When we defeated the greatest army in the world and established the United States of America, that was mind blowing. When we developed the atom bomb, that was mind blowing. When we walked on the moon, that was mind blowing. When Charlie Strong signed the past two recruiting cycles after seasons of 6-7 and 5-7, that was mind disintegrating. Okay, a bit over the top, I know. But, jeez-Louise, it was incredible! There is a marked difference in my mind between the two classes concerning the processes. During the 2015 cycle, DE Charles Omenihu, an early commit, began relentlessly text-hounding other possible recruits. As guys came on board, they started group texting each other. When Malik announced for The Good Guys in December, the practice grew exponentially. to return TEXAS Football to greatness. There are some truly nasty guys in this class! Now comes the 2016 football season – one that many, if not most, Texas fans are saying they need to see significant improvement in Strong’s production or else. For the record, I believed and stated that ’15 would be a good year (8-10 wins), ’16 would be a very good one (9-11 wins), and ’17 would be the back-to-prominence year. Kind of missed on ’15, huh? Before going any further, let me be clear – I expect us to win a NC each and every year. Why? Because we’re TEXAS. Anything less than that is a huge disappointment. So, when I talk about “a good year” or “a very good year,” there is no satisfaction attached other than seeing improvement, no matter who the head coach happens to be. Going into the ’16 season we have little upperclassmen leadership available - maybe Bluiett, Ford, the Foremen bros, and Hughes. There are other good players like Perkins, but their personalities aren’t such that they rally others around them. (Admittedly, this is all speculation as I’m not a part of the team.) It appears that the bulk of leadership will come from the sophomores and RS freshmen. Add in the fact that a new offense will be installed and somewhat limited the first year, and 8-10 wins seems most likely. What I’ll take from ’16 is that I saw improvement, that some new nasties got experience, and that other teams will rightfully fear the ’17 version of TEXAS Football. HOOK 'EM!
Yes congrats to CS on the very solid recruiting class. Top 11 (composite ranking) is a very respectable haul. There are some real ballers in this group and even some stud 3-stars that will shame their lower ranking in a year or two. However, the miracle haul praise only works in the context of CS put his own self in the 5-7 hole to begin with. He lost the 7 games that his recruiting pitch had to overcome to land just behind 10 or so other programs. If we went 8-5 last year, this class would be viewed as very solid but not like finding the holy grail as some see it now. The players are the same regardless of the context. Moving forward... Certainly 8+ wins is possible with upgraded talent now. At the same time multiple past blowouts and especially Iowa St. indicate lacking talent was not the only limitation here. Will CS prepare his team better now with these better players? Possibly. I know the coaching additions will help with that. I'm excited for the new season and see real potential, yet Strong can only prove on the field that his own coaching flaws have been improved. Props on the recruiting but the most important coaching comes between March and January. What we do on the field is what truly matters when judging success. For several examples just check the Baylor and TCU recruiting rankings since 2011....then compare their records to Texas over that time period. Recruiting is important, but does not guarantee success on Saturdays. Time for Strong's W/L record to prove he's the right man to put Texas back on top.
