Once again, it's time for the 3-2-1.
This week, we touch on Tom Herman's growing support staff, his message at the Lone Star Coaching Clinic and hit on some recruiting.
We take a look at three things we learned over the last week, two questions that are on our mind and one prediction. It's time for this week's edition of the 3-2-1 ...
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Tom Herman continues to build an impressive support staff
In case you missed our post on the board last week, we continue to hear that the hiring of Bob Shipley has been buttoned up. Expect a formal announcement soon, possibly even late this week.
Herman is proving, once again, that he's a man of action and he's not one to deliver a bunch of lip service without having a plan to back it up. When Herman was first introduced, he mentioned that he wants to increase UT's support staff to put it on par with the top programs in the country, and he's been making quick moves seemingly every week.
In hiring Shipley, who retired from his head coaching position at Belton in January, Texas is getting one of the top high school coaches the state has seen in the last 15 years, but it's also getting a man of high character that should pay immediate dividends with UT's relations with high school coaches in the state (I've heard that Shipley's title will be Director of High School Relations, but still waiting confirmation on his exact title).
Shipley's obviously been very good to Texas, with two sons having starred for the Longhorns and the Longhorns recently signing Zach Shackleford from his Belton program in 2016. Before taking over at Belton, Shipley previously worked at Texas as a football analyst under Mack Brown.
We'll have to wait to hear exactly what Shipley's role and duties will be, but any time you can add a person with his football knowledge and a person who has the respect of high school coaches in the state, it's a win.
2. Tom Herman delivered a clear message in speaking at the Lone Star Coaching Clinic over the weekend
The Texas staff made its way to College Station last weekend for the Lone Star Coaching Clinic. Herman and Craig Naivar spoke at the event.
In digging around and talking to some people who were in attendance, Herman's message was direct and clear - he's going to develop the most mentally and physically tough team in the nation. Texas players will have to earn every little thing they get, even something as simple as a helmet visor.
At an event that also featured speakers from programs like LSU, A&M and Arizona State, Herman was confident in what he's beginning to build at Texas. He talked about the plan being infallible, saying the only thing that can derail the plan are people and the decisions they make. If the players, coaches and staff stick to the fundamentals of Herman's plan, he fully expects it to work, as it did in Houston.
We'll have more on Herman's talk in this week's War Room, but one other note that I found interesting ...
The coaches break the team down into three categories. The top 10 percent are considered "The Elite." The Bottom 10 percent is called "The Defiant and Disinterested," and those types take care of themselves and will make decisions to remove themselves from the program. The middle 80 percent is key. That's the group you're trying to shrink. If you can broaden your Elite group to about 30 percent and shrink that middle group, you'll win games and win them quickly.
3. The Texas women's hoops program continues to impress
I think I've found a winning formula for the Texas women's basketball team (not that they need my help).
I've now watched the majority of the last two Monday night games for the women's basketball team, but I've missed the beginning of both contests. Of course, Texas has gone on to win games over Baylor in Waco and Florida State in Tallahassee. Looks like next week I need to miss the opening tip of the Oklahoma and Baylor games.
Monday night was yet another thrilling win for Texas, with the Longhorns going on a ridiculous 19-2 run late in the game to take the lead and then holding on to beat the fourth-ranked Seminoles on their own court.
I fully admit I'm a Johnny-Come-Lately spectator of the sport, but these games have been pretty exciting and Karen Aston's club is now riding a 19-game win streak.
How far can this team go in the postseason? Your guess is as good as mine, but it feels to me like a Final Four run is in the makings.
TWO QUESTIONS
1. Are the Texas players beginning to buy into the off-season program?
In the first couple weeks of off-season workouts, I heard some third-hand information that some of the players weren't in love with the effort that was being demanded of them every day, and the early-morning workouts had some players grumbling among themselves. In fact, one message I received indicated the players were in shock of how demanding the new staff is, and the previous staff was pretty soft on them by comparison. I kind of chalked it up to the usual talk that we hear with coaching changes, especially when the previous coach was so well-liked by his players.
