Texas has Top 25 talent, but no depth

A few big injuries could ruin the Longhorns’ promising fifirst season under Herman.

My question was simple enough. Does Tom Herman think he has Top 25 talent on this Texas football team?

Following a short pause, the fifirstyear head coach said, “I think our starting 22 could play with anybody in the country. Would we win every game? I didn’t say that. We can play, if we play to our abilities, body in the country.”

I take that as a yes. With an asterisk. He does have Top 25 talent.

And now the Longhorns will have Top 25 coaching. For a change.

They didn’t have that for the last three seasons, unfortunately. And that switch in the coaching staffff should pay dramatic dividends for Texas in 2017 and beyond. Herman and his staffff will pay attention to the little things — special teams, false starts and opening coin tosses — and little things almost always lead to big things. Like bowl games.

In short, for all you recipe enthusiasts, the proverbial cake at Texas is not even close to being baked, as one with any- former head coach suggested. It’s in the oven, however, but it requires more time. Forget the icing.

What Herman does not have, however, is Top 25 depth. And that could be a very large Achilles heel.

The Longhorns don’t have depth at right tackle, at tight end, at linebacker or at cornerback. Those are important positions and critical positions if you’re talking championship-caliber teams because they’re already thin in those spots and very few teams go through an entire season unscathed.

Tristan Nickelson has just six starts at right tackle, and Denzel Okafor