Photo via San Antonio Express-News
The reaction from University of Texas football players after losses were predictable the past two years.
It did not matter if it was a blowout loss against Notre Dame, TCU or Iowa State in 2015. Their reactions were the same in close losses, such as Cal, Oklahoma and West Virginia in 2016. Heck, outside of seeing Texas defensive end Charles Omenihu’s frustrations after that embarrassing Kansas loss, many players had the same type of response after that defeat - they quietly walked over to the UT band, put up the “Hook 'em Horns” sign as the “Eyes of Texas” played, and then strolled back to the locker room.
Just another day. Just another loss. Oh well.
Texas football coach Tom Herman is determined to get rid of that apathy.
For all the talk about former strength and conditioning coach Pat Moorer making this team tougher, you never saw anyone hate losing. For all the talk about Charlie Strong bringing a resiliency to Texas, losing never bothered his team. For all the talk about Florida kids vs. Texas kids, both groups accepted losing like it was an inevitability. Not one helmet thrown in disgust. It was hard to find players who were inconsolable after a loss. Players never acted like the world ended after a loss.
“It was like no consequences to losing,” Texas defensive back P.J. Locke said. “If you won, you won. If you lose, you just lose.”
Losing became the norm during Strong’s first season. It became acceptable when he signed a group of talented freshmen who were just happy to play in 2015. The seniors they had to look up to that year were center Taylor Doyle, running back Johnathan Gray, guard Sedrick Flowers and defensive tackle Desmond Jackson. Good players, but they were unable to make losing unacceptable at Texas.
Last season, safety Dylan Haines, quarterback Tyrone Swoopes, defensive tackle Paul Boyette Jr. and linebacker Tim Cole where the team’s most notable seniors. No matter how many barbecues Boyette had at his home, when the heat was turned up on the Longhorns, they were at room temperature after every loss.
The fiercest competitors in sports hate losing more than they love winning. Michael Jordan was known for having that belief. Former tennis superstar Jimmy Connors echoed those sentiments. Former baseball great Derek Jeter was the same way. Each competitor understood losing should never be acceptable, even if it was just a game of cards.
Herman fully embraces that philosophy because he learned about the winning culture under former Texas football coach Mack Brown. He knows the mentality Ohio State had during that 12-0 season. Herman took Houston to another level by demanding a lot from his players.
He is trying to do the same thing at Texas.
“I don’t know what it was before I got here,” Herman said. “Don’t really care. But, I know when you lose 21 games in three years, that is a definite possibility (players do not hate losing). You become numb to losing, and you should never become numb to losing. No matter how often you do it, it should hurt even worse the 21st time as it did the 20th time, and worse the 19th time than it did the 15th time. Was that the case here last year? I don’t know, but that’s certainly a pitfall for a lot of teams that have gone through a stretch like that.”
Herman may not care about what happened before he arrived, but the first-year coach has tried to rid his program of its losing mentality.
At the first team meeting, Herman made sure everybody knew the old way was not acceptable. Heck, the reason Herman was hired is because this team could not win under Strong. Herman did not want to be their buddy. He was not interested in winning the popular vote. Instead, Herman wanted everyone to know this is Texas, and losing is not tolerable.
That is why Herman created a competitive environment this offseason. Herman sorted his players into three groups: gold, green and crimson. The gold group of players were those who met Herman’s high expectations. The green group was doing pretty good, but still needed some help before hitting the next level. Crimson is the same color as Oklahoma, and that level is probably self-explanatory.
On one occasion, gold group players were rewarded with a plate of steak, shrimp, pasta, cheesecake and triple chocolate cake, while others had Bush's baked beans, hots dogs and burnt burgers.
In addition, when players lost during on-the-field competition, they were punished with having to do up-downs and push-ups. During the end of a 1-0 practice, offense vs. defense, the losing team had to run gassers and carry the winning team’s pads back to the locker room. Those were some of the consequences for losing.
“When coach Herman walked through the door, he established that losing wasn’t acceptable,” Texas senior linebacker Naashon Hughes said. “He backed that up with competition days and losers getting meals that weren’t the same as the winners. Even losers not being treated the same like a winner would. With that mentality set in, it’s contagious and has spread to the culture of the team. I think a lot of guys actually care now.”
In fact, Herman believes that strategy has helped players to hate losing.
“What makes me think they are serious now?" Herman said. “They’re working like it is. They’re believing it is. We had a hard conversation with some of the leaders (on Monday) about when the guy doesn’t go the prescribed distance that he’s supposed to go as full speed as he can, and the whole team gets called back, there doesn’t need to be a giggle, laugh and aw-shucks. That’s the sky is falling, the world is ending, type of stuff. I think we’re getting close to that.”
Of course, Texas fans have heard a lot about a possible culture change from the day Brown departed ways with his Longhorns.
There were told Strong would usher in a new era of winning. Fans heard about barbecues that were supposed to improve team unity. There were stories about players practices in the street because the stadium lights turned off. Longhorn fans are aware of last year’s ping-pong tournaments that were supposed to results in wins. It is safer to take a wait-and-see approach with Herman than fall for the bait-and-switch that has occurred the past three seasons.
Herman is cautious for different reasons.
“These guys are part of the worst three-year stretch in the history of Texas football,” Herman said. They don’t want to be a part of that anymore. I think the willingness to accept change, and the necessity for change, was probably almost at 100 percent … Again, the belief and buy-in and understanding is a lot different in practicum is a little different than execution, consistent execution, when faced with adversity.”
How will this team respond if it falls behind against Maryland? Will anyone remember the offseason meals when USC quarterback Sam Darnold throws a touchdown against Texas? Will Texas players finally hate losing more than they love winning?
