Texas football coach Tom Herman probably does not remember what occurred in Austin during the 2015 season. That was his first year at Houston. Herman was likely consumed with his first stint as a head coach. His main priority was to turn Houston into a program that could compete against power five teams. The last thing on his mind were the decisions by former Texas coach Charlie Strong that year.
However, you remember what occurred.
Strong looked at his roster and decided it would be best to make that year into a rebuilding season and play several talented freshmen. He looked at his roster and realized it would be better to go through growing pains instead of trying to develop underclassmen. They hoped the program would improve down the line, and put competing for a Big 12 title on the back burner.
If Texas has a breakthrough this year, it will be led by upperclassmen who were thrown into the fire as freshmen and developed into standouts under Herman and his staff.
When you look back at the 2015 and 2016 seasons, it laid the foundation for the potential success Texas might have this year.
The previous staff inherited linebacker Jordan Hicks, defensive lineman Malcom Brown, running back Malcolm Brown, defensive back Quandre Diggs, safety Mykkele Thompson and tight end Geoff Swaim. Texas finished 6-7 with those players.
However, there was not a ton of talent available the following season.
The only player drafted after the 2015 season was defensive tackle Hassan Ridgeway (fourth-round). Receiver Marcus Johnson and cornerback Duke Thomas signed with Philadelphia and Houston as undrafted free agents, respectively. There were not many elite players on that roster.
It was a bold decision to start a lot of young players four seasons ago.
It was also a hot mess in 2015.
Texas began that season with a 38-3 loss against Notre Dame. The Longhorns were also blown out in losses against TCU, Iowa State and West Virginia. The Longhorns finished 5-7 that year.
That young group of players struggled again in 2016. Oklahoma State and TCU were the worst losses that year (49-31). However, there were close losses against Cal, Oklahoma, Kansas State, West Virginia, and Kansas, the game that sealed Strong’s fate.
Strong’s decision to start young players could benefit Herman this season.
Texas currently has 23 seniors on this year’s roster. Sure, there are players who will probably not have an impact year, but the majority of guys will have a major role on this season.
“We’ve had our rough sides of it,” Texas senior safety P.J. Locke said. “Kind of messing up in games, looking back on film. Just understanding the concepts. The different things you can get. Our football IQs have gone up. Just being thrown in the fire, your head is just spinning everywhere. You just learn to settle down and understand the game. Now the game is pretty much slow to us.”
Here is the list of seniors who will likely play this year: WR John Burt, CB Kris Boyd, S P.J. Locke III, WR Jerrod Heard, CB Davante Davis, CB John Bonney, LB Gary Johnson (not recruited by Strong), LB Edwin Freeman, DE Breckyn Hager, TE Andrew Beck, LB Anthony Wheeler, OL Elijah Rodriguez, OL Patrick Vahe, DE Charles Omenihu, DL Jamari Chisholm, DT Chris Nelson and left tackle grad transfer Calvin Anderson (not recruited by Strong).
In addition, here are the juniors who will be in the rotation: WR Collin Johnson, C Zach Shackelford, WR Devin Duvernary, QB Shane Buechele, safety Brandon Jones, RB Kyle Porter, LB Jeffrey MuCulloch, RB Kirk Johnson, DE/LB Malcolm Roach, RB Tristian Houston, LB/RB Cameron Townsend, DL D’Andre Christmas, OL Denzel Okafor, WR Lil’ Jordan Humphrey, and DL Gerald Wilbon.
This list does not include left tackle Connor Williams, linebacker Malik Jefferson, cornerback Holton Hill, running back Chris Warren III and punter Michael Dickson, juniors who skipped their senior season to enter the NFL draft. This year’s team could be no-brainer Big 12 title contender with those players.
Sure, there has been a lot of hype about the freshmen signed in the 2018 class, but Herman has the luxury of playing his best upperclassmen and redshirting the others.
Right now, the freshmen and sophomores who have the best chance to play this year are quarterback Sam Ehlinger, running backs Toneil Carter, Daniel Young and Keontay Ingram, right tackle Derek Kerstetter, defensive lineman Ta’Quon Graham, defensive backs Caden Sterns and B.J. Foster, tight ends Reese Leitao and Cade Brewer, receiver Brennan Eagles, linebacker Ayodele Adeoye, defensive lineman Keondre Coburn, plus punter Ryan Bujcevski and kicker Cameron Dicker. Most of those players will be in the rotation, but only a handful will start.
“It’s kind of crazy right now,” Texas senior safety P.J. Locke said. “I just remember coming in, and my DB coach said one day … At the time it was Duke Thomas, and stuff like that, and he said one day you’re going to be the old guys teaching the young guys stuff, and I’m already here. It went by so fast.”
