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Texas Football: 5 reasons Longhorns can realistically win the Big 12 in 2017

By Connor Muldowney

AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 15: Shane Buechele #7 of the Texas Longhorns drops back to pass against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half on October 15, 2016 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images)
AUSTIN, TX - OCTOBER 15: Shane Buechele #7 of the Texas Longhorns drops back to pass against the Iowa State Cyclones during the first half on October 15, 2016 at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images) /
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BERKELEY, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Running back Tre Watson #5 of the California Golden Bears gets stopped by safety Jason Hall #31 and linebacker Malik Jefferson #46 of the Texas Longhorns in the first quarter on September 17, 2016 at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California. Cal won 50-43. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Running back Tre Watson #5 of the California Golden Bears gets stopped by safety Jason Hall #31 and linebacker Malik Jefferson #46 of the Texas Longhorns in the first quarter on September 17, 2016 at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California. Cal won 50-43. (Photo by Brian Bahr/Getty Images) /

1. Getting the most out of returning talent

If there’s one thing Charlie Strong didn’t do enough of, it was capitalize on elite recruiting classes in which he brought to Austin. He was consistently bringing in top-10, or top-20 at the worst, recruiting classes, but he couldn’t maximize the talent they brought to the table.

For one reason or another, he wasn’t getting the job done as a developer of talent and that’s why he ended up getting let go and taking the South Florida job.

With Herman coming in, it will be a completely different scenario. There’s still a ton of talent left on the roster from previous classes that hasn’t lived up to its potential yet. Herman is great at getting the most out of his guys, and he will do so with this roster.

This situation is exactly what Jim Harbaugh stepped into at Michigan in 2015. Brady Hoke had brought in top recruiting classes each year, but couldn’t get the most out of his players. Harbaugh challenged those guys right away and they won 10 games in his first season. The same will take place with Herman.

It’s crazy what kind of difference a strong coach can make.

Next: Big 12 Football: 5 teams that can dethrone Oklahoma

The 2013 recruiting class (redshirt seniors) was ranked 17th nationally, 2014 class (seniors) was also 17th, the 2015 class (juniors) was 10th and the 2016 group (redshirt freshmen/sophomores) was seventh, according to 247Sports‘ composite.

The talent is there for him to work with.

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