Yahoo Sports Ex-Texas DB DeShon Elliott calls out UT coaching staff for 'bad mouthing' juniors who left for NFL
DeShon Elliott had some things to get off his chest on Wednesday morning.
The former Texas safety, now with the Baltimore Ravens, took to Twitter to air some grievances with some of the Longhorns’ coaching staff. Elliott did not call out any UT coaches specifically, but was clearly referencing the staff, led by Tom Herman, that took over two years ago.
‘Bad talk’ from Texas coaches ‘has to come to an end’
Specifically, Elliott said coaches were speaking negatively about the UT players who left school after Herman’s first season to pursue NFL careers.
“I’d really appreciate it if anyone on the current staff at the University of Texas Football team besides (safeties coach) Craig Naivar, (cornerbacks coach) Jason Washington or (quality control coach) Kyle Coats would keep my name out of there mouth and continue to bad talk me or any other junior that decided to leave early,” Elliott tweeted.
In follow-up tweets, Elliott added: “We led your team the best we could before making a decision to better our families. Which I believe you would do the same. If you really ‘loved’ your players the way you portray then you wouldn’t continually talk bad about them behind closed doors. Bad mouthing us to our brothers who we played for and cried and sweat for way before you stepped on campus.
“(I) kept my mouth quiet about this, it’s the complete opposite of my personality but it has to come to an end. It’s been a continuous thing for far too long.”
According to the Austin American-Statesman, some coaches told current UT players “not to associate” with Elliott, who threw a July 4 party in Austin.
Based on a series of now-deleted tweets, former Texas safety DeShon Elliott believes the current UT coaching staff is “bad mouthing” him behind closed doors. The genesis of Elliott’s rancor stems from a party on July 4.
Elliott held an Independence Day pool party in Austin, and multiple current Longhorns players attended. Some members of the coaching staff later found out about the party and warned players not to associate with Elliott, a source familiar with Elliott’s thinking told the American-Statesman.
DeShon Elliott was one of six Texas juniors to leave for the NFL
Elliott, along with punter Michael Dickson, defensive back Holton Hill, linebacker Malik Jefferson, running back Chris Warren and tackle Connor Williams, decided to forgo their remaining eligibility and declare for the NFL draft following the 2017 season.
Of those players, only Dickson participated in Texas’ win over Missouri in the 2017 Texas Bowl. Elliott and Williams both sat out to avoid injury and begin preparing for the NFL while Hill was suspended, Jefferson was injured and Warren had already left the program.
All of those players were recruited by the previous Texas staff under Charlie Strong, who is now at South Florida after UT fired him. Herman was brought in after two winning seasons at the University of Houston, and often spoke of changing the program’s culture. There were quite a few departures before the 2017 season, and many after it ended as well.
Elliott and Williams both announced their intentions to sit out the bowl game in the days following the team’s regular season finale. Whether that decision — the decision itself or how they went about making it — did not sit well with Herman is not known publicly; he has never publicly criticized any of those players for leaving school.
Based on those tweets, Elliott seems to think he did so behind closed doors (perhaps to NFL scouts?). Williams, now a Dallas Cowboy, seems to feel the same way.
I hear you brother
— Connor Williams (@cwill) July 18, 2018
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