For those of you not keeping score at home, the Texas Longhorns are a mere 244 days away from their season-opener against the non-Charlie Strong-led South Florida Bulls.
With two new coordinators and a slew of assistant coaches that haven't even been hired yet, there's a lot of work to do if the Longhorns are to knock the five-time defending Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners off of their perch as the big dog of the Big 12.
It's the only goal the 2020 Longhorns should have. Stop with any and all myopic playoff discussion. The only thing that should be on the minds of each and every person in the Texas football facilities should be winning the conference. If you can accomplish that, good things beyond it will happen.
If the Longhorns can't climb that hill, it's hard to imagine how any of us will be able to view Tom Herman's fourth season in Austin as anything but a failure. It's Big 12 or bust. Period.
With one gigantic eye on the prize, here's a look at five critically important areas of improvement that need to be made over the course of those 244 days. I'm not suggesting these are the only five areas of improvement that exist, I'm just saying that these are at the top as far as I'm concerned.
No. 1 - Time for Yancy McKnight to earn his benefit of the doubt
I'll be honest when I tell you that it's incredibly hard to put a finger on just what kind of job the fourth-year strength and conditioning coach has done in the program since his arrival, but here's what I can tell you.
a. He's not churning out a bunch of next-level, soon-to-be-NFL players.
b. In the last three seasons, the Longhorns have been one of the worst fourth-quarter teams in the country.
c. The naked eye can't really see where his positive impact on the program manifests itself.
I'm not suggesting that McKnight should be on the hot seat, but I am suggesting that it's time for this area of the program to start making the kind of impact on the field that Herman has promised each year he's been in charge on the 40 Acres that it would. At the beginning of each fall camp, Herman will step to a podium and swear to the impact that McKnight has made on the program based on hundreds of pounds of strength that has been added across the entire roster, but none of it through three years has translated to Texas being a better team on the field.
Going into year four, that has to change.
No. 2 - Ash has to do in 2020 what Craig Naivar didn't do in 2019
Coming into the 2019 season, the general feeling around Austin (and most of college football) was that the Longhorns had one of the best sets of safeties of any team in the country.
Senior Brandon Jones was expected to have an all-America season. Both Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster were expected to build off of very strong true freshman campaigns. Behind those three players, the back end of the Texas secondary was expected to be the strength of what should have been an improving defense.
None of that happened. Jones didn't have a big senior season and none of the incredibly talented sophomores that Naivar had to work with seemed to make any real progress as players at all. Yes, injuries certainly played a role in some of the stalling out at the position, but it would be naive to suggest that what happened at the safety position this year was 100-percent related to injuries.
These players just didn't get better.
Enter UT's new defensive coordinator Chris Ash and his reputation for developing players in the secondary. With the talent Ash will have to work with in his first season in Austin, it's time for this expected position of strength to become a reality.
No. 3 - Herb Hand needs to work some magic
Gone is Zach Shackelford. Gone is Parker Braun.
Who replaces them and what quality emerges in the middle of the Texas offensive line with their departures is anyone's guess.
As Hand looks to find his five best linemen, he'll have a variety of options from which to choose, but it remains to be seen whether the line can improve in the process or whether any quality depth will exist to protect this group in the way of injuries, which the line was mostly able to avoid this season.
There might not be an assistant coach in the program with more job security than Hand after the work he did with his group in 2018, but the progress tailed off considerably in 2019 and that trend has to reverse course in 2020 if the Texas offense is going to reach its optimal upside.
No.4 - Take special teams seriously ...
There seems to be little suggestion that Herman will use one of his vacant coaching staff slots on an actual special teams coordinator, but after the season that just took place, which included almost every return man on the team seemingly being terrified to field a punt or kickoff, the Longhorns have to make substantial improvements in the third phase of the game.
One of the advantages the Longhorns should have over eight of the other nine teams in the Big 12 is with regards to the athletes they have at their disposal in the kicking game, but it's not an area where the Longhorns have been able to flex their muscle, regardless of the number of four- or five-star athletes they have involved.
When this team last competed for championships, its special teams were feared because at any given moment, it might block a punt, or knock someone's head off in coverage or make a huge play in the return game.
