ARLINGTON - Texas football coach Tom Herman addressed the media for nearly 90 minutes during his breakout session at Big 12 Media Days on Tuesday. This session was in addition to his podium interview that was televised on Fox Sports 2. However, there was no live coverage of this session.
Here are the highlights from Herman’s interview:
--- Herman confirmed that quality control coach Ra’Shaad Samples accepted a full-time coaching position at SMU. He said, “We’re extremely proud of him.”
--- Herman was asked if the addition of Parker Braun could strengthen his offensive line the same way Calvin Anderson solidified that unit as a grad transfer last year. Herman said Braun has to beat out Derek Kerstetter or Denzel Okafor, plus make up for not being at UT in the spring. Overall, Herman is taking a cautious approach when it comes to placing expectations on Braun.
--- When asked about teams being penalized for throwing the Horns Down gesture, Herman said, “I think it’s actually kind of flattering that we’re on so many other people’s minds that they got to continue to use that disrespectful hand signal. As far as it being a penalty, as long as it’s officiated fairly and evenly throughout the season, that’s not up to me. That’s an NCAA/Big 12 officials issue, but taunting is taunting. Our guys are reprimanded very harshly if we ever get called for a taunting penalty because there’s no place for taunting in football. Whether that is or isn’t taunting, that’s not for me to decide.”
--- Herman was asked who will replace receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and he believes it might be a committee effort. He hopes the production will be picked up by his running backs, too. Herman also plans to get the Z-receiver (Devin Duvernay and Brennan Eagles) more involved. However, Herman said, “It’s not like we’re going to just lose the 1,000 yards he had. We’ll find a way to make it up somehow.”
--- The guys Herman expects to be his defensive playmakers this season are Joseph Ossai, Malcolm Roach, Brandon Jones, Caden Sterns, BJ Foster, Chris Brown and DeMarvion Overshown. Herman said you have to play with at least three defensive lineman and two cornerbacks, and he continues to have conversations with defensive coordinator Todd Orlando about how to get the best six players on the field. Herman said, “If it’s six safeties, it’s six safeties. If it’s four linebackers and two safeties, so be it. If it’s three and three, so be it, but lets figure out a way to get our playmakers on the field.”
--- A topic that was raised during a recent Orangebloods podcast by Ketchum was Oklahoma’s ability to win a Big 12 Championship without having an elite defense. Texas has to replace nine defensive starters, and I asked Herman if you just need an elite offense to win the Big 12 Championship, and he said, “They’ve proven that, right? I don’t think you can win a national championship without an above average to elite defense. There’s a lot to be excited and optimistic about defensively. I get that there needs to be stats for returning starters, not returning starters, and all of that, but Jeffrey McCulloch has played a lot of football for Texas. He’s not a returning starter, he has a lot of experience. Joseph Ossai led the team in tackles against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. He’s got a lot of experience. Malcolm Roach is not considered a returning starter, but he’s got a lot of experience. Ta’Quon Graham has played a lot of football for Texas. Even Gerald Wilbon at nose has played a lot of football for Texas. Really, the only three positions that you’re going to see truly fresh faces are the two corner positions and middle linebacker. We’re not too concerned with returning starters. Do we wish they were all returning starters? Yeah, we do, but there still is a lot of experience there.”
--- Herman said in previous seasons, the preseason training camp reps were split 50-50 between Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger. This year, he expects a 65-35 split between Ehlinger and Casey Thompson. There could be a 65-25-10 split with those quarterbacks and Roschon Johnson. Herman said they have not discussed it, but believes Ehlinger needs reps.
--- Herman on expanding the RPOs this season: “I think the beauty of the RPO is when I grew up learning spread, zone, read, it was a run-run option, which obviously exposed your quarterback a little bit more when he did keep the football. Now it’s a run-pass option. If the defense does something to make you pull the ball out of the running back’s belly, it’s not the quarterback running with it anymore. It’s the quarterback throwing it. It’s a way to get more yards because those throws are a little bit farther down the field. That’s why they have to be out so quick because the o-line is only allowed to be three yards down the field when the ball is out. We made it a priority to try to take some of those hits off Sam. Obviously, Sam is going to scramble. You can’t avoid that. There’s going to be times he’s pressured on a pass play, and he’s going to scramble. Then there’s going to be times we call his number on fourth-and-1 and say, hey, go get us the ball. If we can eliminate the times he’s actually keeping it on a read scheme, that’s two to five tackles a game that was taken off his body.”
