Ketch's 10 Thoughts From the Weekend (Inspecting Tom Herman's first 100 days as UT HC)

[PaperChampion]

I think Athenslawyer is correct in his apparent belief that it is difficult to suppress a statement to individuals who are not law enforcement officers. But, I also believe (without fully researching this topic) that it is sometimes possible if the person is a student and he is forced to speak under threat of expulsion. Difficult suppression issue, but, again, circumstances are key.

DISCLAIMER: The above statements are not legal advice. : )

 

[drunk randoke]

- Tom Herman tweets so much, I've considered turning off my alerts. Always weird when I'm with my girl and the phone keeps chirping and I have to explain Herman is tweeting at 11:30 p.m. Luckily, she's been cool about it.

Netflix and chill replaced by Tom Herman twitter and chill?

 

[Ketchum]

Ketch - Regarding your thoughts on Tony Romo, I could not agree more. Romo needs to be on the team until another team blinks late in pre-season regarding their QB situation and way over pays.

If not, he needs to be on the roster in 2017. You think Coach B. in NE would do Tony a favor and release him. No, Bill would do the absolute best for Bill. The Cowboys should do nothing less. It is a business.

back-up quarterback has been an issue that has caused seasons to be killed in Dallas.

Take advantage of Prescott's low salary for a year while you can and have the best 1-2 quarterback punch in the league for a season.

 

[Ketchum]

It seems to me you support Herman turning Texas in to the Florida team under Meyer. I'm not.

I'm not supporting anything. My job isn't to support.

 

[Ketchum]

Under what reasoning?

A good lawyer will say he should have had representation with him and that his comments were taken into context.

Good lawyers make stuff like this disappear.

 

[Ketchum]

"Meanwhile, I went over to Charlie Strong’s Twitter page on Sunday because I wanted to make a point about his lack of interest in Twitter and do you know what I discovered?

He deleted his Twitter account."


How in the world does a division 1 coach not have a Twitter account in this day in age. That is 25% of recruiting nowadays. Is he really gonna recruit without one? Did he ever have a USF twitter account?

I can't confirm that last part. I don't know. I'm guessing not.

 

[txfight]

So far as I have heard, he has never been in trouble with the law before. First offense, and a felony destroys his future. I'm betting the DA will be amenable to a misdemeanor to prevent potentially making a career criminal out of someone who has a big-time future in front of him.

A kid who obviously has a big time future needs to be WAY smarter than selling Xanax. If someone wouldn't have looked over Hernandez's transgressions repeatedly he may not have ended up murdering people. Before you throw the "Selling Xanax is not murder at me" realize that felonies are not misdemeanors for a reason. It's not like things got out of hand at a party or he got drunk and threw up at a Denny's. He made the conscious decision to acquire a bunch of controlled substances, so he could resell them for profit. That was a strategic, calculated set of decisions to put his entire future in jeopardy. Really, really stupid.

 

[Ketchum]

A kid who obviously has a big time future needs to be WAY smarter than selling Xanax. If someone wouldn't have looked over Hernandez's transgressions repeatedly he may not have ended up murdering people. Before you throw the "Selling Xanax is not murder at me" realize that felonies are not misdemeanors for a reason. It's not like things got out of hand at a party or he got drunk and threw up at a Denny's. He made the conscious decision to acquire a bunch of controlled substances, so he could resell them for profit. That was a strategic, calculated set of decisions to put his entire future in jeopardy. Really, really stupid.

I don't disagree with you. I'm saying I've seen schools still allow kids with worse circumstances/stories/arrests, including Texas.

 

[fern]

back-up quarterback has been an issue that has caused seasons to be killed in Dallas.

Take advantage of Prescott's low salary for a year while you can and have the best 1-2 quarterback punch in the league for a season.

Agree completely. The thought of just letting TR go as a favor to him is nuts. I love Tony Romo, BUT the team comes first. Prescott/Romo for 1 more year is a great option.

