Texas coach Charlie Strong is probably like the majority of us during the first week of every year.
The new year always gives everybody hope. No matter what went wrong during the previous 365 days, January 1 is an opportunity to mentally erase all those bad things and start over. Obviously, any debt accrued in one year is not magically erased at midnight, and it is impossible to gain an athletic body overnight. However, the new year provides hope for a brighter future.
When it comes to the Longhorns’ football program, the fan base desperately needs a jolt of optimism in 2016. The last time Texas finished with 10-or-more wins was in 2009. Texas’ last bowl victory was in 2012. Charlie Strong’s team followed a 6-7 season in 2014 with a 5-7 finish last year. Many fans have gone from excited about the future to pessimistic about the present.
Strong does not strike me as a guy who sat down on New Years Eve and wrote down his resolutions, but I have a list of 10 things the football program needs to accomplish in 2016. Like any New Year's resolution list, it will be hard to accomplish every goal. Nevertheless, here are 10 things Strong and staff need to accomplish this year.
1. Finish strong in recruiting – Have you heard the story about when Texas started slow in recruiting and finishing a great group of freshman who contributed in 2015? Of course, you have. Strong and his staff reminded everybody of their accomplishment last year, and they have a month to duplicate last year’s success.
Texas picked up a huge commitment from offensive lineman Jean Delance during the Under Armour All America game on Saturday. The Longhorns’ biggest recruiting weekend will occur on January 15, and that is when this staff will attempt another come-from-behind finish. Safety Brandon Jones, running back Devwah Whaley, offensive lineman Patrick Hudson, linebacker Jeffrey McCulloch, safety Deontay Anderson are among the players expected to visit that weekend. Texas must build on Delance’s commitment and open the floodgates as signing day approaches.
2. Find a way to retain Jeff Traylor – This need is high simply because Traylor is expected to interview for the vacant Texas State job pretty soon. Sure, none of really know if Traylor is the next great college coach right now. We do know he is one hell of a recruiter with a ton of high school connections. He is not a guy Texas can afford to lose when the dead period ends next week.
If there is a way to make Traylor happy and stay, Strong has to figure out what it takes.
3. Find a quarterback – Yep, the same thing we said it 2014. The same thing we said in 2015. Maybe the third time is really a charm.
Supporters of Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard spent most of last year debating which quarterback was the better option. After the season, there really was not a winner, and that is just one reason why Texas finished with only five wins. Somebody from that quarterback room must become an impact starter this season. Winning the job is simply not enough. That means if Swoopes and Heard are not ready to lead this team, Strong may be forced to examine the upside of Shane Buechele, Kai Locksley or Matthew Merrick. If none of those players are good options, Strong and his staff need to dive into the graduate transfer market and find somebody capable of leading this offense.
Regardless, fixing the quarterback issue is arguably the top priority this offseason - again.
(Photo via HookEm.com)
4. Improve the defensive line – There really is no way to sugar coat how Texas’ defense struggled this season. Opponents averaged 453 yards and 30 points per game against Texas in 2015, which was shocking considering we were led to believe this defense would be a team strength. Of course, we were also led to believe Texas’ defensive line would be the team’s strongest unit. Even though defensive lineman were hurt at different points throughout the season, this group rarely had an impact. That has to change in 2016.
Defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway bolted for the NFL Draft, leaving Texas with a bunch of guys who underperformed last year. Texas is still in the mix for defensive tackle Chris Daniels, defensive tackle Jordan Elliott, defensive tackle D’andre Christmas-Giles and defensive tackle Mike Williams. The Longhorns have been actively recruiting Marcel Southall, even though it has been hard to get him on campus. Not landing a defensive tackle in last year’s recruiting class hurt, which means the Longhorns need to load up on signing day. Texas has verbal commitments from Gerald Wilbon (defensive tackle), Malcolm Roach (defensive end) and Andrew Fitzgerald (defensive end). The staff needs more players up front.
5. Tell Gilbert that John Burt is really good – One of the most frustrating things to watch last season was receiver John Burt battle and come down with a 50-yard pass and then disappear because his named was never called again. There just were not enough deep pass attempts, and Burt could have been a standout receiver if there was a consistent effort made to get him the ball.
Obviously, running backs Chris Warren and D’Onta Foreman are pretty darn good, so I am not suggesting Texas abandons an offensive strength. The Longhorns just need to realize Burt might be their best pass-catching option and utilize his athleticism because I do believe he can easily top 1,000 receiving yards in 2016 if given the chance.
6. Install the offense before spring ends – Newly hired offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert does not have much time to waste. He was hired to be a quick fix, and few people want to hear about how much time it takes to install a new offense. Sure, it may realistically take two years. Realistically, nobody in this program can afford a two-year project.
Not only does Gilbert need to identify a starting quarterback, he must install his offense before spring ends. Gilbert also needs to find offensive leaders who can teach teammates his system when the coach is not around. The one thing Texas cannot afford is to do is waste time this offseason with a do-or-die year for everybody seemingly on the horizon.
7. Beat Notre Dame in the season opener – Winning every game is important, so I am not trying to state the obvious. However, after last year’s embarrassing loss against Notre Dame in the season opener, this program cannot afford another poor start.
