The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Tracking the Longhorns: Tom Herman media availability [July 31, 2017]
07.31.2017 | Football
Head Coach Tom Herman spoke to the media following the Longhorns' first practice of the 2017 season.
Tom Herman Media Availability
Post-Practice #1
July 31, 2017
On pacing, being a month away from Texas vs. Maryland: It's interesting, because the elimination of two-a-days has just, it's the first time I can ever remember coaching football in the month of July. It's made for a five week training camp, and we start school on Wednesday before the the first game. Baylor starts school, I think August 16th, so there's a lot of discrepancies in terms of routine and all that. We're in a four and a half week training camp. Now the reps are all going to be the same whether you're practicing one practice a day for five weeks or you sprinkle in four or five two-a-days in there and you do it for four weeks. The reps are the same, it's just the fact that a) we're not going to be in school for four and a half weeks. I take that back, we're actually in school right now and that's one of the issues too, is that Maryland's summer school, I believe, is done August 5th. Ours is August 13th, so they have eight more days of preparation without summer school than we do. But the training camp from sunup to sundown, having them here for four and a half weeks, that can get a little cumbersome and monotonous. So we'll find ways to break it up, but it is something that we have to be very mindful of because it is so different than what we're used to.
On how the elimination of two-a-days effects the team: The upside is that there's no 20-hour rule until you start classes. The downside is, we're trying to prepare a football team in training camp with guys having to leave early for classes, tutors in study hall and all that for summer school. You've got a week and a half of summer school.
On adapting to having one practice each day: The second practice of two-a-days was never a very physical practice for us anyway, we were very mindful of that. We went in shorts and shoulder pads and sometimes even the little spider deals in the afternoon practice. There was a lot of throwing, a lot of special teams, not physical at all. So had they polled us they might have gotten that answer and said, "Hey, we're ok." I don't know. Maybe other places are going two, two hour, full padded practices, I don't know. So I have no problem, 29 practices is 29 practices. I think though if we're going to stick with this model, then kids reporting on July 30th, that's a little crazy to me. I think we should, nationally, then cut practices down to 26, 25 because not only does it alter our scheduling but it alters your summer training program. So you get eight weeks, but you have to take one week off, that's nine weeks. Well, we started summer school June 1, so where are my nine weeks? We've really only got about seven weeks and a day. I think, 38 days of training in the summer. So it's something, you make the decision, you think that you thought of everything and then it's, "Oh man, we didn't think about that." So, I think continual feedback from us as coaches will be helpful going forward.
On a time frame for naming a starting quarterback: Probably when we start to get ready for Maryland, so two weeks to go in training camp. So probably about three weeks of good, healthy competition and then the guy that's the starter needs to take every rep with the ones as we start getting ready for the game.
On what needs to be seen during training camp from freshman quarterback Sam Ehlinger: Decisiveness. Sam's a very cerebral guy, a really sharp guy. A lot of the time with quarterbacks that's a detriment. He thinks a lot out there, whether it be his reads or his mechanics. We had a talk today, I said, "Sam, you worry about all of that stuff through the drill periods, individuals, all that stuff. When it's seven-on-seven, eleven-on-eleven, just play football. Stop thinking and just play." I think he started to do that a little bit better towards the end of practice.
On what showed in practice from sophomore quarterback Shane Buechele's progression over the summer: That he has a voice, he's a lot more vocal. I heard him a lot more, which is good.
On how many vocal leaders are needed from the best players among position groups: O-linemen are kind of a different breed. Nowhere is the unit pride exemplified more than the offensive line so as long as Connor's taking care of the offensive line, I'm good. He's done a decent job of that thus far. So really Shane, because Naashon (Hughes), P.J. (Locke III), Malik (Jefferson). Jerrod Heard might be another one, the guys really respect him and we've had conversation about, "Hey, it's time for you to start talking more."
