Photo via AP
This year’s NFL draft was just another reminder of the absolute mess Texas football coach Tom Herman inherited when he took the job.
Texas did not have a first-round draft pick in 2019. The Longhorns did not have a day-two pick. Heck, when Houston drafted Charles Omenihu, he became was the first Longhorn selected this year, and that was in the fifth-round. Kris Boyd was eventually taken in the seventh-round. It was another poor draft outing for Texas. Unfortunately, that has been the norm for numerous years, a lack of success that predates Herman and his current staff.
Former defensive tackle Malcom Brown was the last Longhorn selected in the first-round, and he was drafted by New England in 2015. Colt McCoy is the last Longhorn quarterback to be drafted when he became a third-round pick by Cleveland in 2010. Since 2016, there have been two-or-fewer Longhorn players selected in three out of the past four drafts.
Herman and his staff face the tough challenge of developing talent at Texas better than their predecessors.
Before we get into the disappointment of this year’s draft, from a Texas perspective, it is important to highlight the ability of Herman and his staff to recognize talent.
Below is a list of players who were recruited and signed by Herman and members of his current staff. They started the development process before departing to other programs.
That being said, they still get credit for spotting and obtaining the following players:
--- DT Ed Oliver (1st round/Buffalo) – recruited by Oscar Giles, Todd Orlando and Herman (Houston)
--- QB Dwayne Haskins (1st round/Washington) – recruited by Tim Beck and Herman (Ohio State)
--- WR Parris Campbell (2nd round/Indianapolis) – Beck and Herman (OSU)
--- WR Terry McLaurin (3rd round/Washington) – Beck and Herman (OSU)
--- G Connor McGovern (3rd round/Dallas) – Herb Hand at Penn State
--- G Michael Jordan (4th round/Cincinnati) – Beck and Herman (OSU)
--- LB Emeke Egbule (6th round/San Diego) – Todd Orlando and Herman (Houston)
--- OT Isaiah Prince (6th round/Miami) – Beck and Herman (OSU)
--- RB Mike Weber (7th round/Dallas) – Stan Drayton, Beck and Herman (OSU)
The Longhorns desperately need a repeat of this success at Texas.
There was a time when talent development at Texas was on a roll. Longhorn fans remember the Detroit Lions selecting Roy Williams in the first-round in 2004, while defensive tackle Marcus Tubbs was also a first-round selection that year. Cedric Benson (Chicago) and Derrick Johnson (Kansas City) were first-round selections in 2005. Vince Young (Tennessee) and Michael Huff (Oakland) were first-round pics in 2006. Michael Griffin (Tennessee) and Aaaron Ross (New York Giants) were first-round selections in 2017. Brian Orakpo (Washington) was a first-round pick in 2009, followed Earl Thomas (Seattle) in 2010.
However, after Texas finished 5-7 in 2010, the lack of talent development started to rear its ugly head.
First-round picks went from becoming the norm to an anomaly. NFL teams stopped coveting Longhorn players. Heck, as you know, Texas’ 10-win season in 2018 was its first double-digit win campaign in 2009. Mack Brown failed to convert highly ranked recruiting classes into on-the-field standouts. Charlie Strong failed to get the most out of his highly ranked classes.
The player development prior to Herman was not good.
I spent some time researching Longhorn statistics related to the NFL draft and compared those findings to other in-state programs. I included Oklahoma since it recruits heavily in Texas.
The stats are humbling, that is for sure.
First-Round Picks Since 2011
Texas A&M – 9
2011 – LB Von Miller, Denver
2012 – QB Ryan Tannehill, Miami
2013 – OT Luke Joeckel, Jacksonville
2014 – T Jake Matthews, Atlanta
2014 – WR Mike Evans, Tampa Bay
2014 – QB Johnny Manziel, Cleveland
2015 – T Cedric Ogbueji, Cincinnati
2016 – G Germain Ifedi, Seattle
2017 – DE Myles Garrett, Cleveland
Baylor – 5
2011 – G Danny Watkins, Philadelphia
2011 – DT Philip Taylor, Cleveland
2012 – QB Robert Griffin III, Washington
2012 – WR Kendall Wright, Tennessee
2016 – WR Corey Coleman, Cleveland
Oklahoma – 4
2013 – OT Lane Johnson, Philadelphia
2018 – QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland
2019 – QB Kyler Murray, Arizona
2019 – WR Marquise Brown, Baltimore
TCU – 3
2014 – CB Jason Verrett, San Diego
2016 – WR Josh Doctson, Washington
2019 – DE L.J. Collier, Seattle
Texas – 2
2013 – S Kenny Vaccaro, New Orleans
2015 – DT Malcom Brown, New England
To go deeper, check out the complete draft numbers:
Overall draft picks since 2011
Oklahoma – 47
Texas A&M – 32
Baylor – 25
Texas – 23
TCU – 23
Texas Tech – 10
This is the mess Herman inherited.
In an ideal world, Herman easily cleans up the failures of his predecessors. College football observers love to lean on the early achievements of Alabama’s Nick Saban while ignoring he is arguably the greatest college football coach in history. Comparing Herman to Saban is like expecting every nine-year-old pianist to have their first published work like Beethoven.
The good news, for Texas fans, is the years of underdevelopment are seemingly coming to an end.
Prior to Herman and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando, former linebacker Malik Jefferson was benched by Strong. Holton Hill was also benched for various reasons. DeShon Elliott could not beat out Dylan Haines. The majority of players his staff inherited were a group of underachievers.
