Texas head coach Tom Herman met with the media on Monday, October 29th ahead of the Longhorns’ game against West Virginia. Herman discussed his team’s 38-35 loss to Oklahoma State, his decision to discipline Kris Boyd, DaVante Davis and Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and the challenges the West Virginia offense presents.
Key points from Herman’s media availability can be found below.
- Herman reiterated a concept that he mentions just about every week: when his team is playing their best, they can pretty much beat any team in the country. Conversely when they play their “C” game against a team playing their best, they aren’t good enough to overcome deficits.
- While the coaching staff tends to stay away from discussions related to bowl games and CFP Playoff with players, Herman said the team did discuss the “big picture” with them after Oklahoma State. Namely that the team’s goal of competing for a Big 12 Championship is still alive.
- Breckyn Hager suffered what Tom Herman described as a “pretty severe” SC (sternoclavicular joint) sprain. Hager is day-to-day.
- D’Shawn Jamison is also day-to-day with a mid-foot sprain.
- Malcolm Roach, who was thought to be lost for the season after suffering an injury to his foot in the USC game, could be back sooner than expected. Herman said Roach would participate in football drills this week and see how his foot holds up. Roach is expected to be back in the lineup against Texas Tech in two weeks but could see playing time against West Virginia.
- Texas gave up 260 yards of offense to the Cowboys in the first quarter. When asked about the decision to suspend Boyd, Humphrey and Davis for a period of time in the game, Herman had this to say: “We love Kris Boyd and we love Davante Davis and we love LJ Humphrey, absolutely. They made a minor mistake that, you know, has to be reinforced. Our culture need to be reinforced on a daily basis, so that moving forward, especially our young guys know that it doesn’t matter who you’re playing or what your name is.”
- Herman noted WVU quarterback Will Grier’s skill as a passer and said he’s even better this year than last year because of the potent running game the Mountaineers possess. “He is super talented, and you can see why he is on top of or at the top of most people’s Heisman Trophy short list.”
- Texas responded well to the Maryland loss, defeating Tulsa and then going on to win 5-straight subsequently. Herman said the Oklahoma State loss will define them only if they let it. He went on to say he thinks his players will respond well, if not better than they did after the Week 1 loss.
- 20% of the total points the Longhorns have allowed have come on the opening drives for opponents. When asked about it, Herman said he and Todd Orlando would have to get together and discuss.
- Keaontay Ingram notched his first start at running back against the Cowboys and carried the ball 11 times for 52 yards. Ingram didn’t see any touches during the 4th quarter. “I don’t think we ran the ball very much in the fourth quarter, regardless of who was carrying it. I don’t think anybody should be any alarmed by Keaontay only having one carry in the fourth quarter,” said Herman when asked about it.
- When asked how he would grade his offensive line, Herman responded with “I would say above average, which is considering where we came from with last season’s group, I think is a drastic improvement.”
The Longhorns will host West Virginia at 2:30 PM on Saturday at Darrell K. Royal – Texas Memorial Stadium.
