Remember the guy who led Lake Travis High School to a 31-1 record and consecutive state championships in his final two seasons?

The guy who set a state high school record with 12,540 passing yards?

The guy who was the Gatorade and Parade magazine national player of the year?

Kirk Herbstreit does.

Consequently, ESPN's college football analyst is not yet ready to start remembering quarterback Garrett Gilbert in the way many Texas fans are beginning to consider him — the can't-miss kid who missed.

Certainly, Herbstreit — who is also a former quarterback at Ohio State — isn't forgetting Gilbert's debut season as a starter . It's impossible to ignore 10 touchdown passes, 17 interceptions and an efficiency rating of 111.0 that ranked 95th nationally.



But Herbstreit suggests Texas fans who blame Gilbert as the root cause for the Longhorns' 5-7 season — and aren't pleased that the junior has been tabbed as the starter heading into Saturday's opener against Rice — need a broader perspective.

"Having the success he was able to enjoy as a high school quarterback in a tradition-laden state like Texas and at a great program like Lake Travis," Herbstreit said, "he's got it inside him as far as the confidence and kind of swagger that you need to have to be able to deal with the highs and lows of quarterbacking a school like Texas, with the pressure that's associated with it."

The Longhorns hope Herbstreit is right.

Confidence and swagger weren't exactly traits Gilbert appeared to possess last year, Texas' worst season since 1997. The perception is those are among the main ingredients required to be the "leader" that a quarterback should be.

But leadership, said co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin — who says he made the final decision to go with Gilbert ahead of Case McCoy, David Ash and Connor Wood — comes in all forms.

"Ultimately, what the 10 other guys care about is, 'Are you going to get me in the end zone?'" Harsin said. "That's the bottom line."

Nevertheless, ask Gilbert's teammates about how the 2011 quarterback differs from the 2010 model, and one of the first words you'll hear is "leadership." They say they see a new assertiveness in him.

When he met with the media on Monday for the first time since Thanksgiving's season-ending loss to Texas A&M, Gilbert still displayed a degree of tentativeness, almost shyness. But his teammates say they see a different side to the junior on the field.

"I think Garrett has the confidence that everybody saw him play with in high school," safety Blake Gideon said. "He was a quiet guy last year. Garrett's not a huge talker. But you can hear his voice above everybody else in practice. You can hear him commanding the huddle and people responding to him. If something's not right, he's going to fix it.

"That's something you want from your leader on offense and somebody who's going to manage your offense."

Added running back Fozzy Whittaker: "He'll take the game into his hands. He's worked on a lot of things, from making better decisions to being a better leader. Those are the type of characteristics we look for from our quarterback."

Asked whether his improved leadership has been a deliberative decision or simply part of maturing, Gilbert said, "a little of both."

"Being a leader, sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone," he said. "I think I've grown more comfortable doing that type of stuff. At the same time, if something needs to be said, sometimes I've got to force myself to say that."

Herbstreit's advice to Gilbert: Be yourself.

"You can talk about taking control, but if it's not true to who you are, the team will see right through it," Herbstreit said. "If he changes his style, that could actually backfire."

Gilbert has more urgent priorities, though, such as simply performing well, something he did rarely during last year's perfect storm of burnt-orange dysfunction in all phases of the game.

Coach Mack Brown has said that all positions are on a short leash in this rebound season and that the depth chart is subject to quick changes: "We don't care who you are or what your name is, we're going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win."

Herbstreit, who says Harsin's offense gives quarterbacks a chance to thrive because of its diversity and unpredictability, said when a proud program like Texas goes 5-7, the quarterback position is "a tougher job than being governor."

But he thinks Harsin will give Gilbert ample opportunity to succeed, short leash or not.

"They're going to give him plenty of room to make some mistakes," Herbstreit said. "But if he continues to make mistakes, then that's a different deal. The fans might be ready after the first incompletion on third down, but the coaches won't be."

Gilbert says regaining the trust of his teammates is "a continuous process." He is not, he stressed, overly worried about making mistakes and the fans' reaction to them.

"That's not something I can worry about, nor focus on," he said. "It's about our team; it's about what we do here. It's about improving every day as a teammate, as a quarterback and as a leader. That's all I can worry about."

And if he succeeds in reaching those objectives, he might finally begin to remind fans of that guy back at Lake Travis.