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Tom Herman creating culture at Texas

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,909

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3 hours ago, LTtxfan said:

7. 'THE FEW THAT AREN’T, THEY GET EXPOSED BY THEIR PEERS'

To say that every single player on the roster has fully bought into the program would be an overstatement, Herman said. With that said, Herman isn’t concerned about the select few who might be hesitant to jump  in the boat due to the overwhelming majority of the players who have no problem enforcing the program’s culture and standards.  “The few that aren’t, they get exposed by their peers and they’re learning every day on the importance of it,” Herman said. “The majority of the team is and they understand our expectations. This group is a joy to coach right now.”

As a sign of how much buy-in Herman has, 61 the 80 players in the program who were eligible to be a part of the Champions Club qualified. Asked how he’ll know if all 22 starters for the opener are going to be guys who are bought in, Herman said indicated that process will take care of itself.  “We will by the time we jog out for the first game,” Herman said. “We’re not going to put a guy out there that’s not completely bought in.”

8. 'CULTURE ISN’T STATIC'

The atmosphere around the practice field is an extension of last season when the coaches spent more time coaching than they did in 2017 while veterans within each position group policed their peers. Herman has talked far less about culture leading up to his season as opposed to the previous two, but that doesn’t mean fostering the established culture has been put on the back burner.  “Culture isn’t static,” Herman said. “It’s ever-evolving. There’s no such thing as a culturally attitude and action, right?. You’re either getting better or you’re getting worse. What you’re doing is either helping our culture or hurting it.”

The group Herman said most has to be under the thumb of the coaching staff and the veterans are the newcomers, particularly the summer enrollees who didn’t experience spring practice. Although the nation’s No. 3-ranked class in the 2019 recruiting cycle looks the part, they still need to learn what’s expected of them on the practice field before any of them can think about climbing up the depth chart.  “Physically, they look great,” Herman said. “You can tell they’ve had a good eight-week session with Coach McKnight. Their heads are spinning from a speed-of-the-game standpoint and just the intensity of practice standpoint, but I really do think their physical development looks really good. We’ve got to focus on the intensity of practice and then, obviously, the scheme.”

 

 

Bump... Forgot to mention check out rest of the article -- it's pretty good.  🤘 

https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Texas-Longhorns-football-2019-season-Tom-Herman-fall-camp-explosive-plays-culture-Sugar-Bowl-national-championship-Sam-Ehlinger-134171404/#134171404_1

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,909

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Forgot this from TFB earlier in Fall Camp:

– Apparently, there was a big team meeting last night where Tom Herman and some senior leaders talked about the mentality they wish to bring this year. Collin Johnson notably stated that, “He wanted it harder,” in practices.

– Tom Herman then told the team before practice that he wants them to work their discipline. That is what he is preaching the hardest saying, “Talent is common. Discipline is rare.” Also talked about making sure to keep oneself level-headed, “Make sure what you say to yourself is positive.”  🤘

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Pantiesdrawer

Pantiesdrawer 4

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On 5/19/2019 at 4:08 PM, Burt Macklin said:

He's also never had the talent advantage he's going to have at Texas starting in 2020. There's reason to believe he can start to achieve it. So far, all of his teams at UH and here have had some really good top end talent, but have been really weak at certain positions and generally lacked depth. Most teams that avoid losing to any (or even just one) team they're better than all year have a pretty huge talent gap between most teams on their schedule, and they have really good depth. Herman's never had both of those before. 

How much talent does Herman need to beat a shitty team that he had an entire off season to prepare for? We've suffered multiple humiliating defeats each season under Herman, and reducing that number anything more than zero isn't successful in my book.

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LTtxfan

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Once the 2020 and 2021 classes are added at Texas, really hope Herman can better balance when to have tough practices, and when to back off the physical stuff.

Interesting read on Dabo style of coaching...

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27631731/how-dabo-swinney-influencing-next-generation-coaches

"IF BRENT VENABLES is being honest, this isn't the way he'd run a program. It's no criticism, mind you. Venables, Clemson's defensive coordinator, has seen too much success doing it the Dabo Way to argue. But Venables is a gung-ho guy, all energy, and all football coach.  "You ask if I want to give the players an extra day off or do an extra walk-through, I'm taking the walk-through every time," Venables said.

That's not how Swinney operates, though.

Coaches get 20 hours per week to work with their teams, according to NCAA rules. Clemson never hits that number. Swinney gives players two extra weeks of downtime beyond what's required during the offseason. Game weeks are perfectly scripted routines that are as likely to involve meditating using an app on their cellphones ("Mental Mondays") or a talk session on what's to come on game day ("Focus Fridays") as they are a grueling day of practice. Even during Clemson's recent playoff runs, Swinney took time out of the practice schedule to discuss life lessons.

"He's got a unique way of management and when to pull back and when to push," Venables said, "and it's very profound."

 

To be sure, Swinney makes his guys work, too. This is the great misnomer about the Clemson coach, that he's all about fun and, somehow, it just turns out his team is really good, too. That's not what's happening here. It's just that Swinney finds a way to make even that work seem ... fun.

