Texas Football: The 10 Most Important People in the Program

The Texas Longhorns are one year into their rebuilding project.

After going 5-7 in 2010, Mack Brown injected huge transformations into the program, reflective in a slew of new coaches and changes in attitude and atmosphere. A season later, the Longhorns finished 7-5, with major upside moving forward.

The project is nowhere near complete, but there are a handful of central figures that will make the assignment much easier and transparent.

Here are the 10 most important people in the Texas program.

Mack Brown

Mack Brown, of course, is the brain of the operation.

Change came to Texas, and it started with Brown, who admitted he had lost some fire in coaching. But with the introduction of a number of young coaches at his side, Brown revitalized himself and vowed to return the Longhorns to national championship contenders.

Before the 5-7 season, Brown's Longhorns compiled nine straight seasons with at least 10 wins and 12 straight seasons with at least nine wins.

The 7-5 mark in 2011 is a far cry from where Texas used to be, but Brown has the right pieces in place to jump back to the standard in only a few seasons.

Bryan Harsin/Major Applewhite

Bryan Harsin and Major Applewhite, co-offensive coordinators for the Longhorns, make up two of the youngest and brightest minds in college football today.

Harsin's motion-heavy offense has looked promising over the course of the season, and it will only get better as the players take a step into year two of the system.

The ability for Harsin and Applewhite to bounce ideas off one another only augments what already is a dangerously potent offense, considering the kind of talent Texas brings in annually.

Now, if they could only get a quarterback...

Manny Diaz

After Will Muschamp bolted for the vacant Florida position, Texas flirted with several high-profile defensive minds to fill its coordinator spot.

In Manny Diaz, the Longhorns secured a coach with no football background as a player, but an excellent resumé as a coach.

Coming into the season, there were some question marks on defense. But as the year progressed, Diaz had the Longhorns playing top-notch defense while the nation was focused on the inability of the Texas offense to put up points.

In year two, with the help of a horde of young, talented and now experienced players, the Longhorns defense should take off, and Diaz will get the spotlight.

Stacy Searels

The offensive line presented huge problems in 2010, when the Longhorns stumbled for a 5-7 mark.

Mack Brown looked to remedy the situation by bringing in Stacy Searels from Georgia, with the hope of lighting a fire beneath the big guys in the trenches.

With depth, youth and inexperience a factor (what else is new), Texas had its ups and downs throughout the season. But under Searels, the Longhorns took some obvious steps forward.

The line loses just one integral player from last season, Tray Allen, so the potential for growth has only just begun.

We saw what kind of results good offensive line play could yield with the emergence of Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron. If Searels can develop the big boys and inject a few mean streaks here and there, Texas will be in good hands up front.

Duane Akina

Duane Akina, the Headmaster at DB U, is the mastermind behind the revolving door at Texas that is the entry way into the NFL.

While Akina has been in Austin, the Hawaii native has put nine defensive backs into the NFL, including names like Earl Thomas, Aaron Ross and Michael Griffin.

He knows the talent when he sees it, and he coaches it up better than anyone in the country.

Akina has put Carrington Byndom in the spotlight as a top cornerback in the Big 12, if not the country. Similarly, he has a true freshman in Quandre Diggs building up what looks to be quite a career for the Longhorns.

The back end of the Texas defense has long been a standard of excellence, a fixture that seemingly continues to impress with Akina at the helm.

Bennie Wylie

Unlike the other coaches in the program, the strength and conditioning coach is permitted unlimited time with the players.

Texas went out and hauled in Bennie Wylie to take Jeff "Mad Dog" Madden's place as the team's head S&C coach, though Madden is still with the program.

Wylie, who is a piece of muscle himself, will play a critical role in developing players from a physical standpoint so that they can compete on the field.

There is no beating around the bush here. If the players can meet the standards that Wylie places in front of them, the Longhorns will at least be prepared on the physical stage.

Malcolm Brown

The Longhorns made it clear what kind of offense they would be implementing moving forward.

Behind a couple of true freshmen sensations (including Malcolm Brown), Texas presents a mighty running game that is an anomaly in the pass-happy Big 12.

Brown was thrust into the fire from game one, and nagging injuries over the course of the season caused him to miss three games. Still, the Cibolo, Texas native put up 707 yards on 159 carries for 4.4 yards per carry.

With Brown as a central figure for the future of the Longhorns, the Texas offense can really take off when he is 100 percent.

Joe Bergeron

Alongside Malcolm Brown, Joe Bergeron emerged as a true threat out of the backfield.

With the Longhorns heading towards a power running game, Bergeron will play a huge role splitting touches with Brown.

In seven games this season, Bergeron amassed 454 yards on 69 carries for a 6.6 yards per carry average, a number that far exceeded Brown's average.

The Longhorns will be leaning on the running game for the foreseeable future, and Bergeron is every bit a part of it as Brown.

The Quarterback Not-Yet-Named

The quarterback position for the Longhorns in 2011 went from cautious optimism to glaring uncertainty during the season.

After Garrett Gilbert, it was David Ash. After it was Ash, it was Case McCoy. Then, it was Ash. Then, it was McCoy. There is a trend in Austin right now that flip-flops from quarterback to quarterback, making a mess of any form of consistency on offense.

Heading into the spring, someone will have to step into the big boy shoes. It could be Ash, it could be McCoy. It could even be an incoming freshman in Connor Brewer.

One thing is for certain, though, without that model of consistency and management under center, Texas will struggle on offense again in 2012.

Steve Edmond

Steve Edmond is still a true freshman, but with the departures of Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson, the youngster looks to be next in line for a starting spot behind the defensive line.

As it stood this year, Robinson played in the Mike linebacker position, a spot that hardly coordinated with his strengths.

But Edmond has proven to be a true talent in the middle of the field. He is a run-stopper and has enough athleticism to drop into coverage. The only knock so far is his inexperience.

The young man will have to grow up in a hurry if he is to be a centerpiece for a Texas defense that was underrated at times and overlooked because of its atrocious offense.

If Edmond excels, the middle of the Longhorns defense appears just as stout, if not more so, than in 2011.