensive end Cedric Reed said. "It's a hard thing to hear knowing the tradition of this defense, knowing this is one of the toughest defenses. It's tough to hear."
Kansas State has beat Texas five consecutive times -- meaning Walker has never lost to them on the field. The Longhorns defense has given up 822 rushing yards in the past two weeks, and fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz after a Week 2 loss to BYU.
The two teams face each other at 8 p.m. ET Saturday on ABC, and we will see if Texas is able to use Walker’s comments as fuel for a much-needed win.
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