Tom Herman has taken over a Texas program that has been among the most disappointing in college football for the better part of the past seven years, and the struggles have clearly had an impact on the recruiting trail.
As Geoff Ketchum of OrangeBloods.com noted Wednesday, the Longhorns failed to sign any of the top 10 recruits in the state of Texas on National Signing Day for the first time in program history. While there was once a time when Texas was consistently among the top five in the nation in recruiting classes, Herman offered a sobering reminder of how times have changed.
Tom Herman told @SpanningTheLoeb (per his ESPN hit just now), "Nowadays, Texas has to recruit like they're Iowa State."
— Geoff Ketchum (@gkketch) February 1, 2017
The Longhorns were 16-21 in their three seasons under Charlie Strong and did not win a bowl game. The lack of success has hurt recruiting, and it’s also possible some recruits weren’t impressed with the way Herman left Houston and some of the things his former employer said about him.
Sad as it may be, Herman is right. Texas is at a point now where they have to sift through the leftovers of top programs and hope to build a winner. If Herman can do that, recruits will start listening to what he has to say.