In 2019, the Longhorns just seemed to cross their fingers and pray bad things didn't happen. Well, that's what can happen when people without expertise in this field are in charge of individual units. By hook or crook, this program has to start producing special teams units that rank among the bests in the country and not the bottom of the Big 12.
No.5 - Get the most out of Sam
When you take a look at the 2020 schedule, there's really not any reason for the Longhorns to not enter every single game with an edge at the quarterback position.
Joe Burrow is gone. Jalen Hurts is gone. Hell, Charlie Brewer might need to be gone.
Mike Yurcich has a player on his hands that has the ability to be the best player on any field on any given day, but he's been unable to channel that kind of play consistently. Going into his senior season, consistency will be the name of the game and if Ehlinger can harness it, a Big 12 championship could very well be within his grasp.
No. 2 - My advice for Roschon Johnson ...
I know he wants to go back to quarterback. I know his dream must be to line-up at quarterback for the Longhorns.
Yet, if I'm giving advice to Roschon Johnson in the coming days, weeks and months, I'm telling him to stay put at running back.
It's the difference between being a major player for the 2020 team and fighting for scout team scraps with two true freshmen quarterbacks. It's the difference between having a direct path to a future pro career and going back to a position where he's a full developmental prospect that might still be a couple of years away from making a dent.
Almost every major college program divides quarterback snaps in practice between the first- and second-team players with the first- and second-team units, while everyone else battles for whatever reps they can get with the scout team, which means that if Johnson doesn't want to play running back, we might not hear his name at all in the next 365 days.
On the other hand, if he stays at running back, he's got a chance to compete for a starting position and at the very least he'll be a piece of a running back rotation.
It's not that I'm doubting Johnson, it's just that I'm keeping it real.
No. 3 - A shout-out to an underrated Longhorn ...
A couple of weeks ago, I named him the No. 3 player of the 2010s for the Texas football program and I got the sense from some that his inclusion was a major indictment of the program instead of proper recognition for a truly great player.
Maybe it was a bit of both.
All I know is that while watching Tom Brady play in what might have been his last playoff game as a member of the New England Patriots, former Longhorns safety Kenny Vaccaro had a huge role in making it so.
After a solid stint with the New Orleans Saints, Vaccaro has emerged as a critical player for the Tennessee Titans this season and never has it been more apparent than on Saturday night when he recorded seven tackles, two tackles for loss and a pass break-up in a 21-13 win in Foxborough.
Vaccaro was everywhere in that game and it felt like vindication for a player that is in his seventh season and has emerged as one of the best NFL Longhorns in the last decade, but probably has never received his proper due. Until now.
No. 4 - Rough night in Waco ...
I'm not even going to spend much time on what happened with Shaka Smart's team in its Big 12 season-opener.
Just know that it was ugly, there were lots of missed shots and lots of little moments to wince over. Frankly, I'm starting to wonder if we're wasting Orangebloods resources in even covering such a disheartening product.
Good grief, it was bad.
No. 5 - Running out the clock ...
I've got good news and bad news as it relates to Texas women's basketball.
The bad news is that Karen Aston's team isn't really any more consistent than the men's basketball team, as evidenced by the fact that the Longhorns blew a halftime lead at home to TCU on Friday night to fall to 0-1 in conference play and 8-5 overall.
The good news is that if you want change in the program, you don't have to wait for Chris Del Conte to fire anyone when the season is over. As long as the Texas higher-ups can avoid giving Aston another contract extension, her contract will expire once this season concludes and they can just let her go the way of Milton and the red stapler.
I suppose the question that will arrive at some point is whether Del Conte and the rest of the athletic department is ready to start treating women's basketball like it matters. Assuming that they don't extend Aston's deal, they'll have the ability to go out and make a hire without actually having to fire someone, which has to be a dream come true for an athletic department that always seems to be dripping wet with contracts it doesn't want to buy out.
But, will they have they have the desire to go big after the Gail Goestenkors disaster from nearly a decade ago?
No. 6 – BUY or SELL …
(Sell) Texas is going to make the Tournament, but I wouldn't dare go further than that. Ask me this question in a week or two when the Longhorns aren't coming off of one of the toughest road games they will play all season.
(Sell) I know that Naivar did a hell of a job in the bowl game, but he coaches the same position as Ash and I can't imagine Ash was hugely impressed by that position's output this season.
(Buy) Oh, hell yes, you know it.