 

[Ketchum]

 

[txfight]

I love the entire write up Ketch (except for the soccer and MMA stuff) and thanks for covering how the inherited players are taking to Herman's staff and approach. I realize you don't much access to players after the season, but this is the info I really wanted to know.

Also, I'll admit I don't know enough about the Romo contract to have an opinion. But I know the NFL needs quality QB's no matter how fragile so I'd think they should be able to get some future picks out of Houston/Denver/Chicago/Buffalo/NYJ/Clevaland. But if it comes down to cutting him just so he can go play somewhere else, screw that bizness. I'm a Romo guy and think he's always gotten the wrong end of criticism but hey, he's been paid. Dallas doesn't owe him a release without getting something in return.

If I'm being super picky I guess I'd have like to have heard some discussion on Jarrett's decision but all in all, great article this week!

 

[Ketchum]

I love the entire write up Ketch (except for the soccer and MMA stuff) and thanks for covering how the inherited players are taking to Herman's staff and approach. I realize you don't much access to players after the season, but this is the info I really wanted to know.

Also, I'll admit I don't know enough about the Romo contract to have an opinion. But I know the NFL needs quality QB's no matter how fragile so I'd think they should be able to get some future picks out of Houston/Denver/Chicago/Buffalo/NYJ/Clevaland. But if it comes down to cutting him just so he can go play somewhere else, screw that bizness. I'm a Romo guy and think he's always gotten the wrong end of criticism but hey, he's been paid. Dallas doesn't owe him a release without getting something in return.

If I'm being super picky I guess I'd have like to have heard some discussion on Jarrett's decision but all in all, great article this week!

Thanks for the kind words! Really appreciate you taking the time to say that.

 

[86Horn]

A kid who obviously has a big time future needs to be WAY smarter than selling Xanax. If someone wouldn't have looked over Hernandez's transgressions repeatedly he may not have ended up murdering people. Before you throw the "Selling Xanax is not murder at me" realize that felonies are not misdemeanors for a reason. It's not like things got out of hand at a party or he got drunk and threw up at a Denny's. He made the conscious decision to acquire a bunch of controlled substances, so he could resell them for profit. That was a strategic, calculated set of decisions to put his entire future in jeopardy. Really, really stupid.

I'm not saying what he did was not incredibly stupid. I'm saying that a prosecutor may be willing to plead down an incredibly stupid mistake made by a young kid who may have a future. Hell, Las Vegas prosecutors pleaded a kidnapping with a deadly weapon down to a misdemeanor for an underage first offender. The prosecutor's decision tree is not that difficult--I can consign this young man to the dust bin and create a problem society will have to deal with for decades, or give him a chance to overcome this incredibly stupid thing he did. While I disagree with the Las Vegas prosecutors' decision, I understand the motivation.

Prosecutors understand that teenagers may do stupid things and are willing to negotiate, especially with a first offender, to limit the collateral damage to a kid's life from a stupid mistake, particularly when no one was injured or threatened with serious injury. I presume you never obtained a controlled substance in your life? Virtually everyone has at least smoked a joint or tried weed a time or two in high school and college.

I ma not suggesting that the prosecutor overlook a pattern of violent misconduct--I said he may cut a first offender slack on a drug possession charge.

BTW, I do not think the kid said he was reselling the pills for profit. His explanation was that he paid for eth pills for his own use and would expect to get reimbursed what he paid if he gave any of them to friends.

 

[86Horn]

A good lawyer will say he should have had representation with him and that his comments were taken into context.

Good lawyers make stuff like this disappear.

Probably will say the kid's parents should have been asked before was interviewed without representation.

 

[Buda Horn]

(Buy) I know people hated me talking about Strong needing a signature win in his first season, but it’s exactly what Herman needs at some point in 2017 - a moment he can point to every recruit and say, “This is the example that shows we’re going to win championships in the future.”

The thing is... Strong had what you could call 4 signature wins over his last two seasons. OU and Baylor in 2015 and Notre Dame and Baylor in 2016. Yes I realize how ND and Baylor's seasons ended up in 2016, but at the time those wins occurred, they were absolutely considered signature wins and Strong should have been able to use the momentum from those wins to translate into recruiting success.

