Texas Card House is the official sponsor of The War Room.
Texas Card House has a new 7 days a week tournament schedule! From Freezeouts to Bounties to Free Roll to PLO, we've got you covered! Check out www.texascardhouse.com for details
Visit https://www.texascardhouse.com for more information.
*** Texas Card House is now open at noon every day!
We'll lead off tonight's War Room with a little discussion about Tom Herman's name being specifically listed as a strip club participant by Ohio State University in a document dump this week in an attempt to continue to deflect from the fact that the university protected and enabled a coach with a long history of domestic violence and other borish behavior.
Orangebloods asked Herman about it following practice on Thursday and Herman's reply would seem to potentially serve as closure to his having been sucked into this Ohio State tsunami.
"What was reported was 4½ years ago when I was an assistant coach. My wife knew exactly where I was. She had no issue with it," Herman told Orangebloods and other assembled media. "I’m happy to cooperate, be honest, truthful and transparent with the NCAA if they so need me to be. I understand the responsibility that comes with being the head coach at the University of Texas, and I take that responsibility very, very seriously. Right now, that responsibility includes me being laser like focused on preparing our team to win a game in less than 48 hours in Washington, D.C.”
I actually spoke with a couple of UT officials this week prior to Herman's comments on Thursday night and the word I got was that this was viewed as an absolute non-issue.
While the optics aren't good, no uncrossable lines were crossed. It's just something that Herman did years before he became the Texas head coach and that's that.
*****
(From Anwar)
We have talked a lot about the positive vibes surrounding this year’s Texas football team prior to the season opener against Maryland on Saturday.
In fact, we detailed at length how this team began to gel as it prepared for the Texas Bowl last season. That unity carried over to winter conditioning. It continued during spring practice, and the bond between coaches and players continued to grow stronger this summer and during training camp. As a person who closely covers this team, the messages from coaches and players were the same. Players understood their coaches and developed strong bonds. In addition, players worked together more this off-season than in previous years because their desire to win as a team became more important than individual desires. Texas’ incumbent players better understood the expectations of Tom Herman’s program and excelled throughout the off-season. More importantly, those players took it upon themselves to mentor this year’s freshmen class and helped them develop.
In addition, most players believed in the direction of this program and wanted to remain in Austin. There was a very small number of players who transferred out of the program after this season. The most impressive thing about Herman’s lack of attrition is there has not been one player from his first recruiting class at Texas that has left the program. So far, every player Herman has recruited is still here. Obviously, those numbers will change in time, but it shows players believe in the direction of this program.
As I spoke to people associated with the program about the positive vibes, coupled with the quiet confidence surrounding this team, each person credited one person for the current demeanor of Texas’ program.
Tom Herman.
From what I was told, Herman has successfully implemented a culture where players come first. That does not mean it was never that way in the past. It just means that Herman’s main goal is to put players first, and as a result, his team has positively responded.
Think about this for a minute.
With all the quarterback battles that are still ongoing around the country, Herman took a different approach to Sam Ehlinger and Shane Buechele.
In the case of Buechele, Herman announced the starting quarterback job on Monday, Aug. 20, long before classes started on Wednesday, Aug. 29. I won’t mention names, but many schools are carrying out the quarterback competition (in part) because once classes start, the kid is all but forced to sit out that semester if he chooses to transfer. Thus, he cannot transfer and start transitioning to another school during the fall semester, which is a benefit regardless of if he has to sit out or not.
When it came to Buechele, Herman did not worry about Buechele leaving, knowing it would be an option for the quarterback with an earlier announcement. From what I was told, Buechele loves Texas, wants to be here for the team and is an “awesome kid” and there is no indication he thought of leaving. That being said, the way Herman announced the starter, he did not put up any barriers for Buechele if he had decided to leave.
Meanwhile, Herman did not stand in the way of former cornerback John Bonney’s decision to leave school as a grad transfer to Texas Tech.
From what I was told, Bonney walked into Herman’s office a few weeks ago and told the coach he was leaving. Having a player decide he wants to transfer to another program is not unusual. However, what is unusual is Bonney told Herman he intended to transfer to Texas Tech.
Herman would have been within his right to question whether Bonney spoke to coaches at Texas Tech while still on scholarship at Texas. He definitely had the right to limit Bonney’s choices as a grad transfer (new rule change does not occur until October). Bonney was on Herman’s leadership council and Herman could have begged the player to stay. Instead, Herman decided he wanted Bonney to be happy and refused to stand in the way of his player leaving the program.