In recent weeks, things have been fairly quiet. Guys may not have bought in immediately, including some of the more established players, but I get the feeling everyone is just keeping his head down and going about his business in the off-season program.
Herman told the team when he was hired that they were going to work like they never have before. It sounds like he's been true to his word, and if the players are mentally buying in to what's being asked, that's a huge step towards getting the program back on the right track.
2. Who will be the highest-ranked player Texas signs in 2018?
Rankings can and will fluctuate quite a bit over the next 11 months and Texas should find itself in contention with several highly-ranked players, but if I'm laying odds on the highest rated player Texas inks for this class, Anthony Cook is the early leader.
Cases could be made for a couple other guys, including Angelton's B.J. Foster, but Cook is the higher-ranked player right now and I really like where Texas sits with him at this early stage.
Obviously, things can and probably will change in this one and every other high-profile recruitment, but more often than not, players come back to their first love and the guess here is that Texas is where cook really wants to be.
ONE PREDICTION - Texas will pick up a commitment or two at its junior day later this month
In our most recent TicketCity Podcast, I suggested that Texas should see a great group of talent make its way to Austin for the Longhorns' junior day on February 25, but I wasn't sure Texas would land many commitments, and it was possible Texas would use the weekend to lay a foundation but not push for any commitments at all.
I'm still not expecting a large number of verbal pledges to roll out - those days are over - but I do think there's a chance the Longhorns could add a couple names to their 2018 commitment list.
Take a look at the schools in the region that are Texas' primary recruiting competition, and all of them have multiple commitments. Texas A&M has six, LSU five. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech all have three. Baylor, along with Texas, is the only one being shut out.
I fully expect the Longhorns to sign a good class in 2018, but the team does need a bit of recruiting momentum to start things off. Most of the really big names will wait things out, but I could see a case where the staff reels in a pledge or two from players who have grown up Longhorn fans.
This week, we touch on Tom Herman's growing support staff, his message at the Lone Star Coaching Clinic and hit on some recruiting.
We take a look at three things we learned over the last week, two questions that are on our mind and one prediction. It's time for this week's edition of the 3-2-1 ...
THREE THINGS WE LEARNED
1. Tom Herman continues to build an impressive support staff
In case you missed our post on the board last week, we continue to hear that the hiring of Bob Shipley has been buttoned up. Expect a formal announcement soon, possibly even late this week.
Herman is proving, once again, that he's a man of action and he's not one to deliver a bunch of lip service without having a plan to back it up. When Herman was first introduced, he mentioned that he wants to increase UT's support staff to put it on par with the top programs in the country, and he's been making quick moves seemingly every week.
In hiring Shipley, who retired from his head coaching position at Belton in January, Texas is getting one of the top high school coaches the state has seen in the last 15 years, but it's also getting a man of high character that should pay immediate dividends with UT's relations with high school coaches in the state (I've heard that Shipley's title will be Director of High School Relations, but still waiting confirmation on his exact title).
Shipley's obviously been very good to Texas, with two sons having starred for the Longhorns and the Longhorns recently signing Zach Shackleford from his Belton program in 2016. Before taking over at Belton, Shipley previously worked at Texas as a football analyst under Mack Brown.
We'll have to wait to hear exactly what Shipley's role and duties will be, but any time you can add a person with his football knowledge and a person who has the respect of high school coaches in the state, it's a win.
2. Tom Herman delivered a clear message in speaking at the Lone Star Coaching Clinic over the weekend
The Texas staff made its way to College Station last weekend for the Lone Star Coaching Clinic. Herman and Craig Naivar spoke at the event.
In digging around and talking to some people who were in attendance, Herman's message was direct and clear - he's going to develop the most mentally and physically tough team in the nation. Texas players will have to earn every little thing they get, even something as simple as a helmet visor.