Look back at the 2015 ACC championship game, when punter Andy Teasdall executed an ill-timed fake punt. Swinney was livid. He chewed out Teasdall on the sideline, blasted him during his halftime interview, thrashed him again when it was over and Clemson had won. Four weeks later, the Tigers took on Oklahoma in Swinney's first college football playoff game, and wouldn't you know, he ran the same play, with Teasdall tossing a pass to Christian Wilkins that worked to perfection.

Mess with winning football games and Swinney's not laughing. But give it a little time and he can't help but find the fun in it.

"It's not all giggles and the happiness camp," Morris said. "He has a pulse on every part of that program, and he knows what he wants it to look like. He has a way of getting that message across. Sometimes that message is very stern and direct, but there's a great respect among his coaches and players."

Current Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott says there are a lot of coaches who think everything is about the grind and going 100 percent all the time.

"Sometimes there can be negative consequences of that," Scott said. "I think when your players know how much you care about them and you spend time talking about things other than football, when you talk football, you have their attention and they're willing to run through a brick wall for you."

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Doc Reeves

Doc Reeves 6,434

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On 9/9/2019 at 7:25 PM, Pantiesdrawer said:

How much talent does Herman need to beat a shitty team that he had an entire off season to prepare for? We've suffered multiple humiliating defeats each season under Herman, and reducing that number anything more than zero isn't successful in my book.

Wait, wait... username should be SandyPantiesdrawer because of all the sand in his vagina 

 

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HenryJames

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9 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Once the 2020 and 2021 classes are added at Texas, really hope Herman can better balance when to have tough practices, and when to back off the physical stuff.

Interesting read on Dabo style of coaching...

https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/27631731/how-dabo-swinney-influencing-next-generation-coaches

"IF BRENT VENABLES is being honest, this isn't the way he'd run a program. It's no criticism, mind you. Venables, Clemson's defensive coordinator, has seen too much success doing it the Dabo Way to argue. But Venables is a gung-ho guy, all energy, and all football coach.  "You ask if I want to give the players an extra day off or do an extra walk-through, I'm taking the walk-through every time," Venables said.

That's not how Swinney operates, though.

Coaches get 20 hours per week to work with their teams, according to NCAA rules. Clemson never hits that number. Swinney gives players two extra weeks of downtime beyond what's required during the offseason. Game weeks are perfectly scripted routines that are as likely to involve meditating using an app on their cellphones ("Mental Mondays") or a talk session on what's to come on game day ("Focus Fridays") as they are a grueling day of practice. Even during Clemson's recent playoff runs, Swinney took time out of the practice schedule to discuss life lessons.

"He's got a unique way of management and when to pull back and when to push," Venables said, "and it's very profound."

 

To be sure, Swinney makes his guys work, too. This is the great misnomer about the Clemson coach, that he's all about fun and, somehow, it just turns out his team is really good, too. That's not what's happening here. It's just that Swinney finds a way to make even that work seem ... fun.

Look back at the 2015 ACC championship game, when punter Andy Teasdall executed an ill-timed fake punt. Swinney was livid. He chewed out Teasdall on the sideline, blasted him during his halftime interview, thrashed him again when it was over and Clemson had won. Four weeks later, the Tigers took on Oklahoma in Swinney's first college football playoff game, and wouldn't you know, he ran the same play, with Teasdall tossing a pass to Christian Wilkins that worked to perfection.

Mess with winning football games and Swinney's not laughing. But give it a little time and he can't help but find the fun in it.

"It's not all giggles and the happiness camp," Morris said. "He has a pulse on every part of that program, and he knows what he wants it to look like. He has a way of getting that message across. Sometimes that message is very stern and direct, but there's a great respect among his coaches and players."

Current Clemson co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott says there are a lot of coaches who think everything is about the grind and going 100 percent all the time.

"Sometimes there can be negative consequences of that," Scott said. "I think when your players know how much you care about them and you spend time talking about things other than football, when you talk football, you have their attention and they're willing to run through a brick wall for you."

Well you don't have to work as hard when you're fucking juiced up.

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LTtxfan

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https://247sports.com/college/texas/LongFormArticle/Texas-Longhorns-football-Caden-Sterns-Jalen-Green-Josh-Thompson-recruiting-and-culture-should-help-injuries-136047828/#136047828_6

 

"Recruiting, culture should help Texas through latest injuries"

ByCHIP BROWN Sep 24, 12:01 AM

AUSTIN, Texas — The point was hammered home Monday: The Texas Longhorns’ first home victory over Oklahoma State since 2008 came with a hefty price.  Three starters in the secondary, including leading tackler Caden Sterns; Jalen Green, the team's best cornerback through four games; and nickel/corner Josh Thompson; as well as backup linebacker Marcus Tillman Jr.; all suffered injuries that will cause them to miss significant time.

Before Longhorn Nation melts down, that’s why you recruit the way Tom Herman and his staff have been recruiting the past three years, including back-to-back, top-three classes. UT's 2018 recruiting class was noted for having the nation's best defensive back haul, which will come in handy right about now.  More importantly, this is why Herman has tried to build a culture centered around players ignoring their pain and suffering for the guys next to them. More on that in a second.

Tillman (knee) is out for the season, and as Taylor Estes of Horns247 first reported, Thompson (fractured foot), underwent surgery Monday and is likely out until early to mid-December, which means he could be done for the year.

Herman announced the injuries on the Big 12 coaches’ teleconference, adding that Sterns (sprained knee) and Green (dislocated shoulder) are likely out a month, which would put their return near the Oct. 26 game at TCU.