It was a move that many people associated with the program noticed.
While discussing Herman with multiple people, here are a few examples of him being a player-first coach.
For the final scrimmage of camp, Herman invited all the players' families to attend, and they hosted a lunch for those relatives and players after the scrimmage. The players did not know, so when they took the field for the scrimmage, it was the first time they saw their families there. He then gave the team the afternoon off to spend time with their families. I was several feet away after the announcement, but the players went wild.
From what I can tell, forming his leadership council gave the players a voice they desired. The group meets and discusses things going on with the team and can bring back thoughts and ideas from the team as a whole. It’s part of his philosophy of a player-led program and has helped develop a much closer and more cohesive team.
His 4Ever Texas series where the staff brings guests in for visits to help promote and teach life skills is another example of his passion for developing them as people and student-athletes.
He has talked about the recovery Mondays where they focus is on taking care of the bodies of his players, something that was not at Texas prior to his arrival. They bring in cryotherapy chambers, take them to salt water float tanks, give them recovery boots and constantly seeking new techniques to improve their minds and bodies. The players love it, and as a result of those treatments, Herman enters Saturday’s game against Maryland about as healthy as he could have ever hoped for when his team began training camp.
We will soon find out how Herman’s approach translates on-the-field.
For now, it appears Herman has done everything possible to put his players first, which has resulted in a positive impact within his program.
*****
(Suchomel)
In talking to some people who cover the Maryland program this week, I was curious to hear what the vibe was going around that program with all the turmoil that has hovered over Maryland this summer. Information (and practices) have been very guarded, as you’d expect and it sounds like the coaches have done a pretty good job of keeping everyone guessing on what they’ll do on offense. But surprisingly, people who have spent time around the team and at practices actually feel the off-field distractions won’t play a huge impact in this game.
“Traditionally, with things like this, things blow up,” one person said. “I can’t believe I’m saying it, but from the little big I’ve seen and from talking to players and coaches, I don’t see that happening. They’re really loose. They’re almost responding to Canada better because he’s not a hard ass. They’re much more laid back. They’re season imploded last year when they lost both quarterbacks and their top pass rusher, but I get the sense that they’re calm, feeling more laid back. They’re definitely confident in their ability. I think the fact that they beat them last year helps them with their confidence.”
Will any of that carry over to the field on Saturday? We’ll see. If Texas jumps on them early, all that confidence and looseness could go out the window in a hurry.
Offensively, with Matt Canada taking over, this should be a different style of offense than what Texas saw last year in Austin.
“I’m literally expecting a completely different offense from last year. From what we’ve seen, it’s going to be totally different. It’s going to be so different, I’m not sure what to expect if that makes sense. Maryland literally is going from a guy who tried to fit a square peg into a round hole, to a guy who will tailor the talent around the players he has.”
Texas is favored by two scores, so this is a game the Longhorns should win fairly easily. But if the vibe around the Maryland team from those who cover it holds any truth at all, the Longhorns need to guard against overconfidence in this one. After what happened last year in Austin, Texas should have all the motivation it needs to stay focused and motivated. We’ll know soon enough.
*****
(Suchomel)
2020 standout athlete Mookie Cooper has been a pretty vocal supporter of Texas ever since he visited Austin in mid-June. Cooper will be back in Austin the weekend of September 15, and Texas continues to be a school that’s a major contender for his commitment.
“Texas, I’ll be back on the 15th of September. I’ve been talking to Nebraska a lot, Illinois, Michigan. I plan on going to a couple games, like Texas-USC, probably go to Georgia, going to an Illinois game for sure,” Cooper said. “I don’t have a set list of schools I’m most interested. September 1 is when they can really reach out to us so we’ll see.”
Cooper hasn’t publicly proclaimed the Longhorns as his leader – and he didn’t when I spoke to him this week - but Texas has done a really good job in this one, including the relationship Cooper has built up with Texas Director of Recruiting Bryan Carrington.
“First off, Bryan Carrington,” Cooper said when asked what has Texas high on his list. “He’s kind of like coach Cory (Patterson), our old head coach who left (now at Illinois). He’s a really cool dude, I can relate to him. When I got up there, all the coaches, they showed me love. I liked all the facilities. The way they’d use me in their offense. I talked to coach (Drew) Merhringer, they said I’d play kind of an H-back, start out in the slot but also line up in the backfield.”