At an event that also featured speakers from programs like LSU, A&M and Arizona State, Herman was confident in what he's beginning to build at Texas. He talked about the plan being infallible, saying the only thing that can derail the plan are people and the decisions they make. If the players, coaches and staff stick to the fundamentals of Herman's plan, he fully expects it to work, as it did in Houston.
We'll have more on Herman's talk in this week's War Room, but one other note that I found interesting ...
The coaches break the team down into three categories. The top 10 percent are considered "The Elite." The Bottom 10 percent is called "The Defiant and Disinterested," and those types take care of themselves and will make decisions to remove themselves from the program. The middle 80 percent is key. That's the group you're trying to shrink. If you can broaden your Elite group to about 30 percent and shrink that middle group, you'll win games and win them quickly.
3. The Texas women's hoops program continues to impress
I think I've found a winning formula for the Texas women's basketball team (not that they need my help).
I've now watched the majority of the last two Monday night games for the women's basketball team, but I've missed the beginning of both contests. Of course, Texas has gone on to win games over Baylor in Waco and Florida State in Tallahassee. Looks like next week I need to miss the opening tip of the Oklahoma and Baylor games.
Monday night was yet another thrilling win for Texas, with the Longhorns going on a ridiculous 19-2 run late in the game to take the lead and then holding on to beat the fourth-ranked Seminoles on their own court.
I fully admit I'm a Johnny-Come-Lately spectator of the sport, but these games have been pretty exciting and Karen Aston's club is now riding a 19-game win streak.
How far can this team go in the postseason? Your guess is as good as mine, but it feels to me like a Final Four run is in the makings.
TWO QUESTIONS
1. Are the Texas players beginning to buy into the off-season program?
In the first couple weeks of off-season workouts, I heard some third-hand information that some of the players weren't in love with the effort that was being demanded of them every day, and the early-morning workouts had some players grumbling among themselves. In fact, one message I received indicated the players were in shock of how demanding the new staff is, and the previous staff was pretty soft on them by comparison. I kind of chalked it up to the usual talk that we hear with coaching changes, especially when the previous coach was so well-liked by his players.
In recent weeks, things have been fairly quiet. Guys may not have bought in immediately, including some of the more established players, but I get the feeling everyone is just keeping his head down and going about his business in the off-season program.
Herman told the team when he was hired that they were going to work like they never have before. It sounds like he's been true to his word, and if the players are mentally buying in to what's being asked, that's a huge step towards getting the program back on the right track.
2. Who will be the highest-ranked player Texas signs in 2018?
Rankings can and will fluctuate quite a bit over the next 11 months and Texas should find itself in contention with several highly-ranked players, but if I'm laying odds on the highest rated player Texas inks for this class, Anthony Cook is the early leader.
Cases could be made for a couple other guys, including Angelton's B.J. Foster, but Cook is the higher-ranked player right now and I really like where Texas sits with him at this early stage.
Obviously, things can and probably will change in this one and every other high-profile recruitment, but more often than not, players come back to their first love and the guess here is that Texas is where cook really wants to be.
ONE PREDICTION - Texas will pick up a commitment or two at its junior day later this month
In our most recent TicketCity Podcast, I suggested that Texas should see a great group of talent make its way to Austin for the Longhorns' junior day on February 25, but I wasn't sure Texas would land many commitments, and it was possible Texas would use the weekend to lay a foundation but not push for any commitments at all.
I'm still not expecting a large number of verbal pledges to roll out - those days are over - but I do think there's a chance the Longhorns could add a couple names to their 2018 commitment list.
Take a look at the schools in the region that are Texas' primary recruiting competition, and all of them have multiple commitments. Texas A&M has six, LSU five. Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech all have three. Baylor, along with Texas, is the only one being shut out.
I fully expect the Longhorns to sign a good class in 2018, but the team does need a bit of recruiting momentum to start things off. Most of the really big names will wait things out, but I could see a case where the staff reels in a pledge or two from players who have grown up Longhorn fans.
