Texas football has the potential to win — and win now — under Tom Herman, and here’s why the Longhorns can realistically take the Big 12 in 2017.
With the 2017 college football season right around the corner, it’s time to take a look at what each conference brings to the table. While it’s always good to look at the favorites to win each league, it’s equally as important to keep an eye on dark-horse candidates.
Enter, Texas football.
The Longhorns have been one of the more disappointing programs over the past few years during the Charlie Strong era, but they have moved in a different direction. Tom Herman is in charge now and he’s working on getting the Longhorns back to national prominence.
Not many expect Texas to contend for a Big 12 title in his first year, but it’s possible. Heck, the Longhorns have a better chance than people think to win the conference in 2017, but they are constantly being overlooked.
Here’s why Texas should be considered a force and may just mess around and take home the conference title in 2017.
5. Players buying into the system right away
It’s always tough going from one head coach who everyone loved, Charlie Strong, to another who has a winning track record and who commands respect. Although firing Strong wasn’t the most popular decision among Texas players, hiring Tom Herman was a step in the right direction.
That hire showed the players, and fans, that the athletic department was prepared to spend big money to invest on wins — and immediate wins, at that.
Herman had just turned Houston into a consistent winner while reeling in some of the country’s top talent to an AAC program. Before that, he was a solid offensive coordinator, and QB coach, for Ohio State who had a wealth of talent to work with.
With that track record, Texas players are beginning to realize the caliber of coach in Austin. The players are buying into the system and that’s sometimes all it takes for some former elite recruits to realize their potential and play as a team. The Longhorns seem to be a close-knit group and with everyone buying in to what Herman is selling, they will be scary in 2017.
4. Incoming recruiting class
You might be thinking about what type of impact an incoming recruiting class could truly have on a team like Texas that already returns a ton of starters. The answer might not be clear right away, but when you think about it, a handful of Texas’ 2017 recruits were hand-picked by Herman and those are guys that fit his system.
Sure, there’s plenty of talent on the roster as is, but Herman’s guys will come in knowing that they fit the description of what the new head coach wanted for the Longhorns. He reeled in the Big 12’s second-best recruiting class in 2017 and 26th-best in the nation, according to 247Sports. Not bad for having just a few months to do work.
Let’s take a look at some of the incoming players that have a chance to make an impact right away — and there really isn’t a slouch in sight.
Gary Johnson, the No. 1 JUCO transfer linebacker, has a shot to contend for time right away on an up-and-coming defense. Damion Miller was one of the top wide out recruits in the class and Toneil Carter was an elite running back prospect. While both may redshirt, they also provide some solid depth at the positions.
If anything, the incoming class provides solid depth and can be turned to if the upperclassmen aren’t getting the job done.
3. Wide open conference race
When you take a glance at all Power Five conferences in college football, there’s either a clear favorite to win or two programs that will be battling it out for league supremacy. Well, that’s all leagues besides the Big 12.
In the ACC, there’s Florida State and Clemson. In the Pac-12, it’s Washington and USC. The Big Ten has Penn State and Ohio State — and a young Michigan team. Lastly, the SEC seems to be Alabama and a handful of second-tier contenders. As for the Big 12, there’s Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, TCU, West Virginia, Texas and Kansas State who could all contend.
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Heck, even Baylor could shock some people and throw its name in the race for the conference title.
Oklahoma might seem like a favorite, but going from Bob Stoops to a young Lincoln Riley in the middle of the summer, with little warning, could have a negative effect on the Sooners right away. Oklahoma State, on the other hand, seems to have solid teams every year, but can never put a full season together — for example, last year’s loss to Central Michigan.
West Virginia, TCU, Kansas State and Baylor are all wild cards and that could leave a young, hungry team like Texas to surpass the bunch.
This conference is wide open, and that’s good news for the Longhorns.
2. The rise of Shane Buechele
When Sam Ehlinger committed, there were some fans who believed he might give Shane Buechele a run for his money as the Longhorns’ starting quarterback. However, that’s the soon-to-be sophomore’s job to lose.
Coming into the 2016 season, the Longhorns were iffy at the quarterback position and the true freshman was given the nod in Week 1. He led the Longhorns to an electrifying win over Notre Dame, passing for 280 yards and two touchdowns and rushing for another in the double-overtime victory. That’s when everyone realized he was no slouch.
Although his next game was against a weaker UTEP team, he did complete 22-of-27 passes for 244 yards and four touchdowns, he showed promise. He was elusive in the pocket, making it tough for defenses to swallow him up. He went on to have a solid freshman season, passing for nearly 3,000 yards and 21 touchdowns.
The only way to go from here is up. With a strong quarterback-friendly coach like Herman in town, Buechele can expect to improve in just about every category, and he was already strong all-around. The 2017 season will signal the rise of Shane Buechele and the Longhorns will benefit greatly from it.
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.