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2020 Texas Offseason Thread: Herman's Hail Mary

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texifornia
texifornia

Jesus, y'all win a title and still have tissue-thin skin to even gentle joking around. Woof.

honolulu horn
honolulu horn

Apex, take it somewhere else. This is a football thread, not a "don't be a pussy, my racist jokes are actually harmless and hilarious" thread.

Vertigo
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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49994

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Hard to believe FCB is still allowed to post articles anymore...

"Tom Herman worried more about his at-risk players than football"

By FUCK CHIP BROWN       Mar 30, 4:14 PM

Quote

AUSTIN, Texas — College football coaches are notorious control freaks, notorious workaholics, notorious insert manic adjective here. The coronavirus pandemic has stolen their control and flipped their work life upside down.

So when Texas coach Tom Herman realized he had sat down with all five members of his family for dinner for five straight nights last week — when that probably hadn’t happened five nights total in the past year — he thought:

How do I make sure to get more of this when the all-consuming, daily grind of a coach resumes?

“I’ve played a lot of Uno (with his three kids),” Herman laughed, adding that he’s also joined the weirded-out masses who’ve watched this year’s runaway, Halloween-costume-inspiring Tiger King on Netflix.

“Nuts. Bananas,” Herman said of the docu-series that seems to prove people will do just about anything to have their picture made with a live tiger.

“Just when I thought it couldn’t get weirder, it got weirder.”

As much fun as Uno, Jenga and watching Tiger King have been the past two weeks when the Big 12 prohibited its schools from meeting with players via Zoom while other leagues like the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC did, no coach likes giving up control.

Herman’s kingdom is Texas’ makeshift football complex at Royal-Memorial Stadium, where Herman breathes fire into his assistants and players about the details of a 1-and-0 culture.

Herman is Texas’ $6 Million Man, coming off a disappointing, 7-5 regular season that led to seven new assistant coaches, including two new coordinators.

And the 15 spring practices Herman was about to use to install a new defense and a revamped offense were just wiped out by an invisible enemy that has brought the globe, the economy and life as we knew it - to a complete halt.

But along with being ordered by elected officials to shelter in place at home … along with standing in line to get into a grocery store that may or may not have what you’re looking for when you finally get in … there’s been perspective.

Herman and his wife, Michelle, have contributed money that will help pay for 40,000 meals through the Austin Food Bank and Meals on Wheels for those most in need in Austin right now.

Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger has started a GoFundMe to help those in need that has already raised more than $40,000.

“I think the perspective is a good thing,” Herman said. “The time with your family has been so important, and when life gets back going in normal day-to-day, you think, ‘How can I get one night of this?’ Because it’s been so good.”

Herman is clearly annoyed the Big Ten, Pac-12 and ACC, among others, have been allowed to have virtual meetings with players the past two weeks while the Big 12 hasn’t.

But he said he’s more concerned about his players who get a $2,000 scholarship check each month who are now living at home with a single mother who just got laid off.

“You know where that scholarship check is going?” Herman said. “To pay the rent. To pay the car note. I worry about our players getting a good meal and eating right.”

Herman credited Texas’ football nutritionist Craig Moore with having players send him photos of what’s in their pantry or fridge at home “so (Moore) can help them make whatever is there into a meal.

“Having to do that for as many as 100 players is a lot of commitment, but Craig (Moore) is up to the challenge,” Herman said.

Herman also worries about his at-risk student-athletes completely changing over to online learning at mid-semester while still getting the academic support they need.

“I’m very concerned for a lot of our guys,” Herman said. “We’ve done a good job of helping our guys eat right and maintain their nutrition.”

A world completely under his control on campus is now mostly out of Herman’s control. The Big 12 is only allowing schools to send student-athletes protein powder and supplements - not meals (even though player scholarships include daily meals).

“I get that you don’t want schools sending out Omaha Steaks to players,” Herman said. “But now, all we can send them is powder? I wish we could do more.”

Offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich (whom Herman’s strength coach Yancy McKnight and chief of staff Fernando Lovo say reminds them of Herman) and defensive coordinator Chris Ash were able to install the offense and defense during winter conditioning, Herman said.

“We’re just missing the physical reps and muscle memory that comes with that,” Herman said. “But we’ll get that part figured out.”

Herman’s also not worried about the online rehab being done from home by players coming off injury — safety B.J. Foster (shoulder), linebacker Marcus Tillman Jr. (knee) and linebacker Ayodele Adeoye (foot).

Nor is he worried about getting necessary work done during the virtual meetings coaches can have with players up to two hours per week.  “The software has white boards that look a lot like our meeting rooms,” said Herman, adding his first face-to-face Zoom meeting with his entire team will be Tuesday.

The biggest position question marks going into the spring included finding two new starters on the offensive line and determining his two inside linebackers.  But Herman doesn’t sound worried about those things — nor does he sound worried about what this pandemic is doing to the Longhorns’ recruiting efforts.

When he was asked about schools having “virtual Junior Days,” Herman laughed.   “If the 2022s (prospects) don’t know you by now, you’re probably behind anyway.”

Herman did say he’d consider “a virtual in-home visit” — maybe sitting down to have dinner in his house while connected online to a recruit and the recruit’s family while they sit down to dinner in their home.

Mostly what Herman is worried about over the next 60 days (the Big 12’s coronavirus guidelines run through May 31) is the well-being of his players who are going home to find parents or a single parent out of work.

In Herman’s mind, Texas is supposed to serve as the safe haven for those student-athletes. Not somehow put those student-athletes or their families in a more distressed situation.

“We’ll figure the football part out,” Herman said. “But let’s make sure our kids have a safe place to stay and then make sure they have something to eat and are getting the education they came here for.”

 

https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Texas-Longhorns-football-Tom-Herman-coronavirus-pandemic-Sam-Ehlinger-concern-at-risk-players-145549553/#145549553_1

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texifornia

texifornia 59013

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41 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Hard to believe FCB is still allowed to post articles anymore...

"Tom Herman worried more about his at-risk players than football"

By FUCK CHIP BROWN       Mar 30, 4:14 PM

 

https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Texas-Longhorns-football-Tom-Herman-coronavirus-pandemic-Sam-Ehlinger-concern-at-risk-players-145549553/#145549553_1

It won't surprise anyone to learn that OU fans on Twitter took this bit...

Quote

“I get that you don’t want schools sending out Omaha Steaks to players,” Herman said. “But now, all we can send them is powder? I wish we could do more.”

...out of context to say Herman supported restrictions around sending players food and nutrition stuff.

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LTtxfan

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Herman talked about a library of Coach cut-ups available for players to use, with voiceovers of the assistant coaches walking the players through the video...

Reminded me of this... Virtual Reality Football Training...

 

 

How Clemson Embraced Virtual Reality And Biometric Data Analysis To Become College Football’s Dominant Program

https://www.forbes.com/sites/simonogus/2020/01/13/how-clemson-embraced-virtual-reality-and-biometric-data-analysis-and-became-college-footballs-dominant-program/#319eabde7d70 

 

When college football programs finish a season 10-3 and go on to win their bowl game, for most that would be considered a very successful year without a tremendous amount of further upward mobility. But when Clemson Football achieved that record in 2014, head coach Dabo Swinney continued to search for an edge that could turn the program into a national championship contender.

This focus led Swinney to Strivr’s virtual reality technology.  His close friend, Stanford head coach David Shaw, had been using the technology for a year.  The startup was created by Stanford professor Jeremy Bailenson and former Stanford football player, Derek Belch. Once Swinney was exposed to the technology, he realized it was something that he should be taking advantage of. 

“Once I put the goggles on, it was amazing,” said Swinney, peering into the virtual reality software developed in 2014 at Stanford. “It’s like you’re really there.”

Strivr has been helping football teams at all levels to simulate game action and certain defensive formations. For the technology to be utilized, the player uses goggles, an audio headset and remote control that is used to sift through various plays in a team’s online library. To capture the footage, a GoPro camera is set up behind the line of scrimmage so a player receives a 360-degree view of everything that is occurring on a given snap.

