Texas coach Tom Herman wanted to remind the "people that throw on some burnt orange sunglasses and have all those crazy expectations” what kind of rebuild the football program faces.
Herman, however, is making it almost impossible to keep those sunglasses holstered. He embodied that with one direct answer after another Tuesday at his Big 12 Media Days session. That lets you know big-time success is coming back to this blueblood sooner rather than later. Herman is applying the lessons he learned under Urban Meyer at Ohio State and as Houston's head coach the last two seasons to get there.
Here's the best explanation why it's all going to work.
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"I think losing has to be awful and you can never get used to losing," Herman said. "I think the biggest downfall of a lot of teams is you get used to losing. No. Losing is awful. It's awful. It's not just, 'Oh, well, we'll get them next week.' No. It's like sky-is-falling-type stuff. So every time we have a competitive situation we're going to make sure that the people that don't win in that competitive situation, that they feel awful about it."
Herman conceded that Texas doesn’t know how to win really well right now, and he’s right. Since reaching the BCS championship game in the 2009 season, the Longhorns are 46-42. At a team meeting, Herman asked the players how many of them have played on a winning team at UT; three redshirt seniors put their hands up.
Herman was a graduate assistant under Mack Brown during the last program renovation, and he sees similarities in the projects. Herman name-dropped two blue-chip recruits, Chris Simms and Cory Redding, who helped expedite that first rebuild. That's where Herman can make the biggest difference in the next year. He can make Texas cool again, and judging by his comments he has help:
On the social media staff: "They have done an excellent job of kind of rebranding Texas football a little bit and making sure that we are one of the really cool places to come and get your education at and to play football, quite frankly."
On the recruiting staff: "That’s paid some tangible dividends thus far, and that's due in large part to the relationships with the high school coaches in this great state."
On athletic director Mike Perrin and school president Greg Fenves: "I always say players and coaches win games, but administrations win championships, and we have a definite championship administration."
When the administration, recruiting and, yes, social media are in lockstep, good things happen.
Keep your hands off those burnt orange sunglasses … keep your hands off those burnt orange sunglasses … keep your hands …
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The Longhorns still have an uphill climb toward contention, but this recruiting cycle is a start. According to 247 Sports, none of the top 10 in-state prospects committed to Texas last year. The Longhorns have already booked three top 10 in-state commitments this year. That’s the tangible result Herman is seeking off the field.
On the field, there's an opportunity this year. Quarterback Shane Buechele returns as a sophomore, and All-America candidate Malik Jefferson leads the defense.
There will be bumps in that road back to the top, but Herman is the right fit in Austin. He doesn't have the potential to just win; he's in a spot where he could easily become college football's next big-time coach, one who could in time challenge the national championship coach aristocracy of Meyer, Nick Saban, Dabo Swinney and Jimbo Fisher.
That's why he was the candidate everybody wanted in 2017. That's why Texas is starting to look a little bit cooler now than it was yesterday. That's why tangible results are coming in a conference where there is an opportunity for the Longhorns to reassert their dominance.
Herman, however, still isn’t wearing those burnt orange sunglasses, and he provided a not-so gentle reminder why.
"The Class of 2018, these 16-year-old kids we are recruiting, since they were 10 years old they've seen two winning Texas football seasons,” he said before adding emphasis. "Two. They've seen four losing Texas football seasons, so like the Texas they know then, the Texas that people of my generation know. It's our job to show them what Texas is capable of, what we're capable of, what Texas has been in the past and what we're planning on being in the future."
And that's why you know losing will be awful at Texas again soon. For the first time this decade, that's a good thing.