As soon as the injury news hit, the Longhorns’ secondary was described across social media as crippled.  But when Herman was asked what message he’d give his team following the news, he said, “I haven’t lost a lot of sleep over it.”

Herman’s next-man-up reaction reminded me of Nick Saban in 2017, when Alabama had one defensive starter go down after another. Only three players started every game on defense for the Tide that season (with 14 starters or backups missing time), but Bama still reached the College Football Playoff championship game.

Saban refused to lament the situation in the media to avoid giving his locker room any excuses. Instead, he told the next men up how lucky they were to get an opportunity and not to waste it.

That’s how you handle injury situations when you’ve been recruiting like Saban for more than a decade … and recruiting like Texas under Herman the past three years.

Instead of focusing on players’ lost, you focus on players found.  Herman praised the play of his healthy cornerbacks in the OSU game (sophomore D'Shawn Jamison made two big plays behind the line of scrimmage, and sophomore Kobe Boyce had his second straight game with a pass breakup).

Herman also praised the play of Texas’ latest safety starter — redshirt sophomore Montrell Estell, who finished the Oklahoma State game with nine tackles, including a tackle for loss, as well as an interception returned 37 yards, setting up a second-quarter touchdown.  Estell was inserted into the starting lineup as part of a chain effect that started with sophomore safeties B.J. Foster (hamstring) and DeMarvion Overshown (back) suffering injuries against LSU on Sept. 7.  “He was the next man up, and he did a really good job,” Herman said of Estell after the OSU game. “We challenged him all week. At the same time, we made sure he understood how much belief we had in him.  “Really, really proud of him. Really proud of him.”

Meanwhile, first-year starter Chris Brown, a junior who has lined up at safety and Joker linebacker, has probably been the defense’s best player along with linebacker Joseph Ossai through the first four games. Brown and Ossai lead the team in fourth-down stops, and Brown posted his first interception against Oklahoma State.

“Chris Brown is ballin’ out,” said senior captain defensive end Malcolm Roach.

NEXT MAN UP MOVES FROM RUNNING BACKS TO SECONDARY

With defensive players going down left and right Saturday night, it was Roach who kept reminding his teammates to dig deeper.  At halftime, with Texas clinging to a 21-20 lead, Roach reminded his defensive teammates of their first fall camp scrimmage.  “In that scrimmage, the offense was killin’ us in the first half,” Roach said. “But in the second half, we shut ‘em out.  “And that’s what it felt like a little bit (against Oklahoma State). They made some big plays on us early, but we got our minds right and came out flying around, playing for each other in the second half.”

Herman, part of a national championship team at Ohio State in 2014, knows the magic happens on a team when players are playing for each other, coaching each other and holding each other accountable.

“There’s a reason Malcolm Roach is a captain,” Herman said Saturday night. “I heard him a couple different times dang near begging his teammates, ‘Don’t do it for yourself. Do it for each other.’ That’s something that is learned.”  When players are putting teammates ahead of themselves, teams can not only survive when a rash of injuries hit — they can thrive — especially when you’ve recruited like Texas.

“Anything in life that is extremely difficult and painful and inconvenient, when you’re doing it for somebody that you love and you know loves you in return, it makes it a little bit easier,” Herman said after beating Oklahoma State.  “When you’re doing it for yourself, you’ve got no shot. No shot.”

Roach, nose tackle Keondre Coburn and Jamison all left the Oklahoma State game with injuries but returned.  Ossai, who leads the team in interceptions (two) and is tied for the lead in sacks (two) and tackles for loss (four), played through a shoulder injury and still finished with eight tackles, a sack, another tackle for loss (on a fourth-down stop) and a forced fumble.

With Thompson, Green and Sterns out of the game Saturday night, freshman defensive back Chris Adimora was thrust into the final minutes of the action and broke up a pass in the end zone before recovering Oklahoma State's onside kick with 1:34 left to help secure UT's 36-30 victory.  "Never taken a rep at it," Herman said of Adimora being a part of UT's hands team on the onside kick. "He was in there because of injury - did his job."

Adimora and freshman cornerback Kenyatta Watson are both players who could get a lot more playing time over the next month.  

Texas is off this week and will next play at West Virginia on Oct. 5.  Herman hopes to get Foster and Overshown as well as receiver Collin Johnson (hamstring) back to face the 3-1 Mountaineers, who are also off this week.  

A bit of good news: Fifth-year senior running back Kirk Johnson (shoulder), Collin’s older brother, has been cleared to return to practice — just more than a week after running back Daniel Young (ankle) returned to action.  Freshman running back Jordan Whittington is still out following sports hernia surgery with a possible return in mid- to late October.

Most all the ice tubs that have been used by the team's running backs to start the season can now be used by UT's wounded secondary. Texas was down to one healthy scholarship running back (Keaontay Ingram) two games into the season.

That led to moving Roschon Johnson, the team's freshman, third-string quarterback, to running back in what seemed like many to be a panic move. Then, Johnson turned into a weapon at running back, catching a touchdown pass against Rice and rushing for his first score against Oklahoma State while averaging 4.3 yards per carry this season.

