For the past four to five years, the highlight of each season of Texas football has been its recruiting hauls.
After Texas bagged the nation’s third-ranked 2019 recruiting class according to 247Sports, it’ll be carrying even more momentum heading to the offseason after a program-changing win in the Sugar Bowl over No. 5 Georgia.
Here are some highlights from Herman’s National Signing Day press conference Wednesday:
Significant signees
Early Wednesday, offensive lineman Javonne Shepherd committed to Texas to cap off a class of 24 newcomers in this year’s cycle. Additionally, Longhorns inked several big-name recruits including athlete Jordan Whittington, wide receiver Jake Smith and defensive back Kenyatta Watson II.
“(Recruiting) is truly built on relationships,” Herman said. “When you build those relationships with the young men … you see very little issues … when they commit to the University of Texas, it is a decision that they are not 99 percent sure, but for the most part, 100 percent sure.”
Texas also got another late addition in Bru McCoy, who transferred from USC in late January. The six-foot, two-inch athlete will add yet another weapon to Texas’ offense, but his eligibility for this upcoming season is uncertain.
“I applaud Bru and his courageousness to say, ‘Hey, this is not where my heart is,’” Herman said. “He showed me a lot of fortitude in just that one thing that he did.”
Offseason injury updates
Towards the end of the 2018 season, quarterback Sam Ehlinger had been playing with an injured shoulder and took injections to be able to play through it. While limited in the weight room, he should be good to go when spring
After Texas bagged the nation’s third-ranked 2019 recruiting class according to 247Sports, it’ll be carrying even more momentum heading to the offseason after a program-changing win in the Sugar Bowl over No. 5 Georgia.
Here are some highlights from Herman’s National Signing Day press conference Wednesday:
practice starts.
The same can be said about wide receiver Collin Johnson, who underwent knee surgery after the season ended. Defensive end Marqez Bimage was also nursing a shoulder injury, but was cleared for both the running portion of winter workouts as well as contact practice in the spring.
With spring practices set to commence on March 11, Herman should have a full crop of healthy or near-healthy players as the spring practice sessions lead up to the spring game on April 13.
Moving the program forward
As is the question with any offseason, the ever-looming question for any head coach is what the next step will be for the program. But for Herman, there wasn’t a lot of thinking required to come up with an answer.
“We’ve got to win our conference,” Herman said. “Our goal each and every year is to be in position to win our conference in the months of November and December … Now we’ve got to take that last step to winning it on the field.”
With work set to begin on Texas’ long anticipated south end zone facility in May and 10 early enrollees from the 2019 class already on campus, the program is moving forward at full speed. But it’s up to Herman to prove that on the field when the season starts.
