Photo via HookEm.com
This has been an offseason of adjustments for Tom Herman’s program.
Herman decided to overhaul his staff after last season. Those guys were on the road recruiting in January before settling in for winter workouts. Prior to the postponement of spring football, offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich and defensive coordinator Chris Ash installed the majority of new plays and schemes, respectively. They were not able to implement those plays during a full speed practice because the NCAA only allows walk-throughs prior to spring practice, an offseason event that was canceled for obvious reasons.
Since the postponement of on-the-field activities, Herman’s staff has been limited to eight hours of virtual coaching per week. According to the Big 12, coaches may conduct virtual film study, technical discussions, tactical sessions and other non-physical activities. They are not allowed to have virtual or online supervised workouts. However, Longhorn players are sharing workout videos in group texts to hold each other accountable.
Virtual coaching has become the new norm.
Here is what a Longhorn week looks like.
Since campus is closed, the Longhorns have been conducting their meetings through Zoom. I heard multiple players have returned to Austin recently and are living off-campus because they want to be around their teammates. Logic says some players are working out together, but the official meetings occur virtually.
Monday
--- Team meeting.
--- After the team gathering, they break into platoon meetings. Those meetings are led by Ash and Yurcich. During that time frame, they address each position group, and they have installed plays on some occasions.
--- Special teams meeting led by coordinator Jay Boulware.
Tuesday
--- Position meetings from 9 to 10:15 a.m.
Wednesday
--- The Longhorns hold a team meeting, which is usually led by strength and conditioning coach Yancy McKnight. However, Donald Nguyen (Senior Associate Athletic Trainer / Head Football Athletic Trainer) and Craig Moore (Assistant Sports Dietitian) often provide their input to Longhorn players.
--- After that session, players attend a special teams meeting led by Boulware.
Thursday
--- Position meetings from 9 to 10:15 a.m.
Friday
--- No meetings
Even though Texas is allowed to conduct eight hours a week of virtual meeting, I learned the Longhorns only schedule between six-and-a-half to seven.
Why?
The goal is to allow extra coaching time for players who need additional instruction.
If a player is behind, coaches can provide individual instruction to help that athlete. The Longhorns have successfully utilized that method to make sure everyone remains on the same page this offseason.
“Obviously, there's no substitution for an in-person meeting,” Herman previously said. “When I first envisioned our workout programs, I imagined we'd probably have three different programs for that. I can't thank Coach McKnight and his staff enough. They took it further than that. They called every player and built individual programs for every player based on what they had available It's kind of status quo. We would've had unofficial visitors on our campus watching spring practices and such, but the level of communication has not diminished. We're still in constant communication with those guys.
“I think one of the things that has helped us old guys at least is that FaceTime and Zoom, and some of these different features that allow face-to-face contact, are pretty cool. You can get a lot done. The conversations seem to go a lot smoother when you can see a person's facial reactions and body language. We're using those a lot more than normal phone calls. But other than in-person visits on campus, our level of communication has been pretty much the same."
The Longhorns are optimistic there will be good news by the end of this month.
Longhorns players will not meet virtually for the next two weeks, according to my sources. Finals begin on May 13, and the staff is giving players two weeks off to focus on academics. Players will presumably continue working out on their own, but they get a break from virtual coaching.
The Big 12 suspended sports activities until May 31. It is likely the Big 12 will declare if the upcoming football season will start on time, or announce a delay, before this month is over.
In order for football to be played in the fall, students will need to be back on campus. UT, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Baylor, Texas Christian, Iowa State, West Virginia, Kansas, Kansas State and Oklahoma announced it intends to have on-campus learning in the fall.
In fact, Kansas State’s announcement occurred on Saturday, along with pay cuts for the coaching staff.
By no coincidence, the enrollment deposits for most schools are due around this time. UT's deadline was on May 1 for enrolling freshmen. A high-level Texas administrator told me that is the reason why most schools announced its fall plans this past week. There are multiple reasons - outside of sports - Texas is motivated to have on campus learning in the fall, according to my source.
- Texas would have to lower tuition if it continued online classes.
- The school would lose dorm money.
- Parents could encourage their children to take a gap year if distance learning continues.
- Parents could send their child to a local community college for a year or two and save money.
- With enrollment dropping across the country, and no standardized testing to get admitted this year, a student might try enroll in an Ivy League school instead of Texas.
The Big 12 held a conference call with coaches and athletic directors this past week. According to my sources, the consensus remains if they cannot have football-related activities until mid-July, the start of college football will be delayed. Everyone is optimistic if the recent soft opening of each state goes well, students will be allowed back on campus throughout the country, and we will have college football as usual.