Herman acknowledged after the victory over OSU Saturday night, “We need this bye week in the worst way.”  But there’s a reason when Herman was asked Monday what he’ll tell his team about the latest injury news, he said, “I don’t think there’s any message that needs to be given.”  That’s because the message has already been delivered by guys like Roschon Johnson, Chris Brown, Jamison and Estell as part of a culture in a program that has recruited as well as Herman and his staff have.

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Steamboat1874

Steamboat1874 4,284

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56 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Several examples of building culture in this video...

 

Man the word several is probably an understatement.

I love this guy and if you cannot see what is going on you are blind.

He has personified the word "team" with these guys.

I am very happy and excited for the future.

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LTtxfan

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Siap.... Herman building a better Walk-on program is a great way to improve the Culture

Great article on Horns 2019 Walk-on players:

https://www.burntorangenation.com/2019/2/7/18216301/texas-longhorns-preferred-walk-on-program-sam-saxton-jake-ehlinger-jett-bush

"Texas continues to build a high-level preferred walk-on program"

Texas Longhorns preferred walk-on program, which has kicked into high gear during the 2019 cycle under the guidance of Director of High School Relations Bob Shipley and Assistant Director of Player Personnel John Michael Jones, both of whom earned praise from head coach Tom Herman on Wednesday.  “I want to take a second to brag on our walk-on program,” Herman said during his National Signing Day press conference. “It’s something that we made a very big emphasis on when we got here was to grow that and enhance that. Over the last two years, John Michael Jones and Bob Shipley have done a phenomenal job of bringing in some really, really talented players, really strong academic students and guys to our culture. So I want to thank them for that.”

 
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staboner

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On 9/27/2019 at 9:37 AM, Steamboat1874 said:

Man the word several is probably an understatement.

I love this guy and if you cannot see what is going on you are blind.

He has personified the word "team" with these guys.

I am very happy and excited for the future.

been waiting on this thread to come up to the top. absolutely agreed that he has been a goddamn magician in terms of motivation and teamwork. I can't ever remember seeing a more physical Texas team. Not in my lifetime. On the oline thread they talk about the 2005 line as being the best we have had. I think while they may not be as good this year (versus that 2005 line) they are the most physical and nasty oline i have seen a Texas team field in 20 years. more physical that the 2005 line by a bit IMO

on the negative side - I don't know what is going on with bonehead offensive decision making. There are failure points on when to kick it (analytics issue), going for it and with what play (QB, analytics and corching), audibling and QB control at the line of scrimmage (Sam and corching). and its adding up to a really fucking strange offensive identity. We are borderline dominant for 80% of our snaps but make some REALLY dumb plays the rest of the time, effectively taking us down a notch in our overall offensive performance. I hope this issue is being addressed. 

re: analytics. I get it. Shit I am an analytics consultant. But in football there are plays, breaks, then plays. There is scouting. I mean if you are flat in terms of what you do when you do what the analytics tells you - you are doing it wrong. Everyone knows we will run QB power on 4th and 2 when we rush up to the line fast like that. Okie Light had 8 in the box and dam near killed Sam when we tried that. We all knew it was going to fail. Something is wrong there. Player judgment, Sam and a TO or audible, corching, maybe too many playcallers, something. 

One step away from being an elite, physical offense like what you see the bucknuts rolling out. And for the first time in a while the HNIC at Texas has a good system, good culture, and good players all moving in the same direction. Thanks Tom. 

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LTtxfan

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On 9/21/2019 at 1:04 PM, Machinator said:

 

Good article on culture... Thx @Machinator.

Eyes on Texas: Given all the position changes, Longhorns are an example in selflessness

(Whether because of injuries or lack of depth, multiple players have been open to switching positions this season, helping No. 12 Texas find its footing)   Posted September 19th, 2019

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

  •  Derek Kerstetter: “This year, I just want to play. I don’t care what position.” 
  •  “Some guys, they’d be like, ‘Oh, well. This isn’t what I came here to play.’” 
  •  Forced position changes can be revealing. 

Unless Rivals and 247Sports have developed some metric that’s still in beta testing, the recruiting services still cannot measure a recruit’s selflessness.  We’re inundated with updates about each recruit’s height, weight, statistics, summer camp results and scholarship offers. But they really can’t measure how much an athlete is willing to help his team upon arrival.The Longhorns insist this is a player-led team, and football is the ultimate team sport. Several players have agreed to change positions, move around to different spots and generally do whatever is asked for the greater good.

Selflessness is a key reason why 12th-ranked Texas (2-1, 0-0 Big 12) has found its footing this season. This is how it’s supposed to be, frankly.  Here, let’s help the recruiting services. If you’re a recruit who’s unwilling to accept a position change or try something totally new once you enroll, that school doesn’t need you.

Offensive lineman Derek Kerstetter is now capable of playing all five positions up front. You may see him at tackle, guard or center. Left side or right side, it doesn’t matter to him. What’s best for his NFL prospects? He doesn’t seem to care.  “Last year, I obviously only (started) in five games,” Kerstetter said. “This year, I just want to play. I don’t care what position. I’ve just had a burning desire to get back on the field and just play to the best of my capabilities.”   Kerstetter played in all 14 games last season, but clearly he sees a distinction from special teams and being a backup to being an every-game starter. He started the first three games at right tackle but moved over to center against Rice when Zach Shackelford got hurt.  “I love the game of football,” Kerstetter said. “I played football since I was young. And I just love everything that comes with it.”