Senior guard Patrick Vahe had a similar opinion.
“Nothing should change,” Vahe said. “I go out there on the practice field, and I make sure I work my butt off. I make sure I have people follow me in the right way. I make sure I don’t lead them down the wrong path because there are a lot of guys on this team that look up to me. I got to make sure I don’t mess up that reputation that I have with these guys because I built a lot of trust with these guys, and I don’t want to ruin that with them.”
Herman currently has a group of upperclassmen who are no longer content with just playing. Back then, it was young players against the old guys. A young Boyd was tweeting at halftime. Dylan Haines called out the freshmen players, and they responded by putting him on blast through social media. There was so much chaos, winning was not a priority for the 2015 class.
After another disappointing season in 2016, Texas finally achieved a small measure of success last season. Texas finished 7-6 with a bowl win against Missouri, which was the Longhorns first postseason win since the 2011 season.
There have been plenty of excuses made for Texas’ lack of accomplishments since 2014. We heard about transition classes, coaching turnovers, young players, etc. That being said, Texas will have an experienced roster of veterans who should be savvy enough to have the Longhorns in conversation for a Big 12 title by the end of this season. It may not happen, but should.
Texas will not have to face the same number of elite quarterbacks this season. The Longhorns played against USC’ Sam Darnold (potential No.1 draft pick in April), Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (potential first-round pick), Oklahoma State’s Mason Rudolph (potential second or third-round pick), TCU’s Kenny Hill (NFL prospect), West Virginia’s Will Grier (future NFL draft pick) and Missouri’s Drew Lock (the nation’s leading passer) in 2017.
Darnold, Mayfield, Rudolph and Hill are gone, leaving Grier as the toughest quarterback – on paper – Texas will face this season. The second-best quarterback could be Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray, but nobody has seen him play since 2015. Murray threw seven interceptions and five touchdowns that year.
There is enough talent on this roster to win this year. Texas has a multitude of veterans with playing experience who should have an impact. They experienced disappointing losses, have seen several coaching changes, and appear ready to leave Texas on a high note. Nothing is new to this crew. They appear ready to finally take the last step to success, which could mean being it the conference championship conversation this year (huge emphasis on "could") .
If Texas has a breakthrough this year, it will be led by upperclassmen who emerged from that fire as freshmen and developed into standouts under Herman and his staff.
Photo via Texas Football
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1. Strong received a lot of credit for the players drafted after his first season. Using that math, current Herman and staff deserve credit for developing several players into potential NFL draft picks this year. Holton Hill, Poona Ford and DeShon Elliott were not impact players in 2016, while there were plenty of question marks surrounding linebacker Malik Jefferson prior to last season. Herman and defensive coordinator Todd Orlando deserve credit for developing a group of raw players into NFL talent.
2. Chris Warren III's response about switching positions in the NFL at Texas’ pro day raised a huge red flag. In case you missed it, Warren said, “Absolutely intend on playing running back. Yes … I will play whatever you guys need me to play, but I fully 110 percent intend to play running back in the NFL. Point blank. Period.” No disrespect to the young man, but when do not have an impact during your junior season, the worst thing Warren can do is make demands. Warren should not eliminate teams, but do whatever it takes to get on an NFL roster. Warren will so realize how humbling life is in the NFL.
3. I agree with Max Olson on his assessment of Poona Ford. He will definitely be a late-round steal for one NFL team.
4. Former Texas punter Michael Dickson said it is easier to kick an NFL ball, and added those balls have more juice. Can you imagine how scary Dickson will be in the NFL? Any team that drafts Dickson on day two will have a player for no less than 15 years.
5. Herman finally ended his silence as relates to the quarterback discussion and praised Sam Ehlinger for his performance during Thursday’s practice. I think that is a good sign for Ehlinger, but I fully expect Herman to put water on that fire this week and praise Buechele. Maybe Herman names a quarterback starter once spring practice concludes, but I think he will wait until fall to make sure the passers in that room keep pushing each other.
6. Not having Texas linebacker Gary Johnson for the next six weeks due to a groin injury is a blow, but at least he should be back at 100 percent once fall practice begins. The blessing in disguise for Texas is freshman linebacker Ayodele Adeoye receiving extended playing time this spring. Having depth at linebacker will strengthen Orlando’s defense this season.
7. Bryan Carrington is a bad ass. Period.
8, It is great to see the legacy of Sean Adams live
9. I am so down with Shaquem Griffin. I hope he excels in the NFL.
10. Okay, I get it, Anthony Joshua. Maybe it was hard to get up for Joseph Parker. You already know Deontay Wilder is waiting for you, and Parker’s defense was better than expected. You won. Make the fight against Wilder happen.
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