Texas head coach Tom Herman spoke to the media Thursday morning to give a final update on his newly appointed coaching staff.
Herman said his final staff has 108 years of recruiting the state of Texas. His hires possess 17 combined years of head coaching experience at the high school level, too.
“These guys are very well-known throughout the state,” Herman said. “And that will certainly pay dividends along the recruiting trail.”
In spite of Herman’s positive outlook, many fans took to social media to voice negative opinions concerning newly-appointed offensive coordinator Tim Beck. They discredited Beck for leading Ohio State’s lousy scoreless performance against Clemson in last week’s College Football Playoff Semifinal.
Herman fired back. He relayed firm belief in Beck and said it’s well known that Beck did not even call plays during his time in Columbus.
Herman also denounced the negative backlash Texas and Ohio State fans had for Beck. He said he talked to former Ohio State quarterback and national champion Cardale Jones, current Ohio State quarterback JT Barrett and Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer, and all of whom gave full support of Beck.
“The negativity was misplaced on him,” Herman said. “We’re privy to a lot more information than ‘Joe Fan’ is.”
Though Beck did not call plays at Ohio State, he will get that chance at Texas. Herman said he “would be doing both jobs a disservice” if he tried to be both a play-caller and the head coach all at once.
“My job is to coach coaches and to disseminate our culture,” Herman said. “And when we leave our staff meetings everyday and when we talk about expectations of this program, from a cultural standpoint or a game plan standpoint or whatever it is, I have to trust … that we’re in complete alignment.”
A hire that Herman has complete trust in is running backs coach Stan Drayton. Drayton coached the NFL’s leading rusher Ezekiel Elliot at Ohio State and oversaw Chicago Bears rookie running back Jordan Howard’s 1,313-yard season this year.
“He’s going to be my right-hand man,” Herman said. “I gave him the associate head coach title for a reason because I think Stan Drayton is going to be one of the next great head coaches in college football.”
Drayton inherits junior running back Chris Warren, a 250-pound back capable of both punishing blows and bursts of speed. Herman said he wants Texas to be a downhill running team, and Drayton has a key component to that style of offense.
Herman also touched on the state of Texas’ facilities and said he could potentially eye upgrades with the help of athletic director Mike Perrin and UT President Gregory Fenves.
“We’re behind, but not by much,” Herman said. “Nothing that a multimillion dollar facelift can’t fix. That’s what we’re in the process of doing right now.”
He specifically mentioned the locker room and weight room as areas where the program can improve.
“I’ll probably ask at some point,” Herman said. “My job is to tell President Fenves and Mike Perrin what we need to compete a championship level.”
Herman said he has such tunnel vision that it’s hard to realize the gravity of embarking on his first season as the Longhorns’ head coach. To him, it’s about establishing an identity as a team and fostering development among all of his coaches. He believes the latter will come relatively easily.
“If you don’t want to be the best at your craft, then you’re probably a bit misguided,” Herman said. “All nine guys I think aspire to be college head coaches. And I think to carrying degrees they would all have success doing that.”