Being that Herman's career record vs top 25 opponents is 6-0 (3-0 vs top 10), I would be shocked if he doesn't find himself at least one signature win against OU, USC, or Oklahoma St.

 

[86Horn]

The thing is... Strong had what you could call 4 signature wins over his last two seasons. OU and Baylor in 2015 and Notre Dame and Baylor in 2016. Yes I realize how ND and Baylor's seasons ended up in 2016, but at the time those wins occurred, they were absolutely considered signature wins and Strong should have been able to use the momentum from those wins to translate into recruiting success.

Being that Herman's career record vs top 25 opponents is 6-0 (3-0 vs top 10), I would be shocked if he doesn't find himself at least one signature win against OU, USC, or Oklahoma St.

His 6-0 record was accumulated at schools top-tier opponents were likely to overlook or underestimate coming in. There is little doubt that OU was the better team last year, its athletes (and maybe its coaches) did not take Houston seriously and lost the game.

He won't have that advantage at Texas, however. Stoops will come into the game looking for some payback. If he wins all three of USC, OU and Okie State, Texas will win the conference and be positioned for a playoff berth in all likelihood. But that is not going to happen.

 

[Buda Horn]

His 6-0 record was accumulated at schools top-tier opponents were likely to overlook or underestimate coming in. There is little doubt that OU was the better team last year, It's athletes (and maybe its coaches) did not take Houston seriously and lost the game.

He won't have that advantage at Texas, however.

Fair enough, but the flip side of not being overlooked is having superior talent at almost every single position on the field. I think Herman will take the trade-off.

 

[coocs]

Very well done. As each day passes, it is more apparent that a change was needed. We got someone that understands head coaching at a super power

 

[txfight]

I'm not saying what he did was not incredibly stupid. I'm saying that a prosecutor may be willing to plead down an incredibly stupid mistake made by a young kid who may have a future. The prosecutor's decision tree is not that difficult--I can consign this young man to the dust bin and create a problem society will have to deal with for decades, or give him a chance to overcome this incredibly stupid thing he did.

Prosecutors understand that teenagers may do stupid things and are willing to negotiate, especially with a first offender, to limit the collateral damage to a kid's life from a stupid mistake, particularly when no one was injured or threatened with serious injury. I presume you never obtained a controlled substance in your life? Virtually everyone has at least smoked a joint or tried weed a time or two in high school and college.

Very fair points and I probably need to backtrack a little. FWIW, I hope this was a one-time deal and I'm a huge fan of the 2nd chance. I'm very happy that this happened during a period where they have time to review the exact situation make a non-rushed determination. I'm glad they aren't rushing to judgement and I wouldn't be at all opposed to giving the kid some serious probation and a chance to prove he can stay out of trouble. After all, his crime was mostly victim-less. He didn't rape, steal, accost or assault anyone.

But I will say one of the things I liked about the CS era were the (apparent) principles he stood by. I liked the code, the adherence to class attendance, the drug testing and the hardline on treating women properly. Especially with all the happenings 90 minutes north of Austin and the blind eyes in Norman.

If this kid is not contrite and doesn't show the greatest effort to prove this was a one-off incident with unusual circumstances, then cut him loose.

And as for you presumption that I never tried a controlled substance... you can't prove anything

 

[Ketchum]

The thing is... Strong had what you could call 4 signature wins over his last two seasons. OU and Baylor in 2015 and Notre Dame and Baylor in 2016. Yes I realize how ND and Baylor's seasons ended up in 2016, but at the time those wins occurred, they were absolutely considered signature wins and Strong should have been able to use the momentum from those wins to translate into recruiting success.

Being that Herman's career record vs top 25 opponents is 6-0 (3-0 vs top 10), I would be shocked if he doesn't find himself at least one signature win against OU, USC, or Oklahoma St.

He didn't have one in his first season and he never quite was able to build off of one.