--- However, Herman said Ehlinger will always run the football in their offense. He does believe there needs to be more options in the red zone.
I will have more from Big 12 Media Days in the War Room.
Here are the highlights from Herman’s interview:
--- Herman confirmed that quality control coach Ra’Shaad Samples accepted a full-time coaching position at SMU. He said, “We’re extremely proud of him.”
--- Herman was asked if the addition of Parker Braun could strengthen his offensive line the same way Calvin Anderson solidified that unit as a grad transfer last year. Herman said Braun has to beat out Derek Kerstetter or Denzel Okafor, plus make up for not being at UT in the spring. Overall, Herman is taking a cautious approach when it comes to placing expectations on Braun.
--- When asked about teams being penalized for throwing the Horns Down gesture, Herman said, “I think it’s actually kind of flattering that we’re on so many other people’s minds that they got to continue to use that disrespectful hand signal. As far as it being a penalty, as long as it’s officiated fairly and evenly throughout the season, that’s not up to me. That’s an NCAA/Big 12 officials issue, but taunting is taunting. Our guys are reprimanded very harshly if we ever get called for a taunting penalty because there’s no place for taunting in football. Whether that is or isn’t taunting, that’s not for me to decide.”
--- Herman was asked who will replace receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and he believes it might be a committee effort. He hopes the production will be picked up by his running backs, too. Herman also plans to get the Z-receiver (Devin Duvernay and Brennan Eagles) more involved. However, Herman said, “It’s not like we’re going to just lose the 1,000 yards he had. We’ll find a way to make it up somehow.”
--- The guys Herman expects to be his defensive playmakers this season are Joseph Ossai, Malcolm Roach, Brandon Jones, Caden Sterns, BJ Foster, Chris Brown and DeMarvion Overshown. Herman said you have to play with at least three defensive lineman and two cornerbacks, and he continues to have conversations with defensive coordinator Todd Orlando about how to get the best six players on the field. Herman said, “If it’s six safeties, it’s six safeties. If it’s four linebackers and two safeties, so be it. If it’s three and three, so be it, but lets figure out a way to get our playmakers on the field.”
--- A topic that was raised during a recent Orangebloods podcast by Ketchum was Oklahoma’s ability to win a Big 12 Championship without having an elite defense. Texas has to replace nine defensive starters, and I asked Herman if you just need an elite offense to win the Big 12 Championship, and he said, “They’ve proven that, right? I don’t think you can win a national championship without an above average to elite defense. There’s a lot to be excited and optimistic about defensively. I get that there needs to be stats for returning starters, not returning starters, and all of that, but Jeffrey McCulloch has played a lot of football for Texas. He’s not a returning starter, he has a lot of experience. Joseph Ossai led the team in tackles against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. He’s got a lot of experience. Malcolm Roach is not considered a returning starter, but he’s got a lot of experience. Ta’Quon Graham has played a lot of football for Texas. Even Gerald Wilbon at nose has played a lot of football for Texas. Really, the only three positions that you’re going to see truly fresh faces are the two corner positions and middle linebacker. We’re not too concerned with returning starters. Do we wish they were all returning starters? Yeah, we do, but there still is a lot of experience there.”
--- Herman said in previous seasons, the preseason training camp reps were split 50-50 between Shane Buechele and Sam Ehlinger. This year, he expects a 65-35 split between Ehlinger and Casey Thompson. There could be a 65-25-10 split with those quarterbacks and Roschon Johnson. Herman said they have not discussed it, but believes Ehlinger needs reps.
--- Herman on expanding the RPOs this season: “I think the beauty of the RPO is when I grew up learning spread, zone, read, it was a run-run option, which obviously exposed your quarterback a little bit more when he did keep the football. Now it’s a run-pass option. If the defense does something to make you pull the ball out of the running back’s belly, it’s not the quarterback running with it anymore. It’s the quarterback throwing it. It’s a way to get more yards because those throws are a little bit farther down the field. That’s why they have to be out so quick because the o-line is only allowed to be three yards down the field when the ball is out. We made it a priority to try to take some of those hits off Sam. Obviously, Sam is going to scramble. You can’t avoid that. There’s going to be times he’s pressured on a pass play, and he’s going to scramble. Then there’s going to be times we call his number on fourth-and-1 and say, hey, go get us the ball. If we can eliminate the times he’s actually keeping it on a read scheme, that’s two to five tackles a game that was taken off his body.”
--- However, Herman said Ehlinger will always run the football in their offense. He does believe there needs to be more options in the red zone.
I will have more from Big 12 Media Days in the War Room.