On the effect of the strength and conditioning program under Yancy McKnight: Night and day. We read of a bunch of stats last night from Coach McKnight. I think we've shed 500 pounds of body fat and added 380 pounds of lean muscle mass as a team since January. We've increased our team average vertical jump by an inch and a half, which across the whole team is pretty significant. Back squat maxes increased 70 pounds per person, so that means that some guys were 40 while some guys were 100 in eight months. It's noticeable out there, much more stamina. I don't mean that from a lung standpoint, as when you're strong you can go and bend and stretch and change direction and you don't get tired. When you're weak, period 12 I'm having a hard time changing direction, I'm having a hard time going hard, I'm having a hard time finishing plays. I saw a team that was running around really good, even at the end of practice.
On Chris Warren's progression in recovering from injury: We didn't have pads on. Last time I saw him was, in pads playing football, was practice four of spring ball. So he's done everything right in the summer. He came out today, his body looked right and he didn't fatigue and so all signs are pointing in the right direction. But it's too difficult to tell.
On how far ahead he likes to work for the opening games of the season: None. I haven't watched a snap of Maryland film, and I won't. There's nothing that can get you more nervous than probably you already are. The first three weeks of training camp are about developing the team's identity and instilling the culture. We'll worry about winning the game down the road, so we won't worry about San Jose or USC until the weeks that we play them.
On expectations for players coming off of redshirt years: Reggie (Hemphill-Mapps) would be the guy. Reggie's had a great spring, he's had a really good summer. He's added weight to his thin frame and he needed to, because when you're out there you're playing nickels and strongside linebackers, you're not blocking corners. He's got to add strength and he did that and he'll continue that throughout his career. But we need him to produce, as I think everywhere we've been in the last five years that slot receiver production has been pretty remarkable. From Corey "Philly" Brown at Ohio State, to Demarcus Ayers catching 99 balls at Houston, to Linell Bonner last year I think caught right at 99 balls as well or something around there. So in that position, him (Devin) Duverney, (Davion) Curtis and (Armanti) Foreman are all guys that need to show us that they can produce there. With four guys there we're not going to sit guys on the bench that are good players too, we'll find a spot. It might not be at H, but it might be somewhere else on the field.
On players developing across the defensive line: Really just the three starters. Those guys are doing everything right so far. But as I said at media days and will continue to say, if those guys are playing 75 plays a game then we're in trouble. You've got to find (Gerald) Wilbon, (Andrew) Fitzgerald, Ta'Quon (Graham), those guys have got to pick it up for us to feel good about them.
On deciding team champions for the summer period: We celebrated them last night. I think two thirds of the eligible kids, right at 67%, made it as a champion. Even a good handful of the 33% that didn't, I'm not excusing it by any stretch of the imagination because everything matters, but the 33% that didn't make it, a good number of those were silly mistakes. Nothing that the guy wasn't training hard in the summer, because everybody has to win from academics, to in the training room, to with Coach McKnight to with his position coach. Everybody's got a say in whether the young man makes it or not, so if you get dinged in one area with one minor thing, then you're out. Chris Warren for instance, got sick and there wasn't enough days left in training to make up all the workouts that he missed. So it was a great summer, but he became ineligible.
On access to the refurbished locker room being held back: The players lounge was messy, so it's the old adage that if you're going to have nice things, "That's why you can't have nice things." If we're going to treat you right, you're going to treat whatever we give you right. It wasn't malicious, it wasn't, "Screw these guys, we're just going to leave stuff," it was that they forgot. It's not habit yet.
On preparing for playing in hot weather: Have you guys been in that tent where we've been working out all summer, in the weight room? That's like a sauna. We've been lifting and training in a sauna all summer, so we're good as far as the heat.
On keeping the team fresh through training camp: Legs come back a lot quicker than people think. So for now it's go-go-go when we've got to learn how to push through. I told them last night, I know that by practice 11 that your best is going to be different than practice two, but it still has to be your best. You still have to empty the tank, you still have to give your teammates everything that you have and leave the field mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted every single day. Now that capacity is going to be different over a five-week training camp, so we get it. As we get closer to game week, we start tapering back and really focusing on the game plan.
