Texas Football: Leroy Scott, Chet Moss Dismissed from Longhorns Program

Late Sunday evening, new Texas head coach Charlie Strong took his first major disciplinary action since arriving in January, dismissing from the team a pair of rising seniors: defensive back Leroy Scott and fullback Chet Moss.

According to Max Olson of ESPN.com:

"

New Texas Longhorns coach Charlie Strong dismissed two players from his program Sunday.

Defensive back Leroy Scott and fullback Chet Moss were dismissed due to unspecified violations of team rules, the school announced.

...They are the first two players to leave the Texas program since Strong was hired in January.

"

Scott played in all 13 games as a junior last season, finishing the year with 17 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and one pass broken up, according to cfbstats.com. His official team bio states that he was tied for the team lead with three recovered fumbles and that he was UT's co-special teams player of the season (along with Anthony Fera).

Capable of playing both cornerback and safety, Scott was tentatively expected to compete for a starting role in the revamped defense under Strong and new defensive coordinator Vance Bedford. Potentially on defense and definitely on special teams, his dismissal, which came as a minor shock, will hurt the team in 2014.

Moss' dismissal is neither as impactful nor surprising. According to Chris Hummer of The Dallas Morning News, he was suspended for the team's Thanksgiving Day game against Texas Tech in 2013, and he had failed to make an impact beyond special teams during his three years.

Strong has made it clear that he wants to change the culture in Austin—a culture which has allowed a team stacked with talent to disappoint on the field for three consecutive seasons. He's a no-nonsense coach who expects his authority to be respected.

According to Sean Adams of ESPN, Strong said in January that he and his staff are "not here to run anyone off. We are here to help young men." If any player is unwilling to accept that help or abide by his catalog of new conduct rules, the player will be sent packing.

No exceptions.

Even if he might have been a starter.