(Buy) There will be a better staff in place, so that's a hell of a place to begin.
(Buy) Give me 100 shares of Jake Smith stock.
(Buy) Give me 100 shares of Chris Ash stock.
(Buy) The program will officially be off the rails if Herman and Co. can't land a kid that has been wearing burnt orange his entire life.
(Sell) Cosmi might be the right answer on the offensive side of the ball, but I'm in love with Joseph Ossai's upside.
(Buy) He's a top 5-10 head coach in the league. He's been one of my favorites for a long, long time.
No. 7 - As a Dallas Cowboys fan ...
I just wanted to stop for a moment and give the Houston Texans some props after coming back from 16-0 down to the Buffalo Bills to advance to the divisional round of the playoffs.
It was about six weeks ago when the Bills came into Dallas on Thanksgiving and beat the Cowboys into submission. Frankly, I thought the same thing was happening on Saturday in Houston, except that it turns out that the Texans have more guts than my Cowboys.
Oh, and they have DeShaun Watson.
On another note, that escape of a sack instantly becomes the best play in Texans history, right? I know I can't think of another that tops it.
No. 8 - Five Other Thoughts on This Weekend's NFL Playoff Games ...
a. Mike Vrabel out-Belichick'd the actual Bill Belichick on Saturday with that clock stunt in the final seven minutes of the game. It was quite glorious to witness as someone with zero skin in that game.
b. Derrick Henry vs. Lamar Jackson is going to be a hell of a lot of fun next weekend. I've grown to love watching Henry carry the rock.
c. Kirk Cousins outplayed Drew Brees in a playoff game in New Orleans. As great as Brees has been in the regular-season in his career, it sure seems like he's personally not played well enough when the games really count. Or maybe I'm letting the fact that he's been beaten by the likes of Cousins, Case Keenum, Jared Goff and Rex Grossman in his career ruin my impression. Is that unfair?
d. Thank you, Seattle, for doing what the Cowboys couldn't do.
e. Longhorns left in the playoffs: Earl Thomas (Baltimore), Justin Tucker (Baltimore), DeShon Elliott (Baltimore), Charles Omenihu (Houston), Alex Okafor (Kansas City), Kris Boyd (Minnesota), Holton Hill (Minnesota), Michael Dickson (Seattle), Poona Ford (Seattle), Tyrone Swoopes (Seattle), Quandre Diggs (Seattle), Marquise Goodwin (San Francisco) and Kenny Vaccaro (Tennessee)
No. 9 - The List: Top 10 Texas NFL Defensive Backs in the last 20 years ...
Given the love I've given to Vaccaro in this week's column, I thought I would rank the Top 10 former Texas defensive backs of the last 20 years based on their actual NFL careers.
Some of you might be shocked by how this breaks down.
10. Tarell Brown - Played nine years in the league and recorded 11 interceptions with three different teams.
9. Michael Huff - Played nine seasons in the NFL and recorded 11 career interceptions.
8. Aaron Ross - Played seven seasons in the NFL, while recording 11 career interceptions and winning a Super Bowl ring with the Giants.
7. Quandre Diggs - Is currently in his sixth season and has emerged as one of the best nickel defensive backs in the league. Has nine career interceptions.
6. Kenny Vaccaro - A masher in the secondary for both the Saints and the Titans, Vaccaro has 10 career interceptions and 10.5 career sacks.
5. Cedric Griffin - When he was healthy, he was a terrific NFL player, as he recorded 8 interceptions and forced 15 fumbles in a seven-year career.
4. Nathan Vasher - A seven-year vet in the NFL that recorded 20 career interceptions and earned a Pro Bowl spot in 2006.
3. Quentin Jammer - Played 12 seasons in the NFL for two different teams, recording 735 tackles, 21 interceptions and 10 forced fumbles in his career.
2. Michael Griffin - A two-time Pro Bowler and an All-Pro in 2010, Griffin recorded 803 tackles, 25 interceptions and 12 forced fumbles in his career.
1. Earl Thomas - Future Hall of Famer has been named All-Pro five times and made the Pro Bowl seven times.
No.10 - And finally...
I don't know how I finished this column because I've been battling constant pain and headaches following wisdom tooth surgery on Friday.
Forgive me if I'm not in front of my computer a ton in the next 24-48 hours. I just want to close my eyes.
