Tom Herman era set to begin at Texas

By Steve Habel/Senior Editor

AUSTIN, Texas — After three consecutive losing seasons that prompted its second coaching change in only four years, No. 23 Texas has plenty of questions to answer as it begins the 2017 season at home against Maryland on Saturday at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium.

It’s the first game under new coach Tom Herman, who was hired away from Houston last November and inherits a roster that will feature seven offensive players and 10 defensive players who started games for the team in 2016.

Those players have had to learn to do things the way [s2If current_user_can(access_s2member_level2)]Herman and his staff want them done, and, according to Herman, they have bought into the changes because they want to be a part of the turnaround on the Forty Acres.

Asked at his Monday press conference if his team knows how to win, Herman said that his players have been given every tool his staff could provide to have them ready.

“I know they have been trained,” Herman said. “Now, when the bullets fly, adversity hits, you know, that’s the one thing I don’t know right now. If we have a couple three-and-out drives to start the game, how are we going to respond? If we give up an early touchdown, how are we going to respond?

“I have a lot of confidence in the way that they’re trained, in the way that they’ve responded to that training, taken it to heart. But, again, putting it in practice in front of 105,000 people with a formidable opponent such as Maryland, that’s a whole ‘nother ball of wax. That remains to be seen.”

Texas officials released the Longhorns’ first depth chart Monday, and it includes just three senior starters.

Including co-starters (positions where the school has listed two players as a starter while the determination is made through the rest of game-week preparation) Texas will have 12 juniors run out on the field to take its units first snaps, along with eight sophomores and a redshirt freshman.

“I hope there won’t be any growing pains,” Herman said. “It doesn’t matter how old you are or how much experience you have. If you’ve been in our program for the last nine months, you’re going to be ready to play a college football game if we jog you out there.”

The Longhorns’ quarterback battle between sophomore Shane Buechele and true freshman Sam Ehlinger has been captured, at least for the time being, by Buechele, who started all 12 games for Texas last season.

“You’re only as good as your last practice — that’s a big deal around here,” Herman said. “If we’re going to hold the rest of the team to that standard, we need to hold the quarterback to that, as well.

“So I think Shane is in control of that. If he goes out and he practices well every day, he’ll continue to start and play the game. If he stumbles and opens the door a little bit in practice, stumbles and opens the door during a game, then we’ll have to evaluate it at that point.”

Nothing will be easy this year for Herman and his Longhorns. Texas plays eight opponents (including Maryland) that went to a bowl game last year and UT’s 12 opponents had a combined record of 83-69 (.546) in 2016.

Beginning with their week 3 matchup at USC, the Longhorns will play the winners of last season’s Rose, Texas, Sugar, Alamo and Cactus Bowls within a six-game span.

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