Receiver Devin Duvernay played second fiddle out wide last year. Coaches came to him just before preseason practice began and asked him to move to the slot. The senior could have balked.  “I was cool with it,” Duvernay said. “I mean, whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do it.”  Now Duvernay has a team-high 27 catches for 269 yards and three touchdowns. This is shaping up to be the best season of his collegiate career.  “Just us being college scholarship athletes, we think we can have impact anywhere,” Duvernay said. “Our mindset I feel like is just put us on the field, and we’ll just make a play whenever the balls is in our hands.”Roschon Johnson signed with Texas as a quarterback. He enrolled early in January to learn the playbook and get himself in position to battle for the backup job. But injuries at running back in August prompted coaches to look around the locker room. Johnson accepted a position change before head coach Tom Herman even finished the suggestion.  “I’m glad he was here this spring for the physical development as well as learning the offense,” Herman said.

Johnson could have said no. He could have asked to redshirt this season. Instead, he’s averaging 4.7 yards on 25 carries and just caught a 25-yard touchdown pass against Rice.  “Some guys, they’d be like, ‘Oh, well. This isn’t what I came here to play,’” quarterback Sam Ehlinger said. “But he’s been completely selfless in that aspect and approached the transition extremely well.”

David Gbenda was rated the 28th-best linebacker prospect in the state, according to 247Sports. He spent preseason camp learning linebacker and spent every waking moment thinking about defense. But when coaches were so desperate to find running backs, they asked Gbenda about moving to offense. Yes, he said.  “I say it’s pretty selfless of him,” linebacker Joseph Ossai said. “Because it’s hard to come to a school planning on playing one position and get switched to a totally different position.”  Ossai brought up Johnson’s position change and said, “I admire them a lot for that. So excited to see what they do and how they can help the team.”Forced position changes can be revealing.  Why was Jerrod Heard an ultimate fan favorite? It didn’t work for him at quarterback in 2015, and he moved to receiver under Charlie Strong. Heard could have made things miserable for Shane Buechele, but didn’t. “The Juice” will forever be cheered at Royal-Memorial Stadium.

Tyrone Swoopes didn’t work at quarterback, either. He accepted a smaller role in 2016 and found a second life in the 18-wheeler package. Swoopes has gone on to log time with the Seattle Seahawks at tight end.  When Herman arrived in 2017, he moved Chris Warren III to tight end from running back. Warren, who thought he was soon headed for the NFL, hated the idea. “I 110% intend on playing running back in the NFL. Point blank, period,” Warren said at pro timing day. He went undrafted and was waived by the Oakland Raiders this August.  Everyone’s situation is different, of course. Ultimately, do you want to play or not?  “We just do whatever is necessary for our team,” Kerstetter said. “It’s such a cool feeling being out on the field. When you’re playing and when something good does happen for the team, it’s like we did our jobs and it feels good.”

These Longhorns don’t need forced attempts at camaraderie. Nobody’s talking about ping-pong, for example, although Buechele’s famed ping-pong table is still inside the players’ lounge.  These Horns celebrate each other’s successes and pick up those who experience failure. Keaontay Ingram had a bounce-back game against Rice. The happiest guys in the world were the teammates hooting, hollering and taking cellphone photos of him getting interviewed afterward.

Herman has a simple request for his offensive players: When you score, go hug a big guy. When sophomore Brennan Eagles scored against Louisiana Tech, he raced to find somebody, anybody to hug. He locked in on Shackelford.  “Maybe about as selfless of a player that we have on this team,” Herman said afterward. “I don’t know if you saw him after his first touchdown. But he sprinted to go hug a big guy. And that was friggin’ awesome.”  Shackelford loved it, too. “He’s what you want out of a teammate, to be honest with you,” he said. “He’s super selfless. He’s all about the team.”

Selflessness may not carry the Horns all the way to a championship this season. But it will certainly carry them farther than selfishness or individualism ever will.

 

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,909

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You gotta earn it.... 🤘

Thx to @Machinator for this IT info:

"When Luke Brockermeyer was put on scholarship my optimism on Texas landing his twin brothers jumped. Like everyone else I've always guessed they'll end up at Texas but being pretty close to that situation I know how fond the family is of Clemson, Alabama, and Georgia. Clemson only offering Tommy put a nail in that one, imo. "That's a good development for Texas," I was told. I think we'll see the Brockermeyers take some spring officials but I'm not sure they'll use as many as they can just because a lot of schools aren't real contenders. I think Herman handled Luke's scholarship perfectly. Luke was told when they recruited him that if he put in the work he'd have a real chance at earning a scholarship. But Herman didn't just hand it out because of his brothers. To Luke's credit he's seen a jump in his play in practice this year, going back to the Spring. To Herman's credit he awarded a scholarship to Cort Jaquess first. Cort is on special teams and is a practice All Star. It's a meritocracy. "

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,909

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Staff facing some doubts from players.  Herman better make changes to coaching staff for 2020.

Thx @satyanash

Like Sands Through the Hourglass: So are the Days of Our lives.