Cooper’s visit is big in regards to Texas’ chances with the 2020 Rivals250 member, but it could also pay dividends with two of his St. Louis Trinity Catholic teammates, receiver Marcus Washington and linebacker Shammond Cooper.
“I just really liked it when I was down there. The atmosphere, I wanted to come see a game. I’m coming with Marcus Washington and probably Shammond Cooper.
“Me and Marcus, we talk about playing together a lot. I just started talking about it with Shammond. But me and Marcus, we talk about it pretty much daily.”
What are the odds he and Washington play together in college?
“I think it’s a high chance,” Cooper said.
While he doesn’t have an official list of favorites, Cooper said Texas is one of the schools that will be strongly considered.
“The top,” Cooper said when asked where UT fits in the big picture. “I’m not going to say the exact top, but they’re up there.”
******
Round Rock Cedar Ridge wide receiver Jaylen Ellis has been committed to Baylor for more than 14 months, but he’s kept an open mind with the recruiting process, and Texas is one of the schools showing interest. The Longhorns offered Ellis in late May, and while the contact has been light of late, Ellis said Texas is still in the mix.
The speedy Ellis said he’s “kind of” narrowed his list down, with schools like Michigan, Houston, Arizona, Tennessee and Ohio State catching his attention (in addition to Baylor). As for Texas, the Longhorns are still in the mix, but Ellis said he wants to get back to campus for a visit to get another feel for where things stand with him and the Longhorns.
“They’re still up there. I just feel like I need to get back up there to make sure that’s where I’d want to be,” Ellis said. “Texas is in my backyard, literally. So I can make that trip anytime. I just need to visit again.”
Ellis has taken one official visit to Arizona. He’ll visit Michigan the weekend of September 7. He’s hoping he can get back to the Forty Acres of the USC game on September 15.
“I’ll try to make that for sure. I’ll probably talk to Mehringer tonight,” Ellis said earlier this week. “I talk to him whenever I can. I want to talk to him about where’s my place, talk recruiting, see where things are at with me and them.”
The 6-0, 186-pound Ellis and his Cedar Ridge teammates kick off their 2018 season this week against Temple and current Texas commitment Jared Wiley. Ellis said he’s feeling great heading into his senior season and is expecting things to go well.
“I’m really hyped, just to start off my senior year, a team like that,” Ellis said. “Go against Jared. I’ve talked to him a couple times. Being able to play someone that tough will be good.
“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot better. I’ve noticed it form our scrimmage, feel it’s going to show against a highly-rated corner. I feel like I’ve improved my routes, just being able to create separation easier. When you look at little things, like separation and speed, now I can do it just off a move. Everything has just gotten a little easier. Some may think it’s just because you’re fast, but really it’s repetition, just doing it over and over again. I’ve gotten a lot smoother and a lot faster.”
******
The Longhorns have two offensive tackle commitments, but Herb Hand and staff continue to look for guys who could possibly help in the interior.
Mission Hills (CA) Bishop Alemany offensive lineman Dohnovan West is a player who had been in contact with the UT staff after Texas watched him at a satellite camp.
“I talked to them after the Cal Lutheran satellite camp a couple times. I haven’t talked with the OL coach in a few weeks though,” West said. “I talked to him about once a week for about a good month or two. I got invited to the night camp that they had but I couldn’t make it out there.”
In his conversations with Hand, West was told he could be a candidate to play on the interior of the Texas line, possibly at center. Hearing that prompted West to work on his snaps.
“He pretty much talked to about just how he would use me at Texas as like a center or guard. He just said to keep working hard throughout the summer,” West said. “I actually started taking snaps at center because that’s what he said I could play at the next level. I got my snaps down, so I can pretty much play any position on the line.”
If Texas does wind up offering, West said the Longhorns would be high on his list, along with schools like Nebraska, Utah and Boise State.
“They’d definitely be one of my top schools if they were to offer, maybe about top three,” West said. “They have a really good football program, good history at the school and the academics are pretty good too. You get the best of all angles.”
West has already taken an official visit to Nebraska. He’ll take one to Utah on October 20. He’s planning to graduate in December so wants to get the rest of his visits in this fall.
As for a possible UT offer, West said he’s unsure, but hopeful one comes his way after the coaches get to evaluate some of his senior film.
“(Hand) wants to see my first couple games. He wanted me to get out to the camp. I wasn’t able to make it, so he just wants to get to know me a little better,” West said.
******