The technology is primarily utilized to trick the human brain into getting more repetitions, without needing to be on the practice field. For a sport that is primarily practiced in the summer heat, these simulations can be viewed from the comfort of an air-conditioned room.

“Our quarterbacks use it for a seven-on-seven. They can basically run through a whole script because we have everything loaded up in our library so we can create whatever coverage we want based on the video we have, and it’s literally like you’re there,” Swinney said. “A running back can go in there and go through a whole blitz pickup reel. A linebacker can use it—all the formation recognition, all the fits, all the calls. Safeties, it’s great for safeties. It’s great for individual stuff—so maybe I’m a DB and I want to work on my hand placement and my footwork on the release of a receiver. Or I’m an offensive tackle and I’ve got all the release techniques of a defensive end, and I want to get in there and work on my sets. It’s just an amazing tool.”

Since utilizing virtual reality technology, the results for Clemson have been one of the best five-year stretches in college football history. While their success on the field can’t be attributed solely to the use of new technologies like Strivr’s virtual reality, the results occurred immediately. Swinney and the Tigers made the national championship game in 2015, the first season in which they used the technology, and fell just short of the program’s first national title in a 45-40 loss to Alabama in the final of the college football playoff. Clemson won the program’s first national championship in the following season, with its 35-31 win over the same Alabama program. As the team enters play tonight, they are looking for a third national championship.  The program has made it to the national championship game five times in the last six seasons. 

Football is known as an extremely physical sport but a less recognized factor that translates to success on the field is the cerebral training.  Players also need to focus on the mental side of the equation in order to execute in high-pressure situations. Once on the field and playing in the top levels of college football, players need to understand the game plan and execute their plays quickly and intuitively, without time for analysis. If a player needs to think during a play, it is probably too late and the result will not likely be positive. 

“In the big business of college and professional football,” Bailenson said in 2017, co-founder of Strivr and one of the world’s leading VR experts, “franchises spend a lot of time and money developing systems to improve this process. And no player is more responsible for implementing these systems than a quarterback.” Games often hinge on quarterback play and, as the leader of the offense, the quarterback must memorize hundreds of plays. 

Virtual reality, though, doesn’t constitute the full extent of Clemson’s use of technology.  The program recently unveiled its Applied Science Lab that includes Sparta Science’s injury prevention technology. Sparta Science is one of the most successful startups to enter the injury prevention space. The company has raised $9.7 million in funding and worked with the NBA’s Cleveland Cavaliers and MLB’s Colorado Rockies on injury prevention efforts. Sparta has also worked with the 49ers and the Detroit Lions and began working with the Steelers in 2018. Clemson installed the system before the last season and has been looking for ways to use the technology to analyze players with a force-plate system that records 3,000 data points per second.  The recorded information is processed to create a Movement Signature.

“Clemson is the most consistent user of the Sparta technology”, Sparta Science Founder and CEO Phil Wagner told me. “We tend to only see this sort of heavy usage only in soccer and hockey when games are more day-to-day, but Clemson has embraced the technology and use it weekly and often daily depending on what part of the calendar they are in with their program. Our technology gives them two ways for biofeedback and Clemson uses the tracking tool as well as the monitoring and is consistently evolving in how they want to utilize the data.”

As Clemson looks to cap off their second straight title and second undefeated season in a row, many key factors will have to go right, including the success of their recruiting, game preparations and even some luck on the field. But the team’s embrace of technology in their day-to-day routine has also contributed one of the most successful runs in college football history. With collegiate and professional sports being a copycat industry, other programs look to mimic the successful teams. It will be an intriguing thing to watch how other schools incorporate aspects of Clemson football’s incredible success.  Technology will be one of those tools that will continue to spread to other programs. 

 

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LTtxfan

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17 minutes ago, texifornia said:

It won't surprise anyone to learn that OU fans on Twitter took this bit...