By: Eric Nahlin and Justin Wells

Texas is sitting at 5-2 but there's a palpable uneasiness emanating from the program after two or three poor performances. If it's frustrating to you, and as an invested fan it should be, let me tell you how frustrating it is to those behind the scenes. Earlier in the week, when checking in on the Brennan Eagles power pout, a source, who typically sides with the players in such times stated, "the sky seems to be falling around here for absolutely no reason." After reaching out to as many people as we could, let's try to break this down. I will say, our information typically lines up pretty damn well, but this week was odd. We were hearing the same exact things regardless of who we contacted.

General Hospital

From our vantage, injuries have hurt meritocracy and the player's relationship with coaches more than they've hurt the product on the field. Feeling the pressure to win, and suffering numerous injuries in the secondary, the staff is forced to play some broke down kids. Anyone who criticizes BJ Foster, not that there have been many, for not being the player he was last year should be thanking him for suiting up. Similarly, DeMarvion Overshown hasn't been right but is still trying to play through it. To their credit, both have a ton of pride and will play if they can but in an ideal scenario neither would be traveling this week, much less playing. They're both questionable for Saturday.

With Jalen Green returning that means one of Anthony Cook or D'Shawn Jamison will be left out as a starter. I mentioned it a time or two during their recruitment but there's always been a bit of a rivalry between the former Lamar teammates, most of it stemming from Jamison's side. The decision of who to play should seem simple enough; Cook has not only been playing well to the naked eye but also grading out well with the coaches. The light has come on, and he seems the natural starter. We think he'll start but there are egos to manage and not just with players. Here is how you manage the situation --- play the person who earned it. Someone is going to be pissed off regardless.  There's also frustration with defensive backs who are seeing a walk-on out on the field. No offense to Mason Ramirez intended, and props for the playing time, but if a player is routinely told he's going to play and then doesn't while a walk-on does, well...that's on the coaches. Heading into the TCU game we think Montrell Estell and Brandon Jones will be the safeties. We expect Tyler Owens and Kenyatta Watson to play. With the injuries Watson has been working at boundary safety.

The Young and the Restless

Frustration in recent weeks has been directed towards the coaches, but in short order for us it has shifted towards the players. The Portal has highlighted some disheartening attitudes, particularly among the younger guys. In general, transferring is a good, fair option. But through the lens of the real world let's look at two types of transfers to suss out significant differences.

The first employee has put in his time and earned a couple promotions. He's experienced successes and even been rewarded with a certificate or two. Though he and his employer have shared a mutually rewarding relationship, he feels he's reached his potential there and is looking for new opportunities. The two parties shake hands and wish each other well. The second employee has been working in the mailroom for two days but thinks he should be sitting on the board of directors. If they don't put him on the board he'll leave. The employee of course does leave and finds himself in a different mailroom but holds the same exact complaints.  Who is it going to work out better for? Calvin Anderson, Tre Watson, and Parker Braun, or the guy who entered the Portal this week? Or the few others thinking about entering the Portal? Who's giving themselves a better shot in life? Who is earning their scholarship? Who would you rather play or work with? Trying to build a culture in the current climate comes with some difficulties. Tom Herman can probably navigate this a little better, but the players, and those with Little League parents constantly badgering the coaches, need to own a sizable share of the blame too. "The Portal" as a threat because you aren't playing is in absolutely poor character.

Javonne Shepherd is a known transfer candidate at this point and HILARIOUSLY they want to keep him. It's unfathomable. We don't think he'll stay at Texas but it says something they want to keep him. It doesn't say anything good, either. The mindset of some of these kids, to leave for perceived greener pastures at any sign of adversity, is not a good a indicator for long-term success. If given the chance, they'd want to leave the Navy for the Marines because it's not as tough and more fair. You're in a really good spot. Exercise some patience. Mature.

Guiding Light

Even Yancy McKnight, once the most popular guiding light in the program, has lost favor. This is a banged up team, he should probably adjust his temperament towards ailing players a bit. The coaches have a task on their hand. Some of the issues are self-inflicted, some are not. They need to fix what they can but even winning might only be a temporary fix for this group. The Portal is a permanent game changer. It needs adjusting, but until then, we're in a different time, at least with this group of players. They need to recruit with the player's personality more in mind. They need to recruit with the personality of the parents in mind too.

With the injuries and pressure to win these coaches are stressed out. Many feel they're coaching for their jobs but pressing kids who are already pressing themselves is how you lose them. Pushing kids to play when you know they don't want to (specifically an ailing high profile player) is how you lose them. I don't envy their position one bit. Dealing with the injuries, dealing with frustrated, immature players who might transfer, and some of their parents on top of that, all amidst game week has to be trying.  At all costs Tom Herman has to restore a sense of meritocracy and accountability. It's the only way to consistently navigate 'damned if you do, damned if you don't' personnel decisions. If you're playing someone who is performing poorly the least of your concerns are the hundred-thousand fans and the hundred thousand thousandaires in attendance. Your biggest problem is the 100 people in your charge who see someone else should be getting those reps.  You'd think we're dealing with a 2-5 team. We may go into more detail, perhaps with some more specific examples, after the season. For now, get to 6-2 to make these troubles look even dumber than they are.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,909

Posted
Posted (edited)

Team's Culture Being Tested

Still wish Herman would fire Mehringer now and promote Coleman to an interim asst WR coach position.  The players are having lots doubts about some of the coaches and the process...  Herman needs to step up for the players.

 

Recent post from Inside Texas below...