Locke believes the change has occurred.
“He’s making you hate losing more than you like winning,” Locke said. “That’s how it is with coach Herman.”
Photo via HookEm.com
Wrapping up Big 12 Football Media Days
Herman on Buechele becoming a leader this summer
“The players have said they hear him more. They hear him talking more. Shane’s area of improvement was never intensity or work ethic or desire or time. It was how do I go from a freshman guy that’s humble and reserved to begin with, that’s thrust into the starting quarterback job as a true freshman at the University of Texas, and I’m just trying to keep my own house in order, and keep my own head above water, to now, hey, I got to be this vocal leader. I got to motivate and encourage and discipline and get on my teammates. That’s a big transition. For him, that’s something I’ve seen him get a lot better at. Is he there yet? Is he a finished project? No, but he’s moving in the right direction.”
Herman on Buechele needing to be the best player on the field to win games
“I don’t know. I’m sure there is probably going to be a game you’d like that to be the case, but I’ve been a part of many shootouts, and been on the winning side, when our quarterback wasn’t the best player on the field, but he had a surrounding cast that made him better. Hopefully, this deep wide receiver group can grow up a little bit and provide some playmaking ability for us. Hopefully, our running backs can take a little load off, and really the offensive line has more to do with that than the running backs. A pretty average running back can run through pretty big holes. The answer is probably no. That doesn’t have to be the case. Is it always better if your quarterback is the best player on the field? Absolutely. But, I think you can win it differently.”
Herman on kissing players
“I’ve said before I think it’s weird that people think it’s weird. I’m a pretty honest, genuine guy. I sit in a living room and tell these parents, and the recruits themselves, I’m going to treat you or your son like my sons. Here they are. Let’s boil this down. This is gladiatorial type of stuff. The consequence is not death, certainly. Here’s these human beings, they’re putting on 10 pounds of armor. They’re going into battle, and they’re going to go run into each other 80 times in a three-hour span for the enjoyment of the masses. When you lose, you don’t die, but at the end of the day, there’s inherit risk involved. It’s not very comfortable to get hit, I can promise you that. They do it for the guy next to them. They do it because they want the guy next to them to succeed. If my son was going to go into that kind of environment, you know what I would do? I would hug him. I would kiss him on the cheek and say, ‘Son, I’m proud of you. I love you. Do you best.’ I kiss my sons. I have two of them. One is 10, one is three. I hope I kiss them to the day I die when I see them, and moments that I’m really, really proud of them. Why that’s weird to people, I’m not sure. I view myself as a parent to these young men in a lot of different ways, and that’s one of them.”
Funniest Things You Will See This Week
Clearly, this little girl is not watching Nick Jr. at home
I have no words for this
He shocked the hell out of those skaters
This is why the internet was created (2Pac fans will love this)
Seriously, I fear for today’s generation
Sports On A Dime
1. Big 12 commissioner Bob Bowlsby and coaches can act like their league is just fine. However, when the biggest story from media days was the mullet of Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, it proves this league is nothing without Texas on top. Sure, you can say Oklahoma must win for the Big 12 to be relevant, but Sooners quarterback Baker Mayfield, arguably this league’s best quarterback, was overshadowed by a mullet. If Herman can rebuild Texas, the world is his.
2. In addition, that means Oklahoma football coach Lincoln Riley did not seize the opportunity to become the biggest attraction at media days. If the guy wins football games, it may not matter. To be fair, Oklahoma has recruited better since he took over. That being said, if Riley had Mayfield’s personality, everybody would have been talking about him this past week.
3. Big 12 Media Days need to be held in Frisco every year. It used to be held at The Omni in Dallas, which usually coincided with a major Avon convention. Let us just say you could pass out from the smell of perfume throughout those halls and elevators. As a former NFL writer, Dallas’ practice facility is the best I have seen. I cannot imagine being a kid playing a high school football game there on a Friday night. The Big 12 got it right with this one.
4. I had more than one person text me this week to ask if Herman does have hip-hop knowledge, or if he is faking to be hip. I can tell you Herman is not faking it. Herman and I had a hip hop conversation a few months ago, and he has a vast knowledge about the music he talks about. Since he is from the West Coast, he leaves some East Coast rappers out of his top five, like Notorious B.I.G. (he only made two albums, but many consider him to be the greatest). Herman wants more hip-hop music played during home games to attract recruits, which means older fans better learn how to Milly Rock before the season opener.
Everyone in the Centennial Suite has over a month to get this down
5. Other programs may view it as a gimmick, but Herman is connecting with recruits. Hell, Herman is connecting with fans under 40-years-old. After three losing seasons, Herman has done a great job of making Texas seem like a cool program. The final step in that process is winning this season.
6. Yep, the new locker room is pretty bad ass:
7. I walked away from Big 12 Media Days feeling bad for Kliff Kingsbury. Barring a miracle, this is probably his final season at Texas Tech, which makes him a dead man walking. Kingsbury has aged a lot around his eyes, which could be attributed to the stress from his job. Then, somebody played Justin Bieber as the poor guy’s walk-up music to the podium. Later, he was put a blast by a reporter. I will buy you a drink after the season, Kliffy.
8. Anyone who follows recruiting knows Ole Miss was seeming doing some shady things to snag top players. Seeing the program explode should not come as a surprise. This article explains why Hugh Freeze was fired, and it goes beyond him paying women for a happy ending.
9. The woman shaking her head at the 14-second mark of this video is all you need to see:
10. It makes more sense to take $100 and donate it to charity than pay for Floyd Mayweather vs. Conor McGregor:
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