Texas Will Reclaim National Prominence Immediately Under Tom Herman
Tom Herman and the Texas Longhorns are primed to take the Big 12 by storm in 2017.
Firing Charlie Strong was a tough decision for the University of Texas to make. Strong is a great builder of men — a skill that may be lacking across the college football landscape. That being said, The University of Texas made the right move in letting Charlie Strong go, because they are bringing in a coach that will improve their win total without sacrificing the the morality of the program. Hiring Tom Herman is the best decision athletic director Mike Perrin has made during his short tenure in Austin. The University of Texas hasn’t been relevant in football since their 2009 National Championship appearance. That will undoubtedly change in the 2017 season. Herman is a budding star in the coaching world. As such, the Longhorns are on the fast track to relevancy.
Track Record
Despite his youth, Herman has built quite the impressive coaching resumé. Herman was instrumental in Ohio State’s 2014 National Championship run. With Tom Herman serving as offensive coordinator, the Buckeyes were able to navigate the regular season 11–1, despite being led by redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett. To make matters worse, Ohio State would lose Barrett in the final game of the season to a broken ankle. The Buckeyes smoothly made the transition to redshirt sophomore quarterback Cardale Jones, thanks to Tom Herman. Jones had a much bigger arm than Barrett, so Herman adapted his play calling to include more play action and take more shots down the field. With Jones under center, the Buckeyes were able to defeat the likes of Wisconsin, Alabama, and Oregon en route to a National Title. Urban Meyer received much of the credit for Ohio State’s miraculous title run. However, the true genius behind it all was Herman. To navigate the first ever College Football Playoff with a first-time starter at quarterback and still manage to average 47.6 points per game is astonishing.
Tom Herman’s time in Houston is much more pertinent to Texas, because it showed his ability to elevate a program from good to elite. Upon Herman’s arrival, Houston was sitting on consecutive 8 win seasons, which is good by most standards. In Tom Herman’s first season as head coach the Cougars went 13–1, including a New Years six bowl victory over powerhouse Florida State. In his two seasons at Houston, Herman went a combined 22–4. At Texas, Herman is inheriting one of the most talented and youthful rosters in the country. The cupboard is very much full in Austin.
Talent
Texas has no shortage of talent on either side of the ball. The Longhorns rank 11th on 247sports team talent composite, directly behind the likes of 2016 National Champion Clemson.
The Longhorns seemed to have found their quarterback of the future in Shane Buechele. During his freshman campaign, Buechele completed 60.4 percent of his passes for 2,958 yards and 21 touchdowns. Buechele is not the runner that Colt McCoy was, but possesses great touch and accuracy throwing the football down the field.
Texas’ defense is led by rising junior linebacker Malik Jefferson. Though the Longhorns defense has struggled over the past two seasons, Jefferson has been one of the most disruptive players in the country, racking up 123 total tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, 8.0 sacks, and 2 forced fumbles in his first two years in Austin. At 6'3, 238 pounds, Malik Jefferson has an elite first step off of the edge, and is a punishing tackler.
What needs fixing?
Coming into this job at Texas, Charlie Strong was known for his ability to build a defense. For whatever reason, Strong’s defenses at Texas struggled. The Longhorns went from allowing 23.8 points per game in 2014, to 30.3 ppg in 2015, and 31.5 ppg in 2016. Charlie Strong was fired, in large part, because of his teams inability to stop opposing offenses. The Longhorns lost three games in which their offense scored at least 30 points, two of which they scored 40+ points.
Texas will experience a quick turnaround under Tom Herman because of his defensive coordinator, Todd Orlando. Houston had one of the most aggressive defenses in the country under Orlando’s tutelage.
The Big 12 is arguably the most pass-happy conference in the country, claiming four of the top 25 teams in passing offense. Luckily for Texas, Todd Orlando is a master at dialing up exotic blitzes to get after the quarterback. In his two seasons in H-town, the Cougars averaged 37.5 total sacks per year. The Cougars defense was also one of the best in the country against the run. Over his two year span in Houston, Orlando’s defense allowed an average of 104.51 rushing yards per game.
With all do respect to Houston, they are no where near Texas in terms of overall talent. Building a stout defense in Austin should be relatively easy for Orlando. The Longhorns bring back a pair of talented linebackers in Anthony Wheeler and Malik Jefferson, as well as a pair of explosive pass rushers in Malcolm Roach and Breckyn Hager. The pieces are in place on that Texas defense — all they need is for someone to steer them in the right direction.
Building
Offensively, there will be schematic changes with former offensive coordinator Sterling Gilbert following Charlie Strong to USF. New offensive coordinator, Tim Beck brings with him from Ohio State the power zone-read scheme. What does that mean for Texas? Smash mouth football. Herman and Beck are going to place a heightened emphasis on running the football, and they’ll have the horses to do it. The Longhorns will have running backs Chris Warren III and Kyle Porter, as well as incoming freshmen Toneil Carter and Daniel Young.
Pairing a steady rushing attack with the passing ability of Shane Buechele will serve Texas well. The Longhorns ability to run the football will open up play action down the field for speedsters Devin Duvernay and John Burt.
Culture
Tom Herman is a young, energetic coach with a celebrity like status as evident in his antics and the people who wish to be around him.
That being said, Herman runs a no-nonsense program. While he is fun loving outside of football, on the field he is maticulous and focused. The Texas football program will be a full-on dictatorship. Texas will have a certain swagger about them when they step on the field, as a result of the painstaking work that they put in during the week. The culture at Texas will be one of hard work and unity.
Recruiting
The biggest reason for optimism in Austin is Tom Herman and his staff’s prowess on the recruiting trail. While at Houston, Herman was able to sign five-star defensive tackle Ed Oliver, becoming the first non-power five school to sign a five-star prospect in the history of the ESPN 300. Outside of Tom Herman there is running backs coach Stan Drayton, who recruited the likes of Chris Rainey, Cam Newton, and Ezekiel Elliot at his previous stops in Florida and Ohio State. The entire staff is chock-full of able recruiters.
In their short time in Austin, Tom Herman and his staff have gained commitments from Toneil Carter, Daniel Young, Cade Brewer, Derek Kerstetter, and Reese Leitao. The Longhorns are also thought to be in the lead for four-star Under Armour All-American defensive end, K’Lavon Chaisson. The momentum that the current staff has been able to gain in just three short months is a sign of things to come.
Texas is at their best as a program when they are able to identify and sign the best that the state of Texas has to offer. Tom Herman will regain a stronghold on the state of Texas and the Longhorns will regain their stronghold on the Big 12.
Big game Bob’s reign of terror over the Big 12 is going to come to an abrupt halt, in the form of Tom Herman.