 

[Ketchum]

Very well done. As each day passes, it is more apparent that a change was needed. We got someone that understands head coaching at a super power

Hard to disagree with that.

 

[slothrop]

Agree about Romo. I had an interesting conversation last week about Strong when I was in Austin with one of the regents that looks at salaries. We were talking about how it was obvious at year 3 that Strong's approach was never going to work. Strong believed he could come in and do the things he needed to do to win and he didn't have to do all of the other small things that Brown, Saban, and now Herman are doing. When it became obvious he wasn't going to win he still tried to hang onto to his job and did some of the behind the scenes things he did do ie: Herbstreit on ESPN to keep his job. What was not reported, and no one would report this, that incident and that behavior is the reason Fenves didn't even give Strong a news conference to depart. I know it's been reported, but it's also a HUGE reason we wont play USF in the coming years.

Sorry but I missed the "Herbstreit on ESPN" event. Could someone splain it to me?

 

[Ketchum]

Sorry but I missed the "Herbstreit on ESPN" event. Could someone splain it to me?

Herbie is Strong's boy. On more than a few occasions, Herbie set Texas on fire after almost certainly (but not officially confirmed) talking with Herbie prior in the week.

 

[slothrop]

Herbie is Strong's boy. On more than a few occasions, Herbie set Texas on fire after almost certainly (but not officially confirmed) talking with Herbie prior in the week.

Wow. I was aware that Herbie had made some not-so-flattering remarks about the program, but I didn't know the rest. Thanks for the clarification. Incidentally, great piece of work here Ketch. Bravo.

 

[RLong68]

I don't disagree with you. I'm saying I've seen schools still allow kids with worse circumstances/stories/arrests, including Texas.

Going down that road? Good luck with that.

 

[Ketchum]

Going down that road? Good luck with that.

It's the road I think Tom is going down.

His statement today on the situation indicates that he's keeping a very open mind on this situation.

 

[drunk randoke]

Herbie is Strong's boy. On more than a few occasions, Herbie set Texas on fire after almost certainly (but not officially confirmed) talking with Herbie prior in the week.

what's the source/reasoning for that relationship?

 

[LonghornBuc]

It's all about the class of lawyer you have available.... I'm guessing this kid has a very good one.

All the arguments you are making in defense of Herman keeping Reese Xanax on the roster are similar to those being made by Baylor people.

It doesn't matter if Xanax boy gets a lesser charge, like a misdemeanor instead of a felony issue, or if some of the evidence gets thrown out pre trial or at trial, or whatever happens in the legal process really.

The facts he admitted to are that he possessed and sold illegal drugs on his school campus. Unless those facts aren't true, he should never be given a scholarship at the University of Texas. And I don't give a shit what Stoops or Meyer or Saban or Jesus Christ would do. I care that my University doesn't give scholarships to criminal drug dealers.

 

[Buda Horn]

He didn't have one in his first season and he never quite was able to build off of one.

Agreed, although Strong's lack of a signature win in 2014 certainly didn't hinder his ability to sign a top flight 2015 recruiting class, and I don't think a signature win for Charlie in 2014 would have changed the outcome for him in any way. Because there is no dominant in-state program in Texas right now, a solid win total of 8-9 games alone should be enough to get the ball rolling for Herman.

It's different from the situation Mack was in back in 1998 where A&M was a dominant in-state program and they spent the better part of that decade dominating in-state recruiting. Mack needed those wins over A&M and Nebraska in 1998 (along with Ricky's heisman) to shift the recruiting balance of power in-state back to Texas.

 

[RLong68]

It's the road I think Tom is going down.

His statement today on the situation indicates that he's keeping a very open mind on this situation.

I think you are also going down that road. You certainly are ready to find any number of ways for a statement/evidence to get thrown out and a lesser deal get worked up. Personally, I think it's a bad look for the program. The guy was dealing drugs. "Not guilty" does not equal "innocent." I deal enough with the legal system to know that. FWIW, there's also a number other questions to get raised such as how did he acquire the Xanax?