If not, Texas will return to its new norm.
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1. I have a little clarity as relates to Parker Braun worth passing on to Longhorn fans. According to my sources, Braun was invited to participate in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl in January. However, Braun turned that invitation because he wanted to focus on getting his master’s degree from Texas and finding a job. Braun received his undergraduate degree from Georgia Tech, and will add a graduate degree from Texas. In his mind, that was enough. In addition, Braun did not hire an agent. When Longhorn fans discuss Herb Hand’s ability to develop offensive linemen, just know Braun had no desire to pursue an NFL career.
2. The addition of Michigan grad transfer Tarik Black helps an unproven receivers room. Receivers coach Andre Coleman has a lot of guys with potential. That being said, there is no telling what kind of impact Black could have with Sam Ehlinger as his quarterback, and Mike Yurcich as an offensive coordinator. There is only upside with Black’s addition.
3. Herman knows he will be judged by next year’s NFL Draft results. If Sam Ehlinger becomes an elite quarterback, left tackle Sam Cosmi develops into a first-round pick, linebacker Joseph Ossai and safety Caden Sterns take the next step, Texas will finally have recruiting ammunition against SEC programs. If not, Texas will struggle to attract future NFL players from this state.
4. However, when it comes to recruiting, the marketing capability a player could have at Texas should give Herman an advantage over many programs in the future.
5. I hopped on a Zoom conference call with USF football coach Jeff Scott on Thursday. Scott wanted to address the USF alumni in Austin - all 50 of us. While USF will have its hands full against Texas in the season opener, I do believe the program will eventually be in much better shape with Scott. He holds a coaches clinic via Zoom every Wednesday night for high school coaches. In addition, Scott said he always asks the woman at the front desk about a high school recruit because that person is often more honest than coaches. One of his stated goals is to beat Texas this year.
After spending an hour on that call, I believe it will not take Scott long to dig USF out of its current hole.
6. Attorney Michael Lyons continues to body slam Kansas in court. I believe nearly every motion requested by Kansas has been denied so far.
Here is Lyons’ latest Vince Carter dunk on the opposition via the Kansas City Star:
“A Kansas judge refused a request by Kansas Athletics to toss out subpoenas from former football coach David Beaty, whose lawyers are seeking evidence from its football documentary “Miles to Go” and also practice footage from current coach Les Miles’ first season.
“The order issued Tuesday by U.S. Magistrate Judge Gwynne E. Birzer in Wichita could potentially aid Beaty’s 2019 lawsuit against Kansas Athletics. The lawsuit accuses Kansas Athletics of concocting a way to reclassify his firing so that it could avoid paying him $3 million due under the remainder of his contract …
“Beaty’s lawyers, in requesting Miles’ practice footage, want to explore how KU Athletics handled Beaty’s alleged violations compared to those potentially committed under Miles’ watch. In addition, Beaty’s team claims that non-aired video footage of the ESPN+ “Miles to Go” documentary could provide evidence of Long discussing Beaty’s firing, while indicating it was planned well before his termination was officially announced in early November of 2018.
“KU’s lawyers sought to quash those subpoenas, arguing that information related to Miles’ tenure was not relevant to the case, while also stating their belief that practice footage contained confidential and proprietary information that could harm KU’s program if made public. In addition, KU’s legal team cited a concern about the videos containing information regarding student-athlete privacy that is protected by the Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
“Birzer, in her ruling Tuesday, said Beaty’s legal team was entitled to the video footage, in part, because the videos “could provide additional insight into (KU Athletics’) motivations regarding NCAA investigations.”
Kansas needs to throw in the towel and pay Beaty or risk being turned in for an NCAA violation once Lyons gets a hold of the footage.
7. I have no issue with Jameis Winston’s desire to learn from Drew Brees. My issue is trying to understand why Winston’s eyesight was never tested at the NFL Scouting Combine or by Tampa Bay. If hand size is important, one would think eyesight should rank pretty high. I also cannot believe Winston openly admits to having poor vision, but never felt the need to correct it before now.
8. Jerry pulled the ultimate power move by signing Andy Dalton this weekend. Jones is determined not to overpay Dak Prescott, and acquiring Dalton guarantees Dallas will be fine if its starter holds out. Prescott will have to sign the franchise tag ($31.4 million this season) and convince Jones he deserves a long-term contract this season.
9. Fingers crossed the draft will be held as normal, and fans can resume booing NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in person.
10. Even at 53-years-old, Mike Tyson is a scary dude
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