'Love for the Game:' D'Shawn Jamison, Sark Detail Why Longhorns Secondary is Improved

"We're more of a team that wants to win," Jamison said.

After almost nine long months of waiting, the Texas Longhorns are finally in game week. 

This season marks a team-wide revenge-like approach, but for the Texas secondary, there's added motivation for an improvement-filled year.

The Longhorns were tied with the Kansas Jayhawks last season for the fewest interceptions on defense in the Big 12 (seven) and allowed the third-highest completion percentage (67.6) in the conference. 

But Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said that the secondary had seen some impressive growth headed into Saturday's season-opener against the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks. 

“I think we’re closer (in those areas)," he said. "In the secondary, I feel really good about our ability to understand our coverages and to communicate. We’re communicating at a really high level comparatively, especially to where we were a year ago and even in spring.” 

And as far as getting that interception total up? All signs point toward an increase. 

“Then we’re making plays on the ball, which is a real positive," Sarkisian said. 

One of the team's top playmakers has been busy trying to accelerate this improvement all offseason. As D'Shawn Jamison enters his senior year, many players have noted that he's seemed to snag an interception in almost every practice. 

Jamison says the vibe around this year's group of defensive backs has been different,  starting with the basics.

"I feel like the love for the game is there," he said. "A lot of us wasn't together at that time (last year). Now, it's like we're more of a team that wants to win."

Though he recorded a career-high 49 total tackles last season, Jamison's production in pass coverage was significantly lower than in previous seasons. He managed to snag an interception against Oklahoma State but had just one pass defended for the entire season. 

As a freshman, Jamison had three picks before following that up with six passes defended as a sophomore. And while the individual numbers are set for an increase based on what he's done this offseason, he's still laser-focused on not letting last year's record repeat itself. 

"The one thing we did as a team and as a group, was just try to get to know each other better. Knowing what happened last year, we can't let that happen again," he said.

The Longhorns will kick off against Louisiana-Monroe in Austin Saturday at 7 p.m. C.T.

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You can follow Zach Dimmitt on Twitter at @ZachDimmitt7

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