First padded practice opens Herman's eyes to team issues

Shane Buechele. (Will Gallagher/IT)

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Tom Herman could not name a single Power Five program that, since the dawn of scholarship limits, has gone through an entire season with just two QBs. But all he had to do was glance at his roster, following Matthew Merrick’s decision Monday to give up football, to concede Texas is so thin behind center that the courtship of former LSU QB Brandon Harris is in play.

“We’ll try to see what’s out there on the waiver wire,” Herman quipped, before adding “I can confirm that we’re exploring recruiting (Harris).”

The mindset inside the headset is that Texas must win now, even if it means bringing in a graduate-transfer for one blaze of glory.

“We’ve lost seven games three straight years around here. If a grad transfer is better than those two (QBs) and can beat them out, we’ll worry about their growth next spring.”

The competition between incumbent Shane Buechele and early-enrollee Sam Ehlinger won’t be determined, Herman previously announced, until the first half of August Camp.

“We’ve got two quarterbacks: one’s 19 and one’s 18. I say my rosary every night and sprinkle some holy water on those two guys that they can stay healthy.”

Merrick’s departure came with Herman’s candid caveat: converted-WR Jerrod Heard would have been the next-man-up if either Buechele or Ehlinger went down. But there are no plans to cross-train Heard this spring at his former spot behind center.

“Not to disparage Matt, but (Heard) probably would have been a better option for us had both those guys gone down. We’re talking about a scenario where (both quarterbacks) goes out and gets hurt, and we tell Jerrod ‘Here’s the eight plays you practiced all week. Get us out of the game. Defense, go win the game for us.’”

In fact, walk-on Josh Covey might be a more viable alternative as a stopgap measure, Herman said.

“Covey might actually be a better option right now at third-string quarterback than Jerrod. The kid can run a little bit and he’s thrown the ball pretty well.”

The first day in pads of the Tom Herman era was a bit of a downer, the head coach admits. The first practice following spring break is usually sluggish, Herman said, but he was “shocked” by what he described as his team’s general lack of stamina.

“It was encouraging that they tried to fight through it, but I was a bit shocked at how early they hit the wall in practice. We could barely get through the special teams segment. I was shocked at the level of how hard it hit them, but I was very pleased with the effort that was given to try to fight through it.”

This is not a physical team, Herman said, but it is determined to becoming one. According to Herman, it’s essentially a case of mind-over-matter.

“They want to be physical and they want to do things our way, but we’ve got to push through this wall and get into football-shape. Everybody can do it when they’re fresh. Everybody can do it when their bodies feel good. Everybody can do it in the first quarter. It’s when you’re hot and tired and sweaty, and it’s the fourth quarter and you’ve played 80 snaps, then that’s where this fits in. We train minds much more than we train the bodies. It’s the most powerful tool they have.”

One of spring’s early storylines has been Herman’s displeasure with overweight defensive linemen. His perspective has shifted, somewhat, now that he’s seen the big boys in something other than gym shorts and t-shirts.

“They still have to get in shape,” Herman said, “but I am happier with them once I saw them in pads. The one thing you can tell about them, even their bodies are sloppy, is they’ve got a really quick and explosive first step. We saw that a lot today in pads, during inside-drills and team-drills.”

A couple of players offered a more glowing report of the first day in pads, starting with WR Collin Johnson.
“We’re going to be in the best shape when the season comes around,” Johnson said. “Coach Herman really brings physicality to the offensive side. Most people think just defenses are physical.”

Meanwhile, John Bonney said he was surprised when coaches asked him to move to safety – but you don’t say ‘no’ to the boss.

“(Better) communication and physicality is what the coaches wanted to see (in the secondary,” Bonney said. “The coaches just felt like (the move) was a good fit. They wanted a smart guy back there who’s physical.”
Herman’s parting words to players, according to Bonney, is that it’s only going to get harder.

INJURY UPDATE
TE Andrew Beck (foot) suited-up and participated in non-contact drills Monday. Said Herman: “He’s running, cutting and catching passes. He participated in 7-on-7’s, but it will be next week before we put a 300-pound man on him and have him block him.”