However, the future is bright.
This current staff are not star-chasers, but rely on their own observations and pursue players who fit the program. They are willing to task a risk on one player who could struggle to enter Texas, but the majority of guys will have no trouble qualifying. They seek players with great character, a strong support system, and athletes who have a reputation for working hard.
If you look at the 2019 team, safeties Brandon Jones and Cadern Sterns probably have the most potential to become first-round picks in the future. Both players need to stay healthy, but each has a shot. Clearly, Jones needs a strong senior year, while Sterns must continue to improve.
Texas center Zach Shackelford, Malcolm Roach and quarterback Sam Ehlinger are potential mid-to-late round NFL draft picks.
Cornerback Jalen Green, left tackle Sam Cosmi, plus running backs Keaontay Ingram and Jordan Whittington have a lot of potential, but it is too early to speculate about their respective futures.
Even if converting athletes into NFL players takes time, this staff has shown that good coaching often means more than highly-ranked recruiting classes. Just look at the top-ranked recruiting classes prior to Herman and those results.
Meanwhile, Texas won 10 games and posted a Sugar Bowl victory with only a fifth-round and seventh-round pick in this year’s draft.
It is just a matter of time before the Longhorn program becomes an NFL draft factory again.
However, Herman and his staff face the tough challenge of developing talent at Texas better than their predecessors.
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
I died 1,000 times of laughter
It just seems they make up workout rules at CrossFit
This is what happens when alcohol makes you forget your 6-inch vertical
Most Giants fans do not understand the first-round pick
Sports On A Dime
1. The most interesting behind-the-scenes tidbit I heard this week was no players have expressed a desire to enter the transfer portal after meeting individually with their position coaches, followed by Herman. Obviously, things can change, but one reason I believe current players are not eager to leave is because few former Longhorns who departed Austin went to a better program, and most did not excel.
Here is a look at players who departed Texas:
TE Peyton Aucoin – Went to Mississippi Delta Community College and transferred to Louisiana Lafayette
DB John Bonney – Had eight starts at Texas Tech as a grad transfer
QB Shane Buechele – Will transfer to SMU
RB Toneil Carter – Transferring to Sam Houston State
DB Eric Cuffee – Went to Trinity Valley CC and transferred to New Mexico
WR Davion Curtis – Went to Tyler JC and transferred to McNeese State
DT Chris Daniels – Went to Copiah-Lincoln CC and transferred to Missouri
OL Jean Delance – Played in four games as a back at Florida
DT Jordan Elliott – Second team All-SEC at Missouri
DL Andrew Fitzgerald – Quit football
DE Erick Fowler – Recorded 14 starts at Sam Houston State
LB Edwin Freeman – Departed as a grad transfer and never found home
TE Garrett Gray – Quit football
WR Reggie Hemphill-Mapps – Is currently at Missouri Southern State
OL Brandon Hodges – Had three starts at Pitt
RB Tristian Houston – Has not found a football home
QB Matthew Merrick – Walked on at Virginia; was not on 2018 roster
WR Jake Oliver – Quit football
RB Kyle Porter – Transferred to Houston
QB Cameron Rising – Transferred to Utah
K Joshua Rowland – Has not found a football home
DT Marcel Southall – Went to Tyler CC and is a Florida Atlantic
LB Cameron Townsend – Grad transfer looking for a football home
DT Michael Williams – Enrolled at LSU
2. Those who stood on the table to say Lil’Jordan Humphrey did not make a mistake by skipping his senior season to turn pro can finally sit down. Nobody leaves school early with the goal of not being drafted. He has a hard road to the NFL as an undrafted free agent. Nevertheless, I hope it works out for him as an UFA in New Orleans. More importantly, I hope more players listen to the professional advice of the College Advisory Committee and return to school when recommended.
3. I wish there was a way to drill this into the heads of high school and college athletes. Unfortunately, most will always believe they will defy the odds instead of becoming another statistic.
4. Every NFL observer knew Arizona would take Kyler Murray with the No.1 overall pick. The thing nobody knows is if Kliff Kingsbury will have any success as an NFL coach. Kingsbury was an underachiever at Texas Tech, but somehow failed forward and named Arizona’s head coach after being named the USC’s offensive coordinator. Time will tell if Murray or Kingsbury will last longer in with the Cardinals.
5. This stat makes it tough to recruit against the SEC
These stats make it nearly impossible to recruit against Alabama
6. Speaking of Kyler Murray, there is no way Josh Rosen replies to Steve Smith. When Smith was in the NFL, he beat down more than one teammate, and this is one guy who had no fear of Aqib Talib. Rosen better take the “L” and hope for the best in Miami.
7. The Internet is undefeated:
8. There was a time when if you played against Chris Johnson in fantasy football, it was an automatic loss. Johnson had one heck of a career. I do not think he is a Hall of Famer, but Terrell Davis made it in, so feel free to ignore me.
9. If Marshawn Lynch stays retired, this is the run football fans will always remember:
10. I am all chips in with Keith Thurman vs. Manny Pacquiao this summer. You guys know I am a Thurman fan, and I expect “One Time” to take the torch. After Thurman wins, I would love to see a mega-fight against Errol Spence Jr. in 2020. By the way, props to Pacquiao for never ducking a fight. He has been the opposite of Floyd Mayweather Jr. throughout his career.
