Texas spring game: How good does Tom Herman think Longhorns can be?
AUSTIN, Texas -- Tom Herman claims he didn’t watch any 2016 Texas tape after he took the job. He sought a full reset and a clean slate for his players to prove what they can do.
Now that he has 15 spring practices in the books, wrapped up Saturday with the team's Orange-White Spring Game, he should be better prepared to answer the bigger questions.
Like this one: What are fair expectations for Texas going into the first season of the Herman era? How good is this team coming off another 5-7 season, and how far can it go?
Herman was asked Saturday to assess this in a creative, yet specific way: Of your 22 starters, how many guys do you have who can win you big games and win the Big 12?
Texas coach Tom Herman has a better feel for his team after 15 spring practices. John Gutierrez/USA TODAY Sports
He liked the question enough to give it serious, careful consideration.
"Hmm ..."
Herman paused in silence for a good seven seconds, nodding as he counted up the guys he knows he can depend on.
"I’m doing quick math in my head here," he said.
A few seconds later, Herman shrugged and made his guess: "Sixteen. Seventeen."
But he paused again, his roster accounting still unfinished. He started walking through his rationale.
He doesn’t have a healthy, proven tight end. Senior Andrew Beck missed the spring game with a foot injury. He didn’t have a healthy proven running back Saturday. With four backs sidelined with injuries, true freshman Toneil Carter carried the ball with no scholarship backups. Not ideal.
Herman still wants a third quarterback to push and help Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger. He needs to solidify the right tackle spot. His second-team offensive line had a rough spring game. He wants more depth along the defensive line, too, and more toughness from a talented group of wide receivers.
Still, Herman ended up changing his answer: "Maybe 18 or 19 probably is fair."
Texas has a lot of talent in its locker room right now, even after three straight losing seasons. Its new coaching staff does not dispute this. Sure, a few key spots need help and must be addressed. And coaches always want more quality depth, no matter what they’ve got.
But Herman’s assessment is interesting because he’s publicly spent far more time playing critic than advocate this spring. He was surprised, for example, by the fuss made about his comment that some Texas defensive linemen were too fat entering spring ball. In Herman’s world that’s just standard, objective truth-telling. He’s not playing hype man for these guys whatsoever right now.
What his Longhorns showed in what was as vanilla and basic a scrimmage as possible Saturday were the key ingredients of a team that could be fun to watch. His wideouts, led by big showings from big men Collin Johnson and Lil'Jordan Humphrey, averaged 18.5 yards per catch. The defense has a legit three-man front in Malcolm Roach, Poona Ford and Chris Nelson and blitzers galore.
In the first spring under Herman, though, the X’s and O’s took a backseat. Texas has three months to get all those little details worked out. Year 1 is all about the psychological warfare, all about establishing mentality and physicality.
The real spring goals, as offensive coordinator Tim Beck put it: "Get it to reach its max potential. Get them to play fearlessly. Get them to trust one another and lay it on the line. Until that happens, it doesn’t matter what play you call."
Herman likes the buy-in he got on that front. The kids are trying to deliver what he demands. Real progress was made over the past month. We’ll find out in a few more months what that means for the win total.
"We’re still a work in progress," he added, "but we’re on the right track."
Which brings us back to the initial question: What can we reasonably expect for these Longhorns in 2017?
"From a 30,000-foot view, I think it’s fair to say each and every year, The University of Texas should be in the conversation in the month of November or should be in contention for a Big 12 title," Herman said. "But beyond that with expectations, man, I’m just trying to get through Monday."
http://www.espn.com/blog/big12/post/_/id/119771/texas-spring-game-how-good-does-tom-herman-think-longhorns-can-be
