Longhorns try to block out tweets, other distractions
Twitter and all other forms of social media haven’t exactly been safe spaces for the Longhorns the last two weeks. That’s why Texas head coach Tom Herman deleted the app before the season began, and he’d probably advise every one of his charges to do the same.
And so it goes this week with the Longhorns, who are 1-1 heading into Saturday’s date with No. 22 USC.
“I think our guys have done a really, really good job of blocking out all of the noise,” Herman said. “They have also done a good job of understanding what it does take to win.”
On to this week’s mailbag ...
Saturday night was “A Tale of Two Cities.” In College Station, a coach in his second game thought they should have won the game. They took one of the top-3 teams in the country to the wire . ... Aggie fans got what they paid for and walked out excited about the future. The atmosphere was electric. Meanwhile in Austin, the Horns didn’t play well because, once again, Coach Mensa yelled at them at halftime? A good team beats Tulsa by 40 . ... It looks the same as a year ago. Texas fans left looking like their dog died. — Mark, via email
First off, I said this on our Longhorn Confidential podcast on Monday, but I thought Jimbo Fisher was a huge winner last weekend even though A&M lost. As for Texas, fans were OK with UT’s 1-1 start last season because the Horns blew out San Jose State in week two, 56-0. This year, there are more jitters than anything else. Is this now a six-, seven- or eight-win team? Or is more possible? The answer can be found in your optimism.
I played for Texas in 1968 through ’70, and we won 30 in a row and knew a few things about winning. Herman is sadly going in the wrong direction. If you want to have FUN, go play for Austin College, not UT. At UT it’s like the military, you train hard, you are disciplined, you are proud, you serve the Longhorn Nation, you have a band of brothers, and you have commanding officers you are terrified of. I guarantee it’s that way at Alabama. Thanks. — Dr. Michael Dean, via email
I can only imagine what other Texas exes who played for Darrell Royal thought upon hearing that players tightened up after a halftime tongue lashing. Every successful coach I’ve ever studied or covered as a journalist had two distinct qualities: Players either feared them or respected them. Or both. It’s quite possible this group wants to be perfect for Herman and his staff, so maybe they do play tight. Last I checked, this game was fun. When you’ve been average for this long, you simply don’t know how to win. That is Herman’s challenge.
Tom Herman is one of the highest-paid Public employees in the state, fans have a right to be pissed. Things are not going to change until he starts delivering and from what we’ve seen he can’t deliver. — Nathaniel, via Facebook
Do you think ’Bama fans would be OK with Saban being a crusty person if he were 8-7? — Felipe, via Facebook
At Monday’s news conference, Herman was asked about the perception that he’s arrogant.
“I love our fans,” Herman said. “Mack Brown told me when I got the job that this can be the greatest job in America because there’s tens of millions of people who care very passionately about what happens with their Longhorn football team, and it can be one that’s difficult too for the exact same reason, because there’s tens of millions of people.
“But at the end of the day, the expectations that are put on us from the outside are never going to meet or exceed the expectations that we put on ourselves. And so, yeah, I love our fans, absolutely love them, and I hope they continue to stay as passionate about Texas football as they have been.”
Unfortunately, there now exists a culture of mediocrity at Texas. Players are not aware of the fact that just because they made it to Texas, doesn’t mean they have made it at Texas. I remember watching this team thrash opponents like Maryland and Tulsa. Now all I see is Texas doing just enough. There is very little urgency and intensity in their play com- pared to Texas teams of the past. — Thomas, via Facebook
There’s no doubt in my mind that Herman gets no quarter from the fan base because of Brown’s and Charlie Strong’s faults. These fans are simply tired of all the mediocrity, the blandness, the blah, whatever word you like (or in this case, don’t). Texas is five games over .500 this decade. That’s about as meh as it comes. Herman didn’t fully create this problem, but it’s now his to solve.
As for Keaontay Ingram, man, that sucks. That young man is a bright spot in Texas Offense. — Jason, via Facebook
It’s a bad-news, good-news thing with the freshman from Carthage. Ingram suffered a knee injury late against Tulsa and is doubtful this week against USC. But Herman said an MRI showed no major damage to his knee ligaments, and he’s likely to return quickly from what’s being called a “deep bone bruise.” There’s no doubt Ingram is a positive ray of light for this offense. He’s got 101 yards on 16 carries (6.3 average) and now has two touchdowns.