...out of context to say Herman supported restrictions around sending players food and nutrition stuff.

 

Quote

“I get that you don’t want schools sending out Omaha Steaks to players,” Herman said. “But now, all we can send them is powder? I wish we could do more.”

If you read the quote wrong, it looks like Texas is just providing powder for their players...

giphy.gif

 

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futureman

futureman 22695

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2 hours ago, RockyMountainHighHorn said:

So it’s 3rd and 9 against OU and we run this triple option. Obviously if we make the first down, “oh my god, what a gutsy call-pure genius”. If we gain 2-3, suddenly the fire yurcich thread flies to the top of the football board. Got it.  

torbush-wow.gif

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LTtxfan

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4 hours ago, BonzoMontreaux said:

I don't think it is legal to use a fullback anymore.  

 

giphy.gif

 

 

7KACCHSENII6VNIDFMDXYQ3GC4.jpg&w=767

Fullback Kyle Juszczyk is secret weapon to Kyle Shanahan’s innovative offense

By   Jerry Brewer  Columnist

Feb. 1, 2020 at 3:26 a.m. CST

"Of all the stars here, the San Francisco 49ers' Kyle Juszczyk is easily the most improbable. He plays fullback, a vanishing job that seems like the NFL version of a lamplighter or bowling alley pinsetter. It boggles the mind to think he's a vital piece of a high-scoring offense — in 2020 — when most teams consider the position unnecessary and burdensome."

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/nfl/fullback-kyle-juszczyk-is-secret-weapon-to-kyle-shanahans-innovative-offense/2020/01/31/cc3dcffe-4460-11ea-aa6a-083d01b3ed18_story.html 

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markstanco

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Not really sure what thread this should go in, but I got a good laugh out of seeing this. This guy was our OC just 5 years ago. JFC.
 
 
Took me a good 2ish seconds to figure out what uni stood for.

Is he making like 40k a year there?

http://db.desmoinesregister.com/state-salaries-for-iowa/page=1&ordercol=col5&orderdir=asc&searchterms%5Bcol3%5D=&searchterms%5Bcol2%5D=northern&searchterms%5Bcol6%5D=coach&searchterms%5Bcol11%5D=2016
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Burt Macklin

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53 minutes ago, markstanco said:

Took me a good 2ish seconds to figure out what uni stood for.

Is he making like 40k a year there?

http://db.desmoinesregister.com/state-salaries-for-iowa/page=1&ordercol=col5&orderdir=asc&searchterms%5Bcol3%5D=&searchterms%5Bcol2%5D=northern&searchterms%5Bcol6%5D=coach&searchterms%5Bcol11%5D=2016

If he is, it’s 40k more than he’s worth. 

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satyanash

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Chip Brown: Memory of his homeless father's death helps drive Tom Herman giving

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AUSTIN, Texas — It was a relatively benign question to Texas coach Tom Herman on a teleconference about how his perspective might’ve changed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The next thing Herman knew, he was again face-to-face with the helplessness he felt as his dad, homeless in Cincinnati, finished drinking himself to death at the age of 52. “It was very hard for me to see him so helpless. But also so self-destructive,” Herman told Horns247.com.

Herman has said the reason he hugs and sometimes kisses players on the cheek before games is because he didn't receive that kind of fatherly love and believes young men should experience that. The emotions came flooding back as Herman and his wife, Michelle, selected various organizations to receive their charitable contributions in light of the pandemic.

The Hermans chose to make $10,000 contributions each to the Central Texas Food Bank, Safe Alliance (opposing domestic violence), Meals on Wheels, Boys and Girls Club of Austin and Front Steps (providing assistance to homeless). The Hermans have also pledged money to the UT Student Emergency Fund.

"All of these organizations were very important to me and Michelle," Herman told Horns247. "From my experience trying to help a homeless father, to Michelle and I having loved ones be victims of domestic abuse, to the fact that I went to the Boys and Girls Club growing up - we wanted these organizations to know how impactful they are to the Herman family history."

