UT coach Tom Herman knows recruiting success in Houston is key.
Strong recruiting in Houston vital for Longhorns
Even though Tom Herman no longer coaches the University of Houston, he still hopes to hold H-Town in the palms of his hands, at least from a recruiting standpoint.
Eleven of the 27 players the second-year University of Texas coach signed in 2018 are from the Houston area and helped make up a class that was ranked No. 3 in the nation, according to 247 Sports.
“Houston was really good to us in recruiting this year,” Herman said during media availability before his Touchdown Club-sponsored luncheon on Thursday. “The city of Houston this year in recruiting — the graduating class of 2018 — to be quite honest with you, had been talked about for a good three years.”
Herman said he believes Houston becoming a feeder city for the Longhorns is critical to success for his staff on the recruiting trail.
“We have to make this city a Texas city,” Herman said. “I think we really started that process in last year’s recruiting class and hope to continue it in years to come.”
Good for program
Herman also talked about Texas’ announcement Wednesday of a home-and-home series with Alabama in 2022 and 2023.
“I credit (Alabama’s) administration, (UT athletic director) Chris Del Conte and our administration for making that happen and kind of juggling some schedules around,” Herman said. “Any time we have an opportunity to give our fanbase a big name, a quality opponent, a historic brand, I think it’s good for our program and good for our fans.”
When Herman and his staff took over at the end of 2016, Texas was coming off of three consecutive losing seasons. He described his team as being “fragile” when he first arrived in Austin.
“They had been beaten down by the media,” Herman said. “They had been beaten down by all of the messaging that gets through into a 19-yearold’s head or a 20-yearold’s head. They needed to be built back up and they needed confidence.”
In 2017, Herman’s first year as head coach, the Longhorns went 7-6 and won a bowl game for the first time since 2012. Herman credits the early success to instilling more of a mental toughness in his players.
“We’ve learned over the year and some change to tune out all the negativity,” Herman said. “I think at times, we were way too concerned with what other people thought about us. Nobody’s opinions matter, except for those people in the locker room.”
Herman said changing the culture of the locker room has not been easy and is still an ongoing process. He recalled a significant moment in his team’s progress after the Longhorns’ 33-16 Texas Bowl win over Missouri in December.
Texas beat an SEC team coming off of a six-game winning streak while missing eight starters.
“I thought that there was a moment there where they actually realized, ‘If we just listen to this crazy guy and his crazy assistant coaches and do what they tell us to do and do it as hard as we can and do it for the love of the guys next to us and the love of our coaches, we can do it with anybody,” Herman said. “That was a big moment in our development.”
Progress report
Despite having an upand-down first season, Herman said that he believes people recognize the progress he and his staff have made in just over one year.
“Everybody that knows anything about football that I’ve spoke to, whether that be opposing coaches, former coaches, people in the media, high school coaches, they said, ‘Man, you got Texas playing hard, don’t you?’ Herman said. “That’s step number one.”
Herman and his staff hope to carry their momentum into this season and continue the rebuild of the program.
“We have righted the ship, in terms of stability, and everything is pointed in the right direction,” Herman said.