InsideTexas: The Inside Scoop

By: Justin Wells and Eric Nahlin

TEAM

A frustrated locker room became much more so after the shorter version of this post-game exchange filtered its way to the players. Question: "Did they just out-coach you today in terms of Xs and Os?" Answer: "No, I'd never say we got out-coached. We continue to make adjustments and they had a couple of wrinkles they adjusted to. We felt like we were putting our guys in good position. But it's really hard to tell without watching the film all the answers to give you. We felt like we were making some sound in-game adjustments."

Perhaps Herman is just saving face for a group of coaches he knows are on the hot seat. Maybe he's telling recruits issues on the coaching staff are being overblown. But when you say you didn't get out-coached, minutes after you got out-coached, it puts the blame on the players. The insinuation is they didn't execute a good game plan or adjustments, but they were there to be made. Accountability is the number one pillar of a strong culture and it should start at the top.

Herman also seems to think coaching is a 60 minute window on Saturday. Clearly he was out-coached during the week. The Iowa State staff had the Texas staff dead to rights from the opening kick. Things were so bad Cyclones players were taunting Texas players by saying they knew what they were going to run, and all too often, they were right. The same thing happened in the Kansas game and I imagine many others.

Player frustration is exacerbated by Herman running such a regimented program. Players are beginning to wonder what are they going through all this for when they're getting beaten by teams with much lesser demands. These players know how other programs are run because they're friends with players from countless different schools. The players feel like they do everything asked of them and it's all for naught. They highly suspect the disconnect is coaching.

While that locker room was the worst its been all season I still expect the team to play with maximum effort versus Baylor. The players don't like that program going back throughout the decade and there are positive incentives to winning out. Nobody wants to return to the Texas Bowl. 

Notes:

Junior Angilau returned to practice on Sunday. I'm unsure if he'll play but he has returned. Josh Thompson is cleared to return but if they play him they are doing him and themselves a huge disservice. The season is over for all intents and purposes; play some younger guys if you absolutely have to. You're messing with another year of school for him, plus he adds value to the 2021 team. 

I asked if any younger guys were making noise on scout team: Tyler Johnsons' play strength was mentioned. It's still unclear if he'll be a tackle or guard but he moves better than Denzel Okafor so we know right tackle is possible. Kennedy Lewis was also mentioned for his speed and ability to make contested catches in the air. On defense, I heard most of the guys are already with the 1st and 2nd teamers but Myron Warren has potential long-term.

Remember when Herman was hired and I said Greg Ward bailed the U of H coaches out of a lot of bad decisions and play calls? They should let Ehlinger do the same. There are some coaching issues behind the scenes that we can only shake our head at but we want to give the staff the benefit of finishing the season and then seeing how Herman responds to those issues.

 

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RoyalBevo21

RoyalBevo21 912

Posted
Posted (edited)

Went to go hunting this past weekend instead of watch the game. I knew they would lose as this is a classic Tom Herman type of let down game. Decided to suck it up and watch a shortened version of the game on Youtube and within the first 30 seconds see this bullshit.

https://gfycat.com/thunderousalarmingantlion

Please just stare at RDE Fat ass Taquan Graham #49 and watch him throughout the play. If that's the type of effort this supposed culture is breeding gtfo. 

Edited by RoyalBevo21
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BradWilcox

BradWilcox 115

Posted
Posted
On 8/5/2019 at 9:05 PM, Jkwellborn said:


If the team is playing down to the opponent, then they aren’t always ready to play. He gets them up for the big games though.

Do you still feel the same or have you seen enough to know the smoke and mirrors are gone and it was all just one big illusion?

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BradWilcox

BradWilcox 115

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, RoyalBevo21 said:

Went to go hunting this past weekend instead of watch the game. I knew they would lose as this is a classic Tom Herman type of let down game. Decided to suck it up and watch a shortened version of the game on Youtube and within the first 30 seconds see this bullshit.

https://gfycat.com/thunderousalarmingantlion

Please just stare at RDE Fat ass Taquan Graham #49 and watch him throughout the play. If that's the type of effort this supposed culture is breeding gtfo. 

Tackling 101 fail.  This is just sad.

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bschoolprof

bschoolprof 6,335

Posted
Posted

Ahem . . 

 

On 5/17/2019 at 10:55 PM, Goodman said:

 

 

On 5/18/2019 at 7:21 AM, bschoolprof said:

Should have waited until next year for this to see how we do this year before fully guaranteeing another year. 

 

On 5/18/2019 at 7:45 AM, UDontKnow said:

It's to counter negative recruiting: "Herman won't last at UT."

 

On 5/18/2019 at 7:52 AM, bschoolprof said:

Is that really a big issue at this point?  Even if it is, extend the contract, but make it contingent.  Our athletic department seems to be in love with needlessly over-extending itself financially.  See Smart, Shaka.  

 

On 5/18/2019 at 10:16 AM, totallynotabuttpirate said:

Eh, whether or not Tom wins a championship, at the very worst, our teams will be tough, compete, and pretty much never get blown out. No more of those weak Mack teams, sans VY and a bunch of other NFL players, getting blown out a few times every year. 

If he can just stop losing to Marylands, we'll be a 10 win team every year with just 1-2 close loses. That alone is worth a contract extension. 