Herman, an only child, was raised by his mother, Rita, in California after they moved out from Herman’s father, Thomas Joseph Herman Jr., in Cincinnati - when Tom was 6 years old. The rest of Herman’s relationship with his father involved flashes of time. There were trips back to Cincinnati to see him when Herman was in elementary and middle school. Then, Herman’s father decided to move to Simi Valley in California, where Herman was going to high school and was passionate about football.

But Herman’s father, who more than once embarrassed his son in front of his friends, ended up in and out of rehab facilities and losing one job after another in Simi Valley before moving back to Cincinnati. There, too, Herman’s father wore out welcomes with family and friends and ended up living on the streets. While Tom and Michelle were living in Huntsville, where Tom was receivers coach at Sam Houston State from 2001-04, they paid a shelter in Cincinnati $10 a day so Herman’s father could get meals and a room with a cot.

It was at that shelter a worker walked into the room of Thomas Joseph Herman Jr. and found him dead at the age of 52. “Michelle and I were very specific in targeting places that we were going to donate to, one, because of my history with some of those issues, and hers as well,” Herman said on a teleconference last week. Another one of those “issues” - domestic violence - was witnessed first-hand by Herman as a child when a man Herman's mother was dating abused her.

Herman said, Michelle “has a close friend who was in an abusive relationship. We really wanted to get something out there that’s on the front lines,” Herman said. “The Food Bank, I mean that’s 40,000 meals. Boom, right there. And we wanted to help the vulnerable populations in this with Meals on Wheels delivering food to the elderly and homebound, and, obviously, to the homeless shelter. Stuff like that, it makes you want to give so much more when you see your community and the people in it suffering.”

 

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UDontKnow

UDontKnow 10571

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36 minutes ago, satyanash said:

Is his wife still fighting COVID? Not many places better for world-class treatment than Emory.

Lol at linking Fenves's wife's being positive for COVID to him taking a job at Emory?

You're making a bad joke, right? You seriously don't think world-class treatment can be found in Texas?

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BornOrange

BornOrange 1441

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1 hour ago, texifornia said:

Patterson really leading the charge on this one:

 

Well, Patterson is the longest tenured major college coach in the state.

He also seemed to be the most personable or maybe most comfortable in front of the camera out of that bunch.

Holgerson is even more of a wreck than usual.

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LTtxfan

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8 minutes ago, BornOrange said:

Well, Patterson is the longest tenured major college coach in the state. He also seemed to be the most personable or maybe most comfortable in front of the camera out of that bunch.

Holgerson is even more of a wreck than usual.

 

giphy.gif

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Burt Macklin

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10 minutes ago, texifornia said:

 

 

Yeah, a zone read/RPO with Ehlinger and RoJo against Dime would be catastrophic. Imagine Ehlinger only having to worry about reading a single linebacker or RoJo only having to make one guy miss to bust a big run. 
Really glad Herman is smart enough to avoid such a terrible scenario so we can run into a Nickel package that doesn’t have to respect one of the slot receivers, so they can essentially add numbers against the run all so we can have more run plays available to us that we ignore so we can call inside zone for the 30th time that game. 

Edited by Burt Macklin
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Vertigo

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2 hours ago, Burt Macklin said:

Yeah, a zone read/RPO with Ehlinger and RoJo against Dime would be catastrophic. Imagine Ehlinger only having to worry about reading a single linebacker or RoJo only having to make one guy miss to bust a big run. 
Really glad Herman is smart enough to avoid such a terrible scenario so we can run into a Nickel package that doesn’t have to respect one of the slot receivers, so they can essentially add numbers against the run all so we can have more run plays available to us that we ignore so we can call inside zone for the 30th time that game. 

You misspelled Bijan

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LTtxfan

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4 hours ago, BornOrange said:

Yep, I said it. DId you even watch the video?

That Fat, Sweaty, Lying Cocksucker Gary Patterson came across better than the other coaches in that video.

In the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king.

giphy.gif

Sure I watched it... Fatterson was terrible!!

 

 

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