Dose of practice helps cure Herman hangover
The University of Houston returned to football practice Thursday, five days after head coach Tom Herman abruptly stepped down to become the new coach at Texas.
How things would continue in the post-Herman era had a familiar look.
“We put the ball down and said, ‘Let’s go play,’” interim coach Todd Orlando said. “I think it helped them.”
The 90-minute practice was a much-needed escape for the Cougars, who are searching for a head coach for the second time in less than three years.
In their first public comments since Herman left, the team’s four senior captains expressed
some disappointment, some surprise but no hard feelings as they move on and prepare for a bowl game later this month.
“Nothing has changed,” quarterback Greg Ward Jr. said. “It’s just a new voice and a new face.”
The past five days, however, have been a rollercoaster of emotions. Defensive end Cameron Malveaux said “it did hurt” to see Herman leave after leading UH to national prominence with 22 wins — including four against top-10 programs — in the best two-year span in school history.
Malveaux said the younger players, part of Herman’s first class and the well-publicized HTown Takeover, had the toughest time coping with the coaching change.
“But that’s life,” he said. “That’s college football. That’s how things work.”
Herman informed the team of his decision during a brief meeting Saturday afternoon, a day after the Cougars ended the regular season with a 4844 loss at Memphis. Some players, like Ward, had left town to return home and were not in attendance.
Herman called Ward while he was at home in Tyler.
“He was a great coach,” Ward said. “He gave us two great years and put us in a good situation and gave us a chance to have a better future for ourselves and our families. There are no hard feelings from us.”
Tight end Tyler McCloskey said there were “mixed emotions,” but he defended Herman’s claim that he was honest with the team about his future.
“I was a little surprised,” McCloskey said. “I was always one that thought he would stay. From the day he got here he didn’t lie to us, and I still don’t have any reason to think he (lied). “He sat us down in the (Saturday) team meeting and told us how it went down, he told us the timeline, and I 100 percent believe him.”
McCloskey said the Cougars went through “intense and physical practice” Thursday, just the prescription for a team that heard speculation about Herman’s future going back to last season.
“We didn’t really have a lot of time to feel sorry for yourself,” McCloskey said. “We didn’t have a lot of down time to sit around and think what happened.”
At one point during practice, McCloskey said he turned to offensive coordinator Major Applewhite and said: “Football is fun.”
“We hadn’t played in a week or so,” McCloskey added. “It doesn’t matter who your coach is, who you are playing with or playing against. Football is fun. We’re in good shape. The head man we have right now, Coach O, I love that guy to death and would do anything for him.”
Ward said it’s up to the team leaders to make sure that the coaching change — and departure of four assistants to join Herman at UT — does not continue to be a distraction.
“We’re really not worried about it any more,” Ward said. “As leader, that’s my job to get everybody on the same page and continue to go out and practice hard.”
With one final game left, the senior captains said a third straight bowl win and another 10-win season remain goals.
“Keep something great going,” Ward said.
“We want to finish it right,” McCloskey said.