Prior to this season, you are going to hear all the right things from players and coaches. Everybody is going to talk about the things they learned after a disappointing 2015 campaign. You are going to hear stories about how this year’s team is a much closer unit. Reporters will get your hopes up with details about players who look like the second coming of (insert name here) during practice and scrimmages. Just remember the reports out of Kansas will probably be the same, just with different names.
In other words, believe it when you see it.
Every fan base gets fired up for the season opener. Nevertheless, if Texas does not live up to its inevitable preseason hype, the critics will hammer this team.
8. Finish with at least eight wins – I previously reported president Greg Fenves and athletic director Mike Perrin flew to Tulsa because offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert wanted to know if Strong would be here past 2016. After being reassured, Gilbert decided to join the Longhorns. We also heard recruits were informed Strong would still be here in 2017.
Are you buying that? I am not.
I find it hard to believe Strong will be retained if Texas only wins five or six games. I am lukewarm to the idea a 6-6 regular season record and a bowl victory gets the job done. If Strong does not win at least eight games, I find it hard to believe Texas is going to sit back and watch Texas A&M hire Houston coach Tom Herman. I am not saying Herman is a guy being watched behind-the-scenes, mostly logic states everybody - decision-makers and fans - have an eye on him right now.
I think the assurances are nice, but if Strong does not win, they will be remembered as empty promises.
9. Find a dynamic kick returner: When D.J. Monroe returned a kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown at Oklahoma State on September 29, 2012, who knew that would be the last time Texas scored on a kickoff. Unfortunately, for the Longhorns, it has been a long time.
Strong is a guy who does not like to takes risks on special teams, but he has to find a return threat on special teams. Kickoff and punt returner Daje Johnson is gone, opening the door for Ryan Newsome, Kris Boyd, Kirk Johnson, D’Onta Foreman, or another young playmaker, to have an impact. It would be nice for somebody to step up and end the current special teams drought.
10. Expand the recruiting staff – Nothing against the current crew, but at least two more people need to be added to this department. Strong needs people who understand recruiting in a digital era and cater to what kids really want. There is no reason why an athletic department with so much money does not have a graphic designer making eye-catching edits for recruits to post on social media. Instead, most Texas recruits get their edits from fans who post them on Twitter.
In addition, there have been three tweets by Texas’ official football page since January 1. The activity on Facebook is minimal. A good recruiting staff can see these areas of opportunity and capitalize. Strong also needs a staff that will not throw together the program’s most important recruiting event (Under the Lights) at the last minute again.
The recruiting department at Texas should be excellent, not just good.
Funniest Thing You Will See This Week
The original
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Sports On A Dime
1. After Houston’s 38-24 victory against Florida State in the Peach Bowl, Herman might receive a $7 million per year offer by one program after next season. There will definitely be a bidding war for Herman, and considering how he is killing it in recruiting right now, it is going to take one hell of an offer for him to leave.
2. Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh exceeded all expectations in his first season back in college. His team’s 41-7 victory against Florida in the Citrus Bowl was an exclamation point on Michigan’s 10-3 season after finishing 5-7 before Harbaugh’s arrival. He is my college coach of the year.
3. Hey, this is a Texas football website. Troll away:
4. Memo to self: Make sure I watch TCU in a bowl game next year, especially if the contest is against Oregon.
5. Philadelphia, Tennessee and Miami currently have openings, and that number is expected to increase on Black Monday, especially considering Cleveland is expected to fire Mike Pettine on Monday. I think Indianapolis (Chuck Pagano), San Diego (Mike McCoy) and Detroit (Jim Caldwell) will fire its coaches on Monday. It will be interesting to see if Tom Coughlin (Giants) and Jeff Fisher (Rams) are given another year. Heck, Fisher always survives, so he might be a lock.
6. I will be surprised if Chip Kelly is given the opportunity to coach an NFL team next season. Kelly might be a good coach, but he earned the reputation of alienating players, which cannot be appealing to a losing franchise (most teams with openings are coming off a bad year) desperately seeking an atmosphere change. He also may have ruined the opportunity for other college coaches to receive NFL jobs in the immediate future.
7. The Peyton Manning/HGH story has left more questions than answers for me. I know the reporter is backtracking to avoid litigation, but did I miss the explanation as to why Manning’s wife was receiving HGH shipments to her home in 2011 when she reportedly had twins on March 31 that year? I find it hard to believe she was taking HGH during her pregnancy, so did her use begin after childbirth? The NFL began testing for HGH in October 2014, and Manning’s decline coincidentally began in December of that year (check the stats)? Something about this story is not adding up.
8. Props to Baltimore receiver Steve Smith Sr. for putting off his retirement to play next season. If there is anybody who can return from an Achilles injury, it is Smith. Smith has made a lot of great plays throughout his NFL career, but nothing can top this jab at Aqib Talib on Monday Night Football:
9. One loss should not should cost Carolina quarterback Cam Newton the league’s most valuable player award. This honor should be his to lose.
10. NFL general managers always told me teams that spend the most in free agency are trying to make up for whiffing in the draft. Plus, teams that spend money in free agency typically have nothing to show for their investment, which is why building through the draft is so important. Miami gave Ndamukong Suh over $100 million, but the Dolphins only have five wins. Jacksonville rewarded tight end Julius Thomas, and I not sure he was the third-best option. We all know what happened with DeMarco Murray in Philadelphia and Greg Hardy in Dallas. Outside of Jeremy Maclin signing with Kansas City, teams that spent the most in free agency wasted money.