 

On 5/18/2019 at 4:41 PM, Vertigo said:

Doing a 1 year extension with no major raise when the mouth breathers up the street are giving out 10 year fully guaranteed contracts at 50% more per year before a coach ever plays a game seems pretty reasonable to me. 

 

On 5/18/2019 at 5:29 PM, Tex Pete said:

Texas fans will bitch about anything. 

 

On 5/18/2019 at 7:52 PM, bschoolprof said:

I read it was a 2 year extension, which is about another 10-12 million in guaranteed money we are on the hook for. 

Herman isn't going anywhere because of money and no recruits are turning down texas because they are worried about Herman’s contract. And just because aggy is retarded doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be fiscally prudent. This athletic department has eaten millions in dead money over the last decade due to needless extensions that went bad. The last silly one we gave out is directly responsible for our basketball program sucking for at least a few more years. You’d think we’d have a little restraint at this point. 

 

On 5/19/2019 at 1:49 AM, texifornia said:

Omg the coach of the wealthiest team at the wealthiest athletic department in the country, who is pretty much on schedule in terms of measurable progress in his first two years, got an extension (with no raise). We're clearly raiding Fort Knox for this one.

Chill out, it doesn't effect 99.5% of this board, and we all had a lot of fun with 10 wins and pantsing UGA in the Sugar Bowl.

 

On 5/19/2019 at 1:58 AM, texifornia said:

Dude, a bad contract will NEVER force UT to keep a mediocre football coach. The Shaka situation is directly a result of pretty much every big donor being ambivalent at best about basketball.

Look at this board as a semi-representative sample - who would have traded the Sugar Bowl win for a deep tournament run? Like two people, this isn't one of the UK/KUs.

 

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bschoolprof

bschoolprof 6,335

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Posted

Lots of dipshittery in this thread.  It's one thing for dipshits to be dipshits on the internet - that's at least 50% of my posting history.  It's another when this fanboi mindset pervades our athletic department management, and leads to pointless contractual commitments that prevent us from making the best decisions we can going forward.  

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Captain Ron

Captain Ron 13,097

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, bschoolprof said:

Lots of dipshittery in this thread.  It's one thing for dipshits to be dipshits on the internet - that's at least 50% of my posting history.  It's another when this fanboi mindset pervades our athletic department management, and leads to pointless contractual commitments that prevent us from making the best decisions we can going forward.  

I haven't read through the thread, some of the posts you quoted are real mental gymnastics, even for those situations.

That said, the OP on this thread (he who shall not be named) isnt' all that off on the building culture part. But I would note to that, it was only the start.

Herman talked about building culture, and for the year he had something working. But we were a long way from knowing if he built a lasting culture that would last from season to season. As this season has shown, his own proclamation might be a tad premature.

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LTtxfan

LTtxfan 49,909

Posted
Posted (edited)

Culture cracking:

  • Per Fuck Chip Brown....  Linebacker Juwan Mitchell didn’t start Saturday’s Baylor game after having an issue with someone on staff during the week, our Taylor Estes of horns247.com learned.

  • Per IT.... A frustrated locker room became much more so after the shorter version of the Iowa State post-game exchange filtered its way to the players. Question: "Did they just out-coach you today in terms of Xs and Os?" Answer: "No, I'd never say we got out-coached."

  •  Also per IT:  Player frustration is exacerbated by Herman running such a regimented program. Players are beginning to wonder what are they going through all this for when they're getting beaten by teams with much lesser demands. These players know how other programs are run because they're friends with players from countless different schools. The players feel like they do everything asked of them and it's all for naught. They highly suspect the disconnect is coaching.

 

Also need to add this to thread...

 

Edited by LTtxfan
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Girdwood

Girdwood 118

Posted
Posted
49 minutes ago, LTtxfan said:

Culture cracking:

  • Per Fuck Chip Brown....  Linebacker Juwan Mitchell didn’t start Saturday’s Baylor game after having an issue with someone on staff during the week, our Taylor Estes of horns247.com learned.

  • Per IT.... A frustrated locker room became much more so after the shorter version of the Iowa State post-game exchange filtered its way to the players. Question: "Did they just out-coach you today in terms of Xs and Os?" Answer: "No, I'd never say we got out-coached."

  •  Also per IT:  Player frustration is exacerbated by Herman running such a regimented program. Players are beginning to wonder what are they going through all this for when they're getting beaten by teams with much lesser demands. These players know how other programs are run because they're friends with players from countless different schools. The players feel like they do everything asked of them and it's all for naught. They highly suspect the disconnect is coaching.

 

Also need to add this to thread...

 

200.gif

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bschoolprof

bschoolprof 6,335

Posted
Posted
I haven't read through the thread, some of the posts you quoted are real mental gymnastics, even for those situations.
That said, the OP on this thread (he who shall not be named) isnt' all that off on the building culture part. But I would note to that, it was only the start.
Herman talked about building culture, and for the year he had something working. But we were a long way from knowing if he built a lasting culture that would last from season to season. As this season has shown, his own proclamation might be a tad premature.

I was mainly referring to all the know it all’s who said Herman’s extension was no big deal and would have no effect on us as fans.

More generally though, as it relates to the premise of the thread, there’s nothing that fans overate more than “toughness” culture. Remember all the bullshit about taking out the juice bar when Strong took over? All football teams emphasize toughness. That’s what the strength coach is for.
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