Texas Spring Football Week 1 – Herman & Players Reveal Keys To Their Identity
Week 1 of Spring Football for the Texas Longhorns is in the books. And, there are not a lot of answers to our questions on what Texas Football will look like in 2017.
The significant news is the QB position is up for grabs and Jason Hall suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out of Spring Football.
New head coach Tom Herman is not ready to comment on who has stood out or who will be in the starting lineup come fall season. He’s more concerned that he only gets two practices with the players in shorts and t-shirts before spring break.
"“I’m never going to comment on anybody’s performance in shorts. It’s just not football. We’ll wait and see. The Tuesday after spring break will be a good indication of who stands out and who doesn’t.” – Tom Herman when asked Thursday which players have stood out."
The Texas Spring Football season resumes Tuesday, March 21
The next practice seems like a long time from now. Coach Herman said his priority is making sure the players keep their head on straight during spring break and return to football ready to go.
"“When we come back we’ll have that Monday to meet. We’ll be able to refresh them. With the first practice that they’re back on that Tuesday being in pads, you try as offensive and defensive staffs not to install new stuff. It’s more going over what you installed day one and day two, now at full speed in pads. And then that Thursday you can hit them with a few new things in installation.” – Tom Herman"
Coach Herman reiterated Thursday that he just wants the players to focus on good habits at this stage. He’s not concerned about players getting the offense or understanding defensive alignment at this point.
It’s about “practice culture” and what the “expectations are for a practice.” He said the plays don’t even matter to him at this point.
"“It’s how you prepare and how you practice and then ultimately how you play. The effort and intensity that you play with. If you’ve got elite, championship practice habits, you can call whatever play you want, if you’ve got good players and you’ve recruited well. I think that’s really starting to sink in.” – Tom Herman"
The Texas Football coaching staff will find out in a week-and-a-half how much the players retained from the first week of Spring Football.
Right now, it’s about “trying to put our team together,” according to Texas offensive lineman Connor Williams speaking to the media on Thursday. And, developing those championship practice habits without cutting corners.
"“You’ve got to have your foot behind the line if he says foot behind the line. You’ve got to run to the sideline if he says run to the sideline.” – Connor Williams"
All of this adds up to Texas Football trying to “give ourselves an identity,” according to RB Chris Warren speaking to the media.
Warren, a junior, has put it on himself to step up and lead this year’s football team, especially as the most experienced RB on the team following D’Onta Foreman’s NFL exit.
"“If we can get an identity early we can definitely go into summer camp with an idea of what we want to do and need to work on… I haven’t been a vocal leader before, even in high school, but I’m trying to come out of my shell and be one of those guys because we all need a leader. We have some already, but I feel like on offense we need some more older guys to step up.” – Chris Warren"
After spring break, Texas returns to practice on Tuesday, Mar. 21 and Thursday, Mar. 23. Then, it’s full steam ahead with 10 more practices before the Spring Game on Saturday, April 15.
Next: The #1 Reason Why Texas Fired Strong & Hired Herman
Coach Herman wants to see a team that understands the practice culture and understand that the coaching staff will “never let up,” even on break. It’s part of championship football for Tom Herman.
[ Quotes transcribed at TexasSports.com ]